Sick leave

If you fall ill, you are entitled to be excluded from work. Notify your employer immediately and also inform your employer why you are absent. If your employer requires a medical certificate, you should visit your physician and send the certificate signed by your physician to your employer.

Your employer must pay you for the day when you fell ill and were unable to work. If you are sick longer, you must be paid for nine (9) days after the day your sick leave started. If your employment has lasted for at least one month, you are entitled to full pay. If your employment has lasted less than one month, you are entitled to half pay. Usually, better terms for sick leave have been agreed in the collective agreement. In this case, you will receive full pay for several days.

If you are sick for more than 10 days, Kela will pay you a sickness allowance. The amount of sickness allowance depends on your earnings. Kela can pays sickness allowance for around one year, if necessary. If your employer pays you your full pay when you are sick, Kela will pay your sickness allowance to your employer. If your salary is low, your sickness allowance is a little more than half of your pay. Tax is deducted from the sickness allowance according to your tax card.

If you are sick for more than a year, you should find out whether you are entitled to receive disability pension.

Illness of a child

If your child under 10 falls ill, you can stay at home. You will then be on temporary child care leave. It can last up to four working days.

According to the law, the employer does not need to pay you for the duration of a temporary child care leave. However, check your collective agreement; some agreements contain better terms. You may be entitled to pay for the duration of the temporary child care leave.