The new sickness benefit procedure

According to the temporary procedure, an employer had to pay an employee a sickness benefit of 70% of the employee’s average wages in the last six months from the second to the fifth day of sickness, injury or quarantine. An employer had the option of paying an employee a sickness benefit of up to 100% of the employee’s average wages for this period.

The sick leave certificates issued from 1 July 2023 will be subject to the procedure under which an employer will have to pay an employee a sickness benefit from the fourth until the eighth day of sickness. Similar to the previous procedure, an employer must pay a sickness benefit at the rate of 70% of the employee’s average pay over the last six months, though they can also pay up to 100%.

Sickness benefits are exempt from unemployment insurance premiums and funded pension contributions and, up to a certain limit, from social security contributions, but are subject to full income tax.