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Tukea sairauden aikana

Support during illness

Published24.01.2024
If you fall ill or have an accident, you have the right to stay home from work. If you are covered by Finnish national health insurance (sairausvakuutus), you have the right to apply for sickness allowance (sairauspäiväraha) from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) after the qualifying period for benefit (omavastuuaika).

The qualifying period for benefit usually starts on the day when you fall ill, and continues for the following 9 weekdays. If you have been employed at your current job for more than a month before you fell ill, your employer will pay you full salary for the qualifying period for benefit. Sickness allowance is paid for a maximum of 300 weekdays. You must apply for it within 2 months of falling ill.

You can apply for sickness allowance, if:

  • you are covered by Finnish national health insurance (sairausvakuutus), read more on the InfoFinland page Finnish social security
  • you are between 16–67 years old
  • you are unable to work due to an illness
  • are an employee, entrepreneur, self-employed person, full-time student, an unemployed job seeker or on job alternation leave, or you manage your own household

If you are being paid during the time of your illness, your employer will apply for the sickness allowance. In this case, the sickness allowance will be paid to your employer. If you are ill for a long time and your employer no longer pays you during your illness, Kela will pay you the sickness allowance. The amount of sickness allowance paid depends on your income. When you apply for the sickness allowance, please attach a medical certificate of your inability to work.

You can find out more about the sickness allowance on Kela’s website.

You should also find out whether rehabilitation might help you.

Link redirects to another websiteThe Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela

Sickness allowance

Link redirects to another websiteThe Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela

Applying for sickness allowance

Partial sickness allowance

Partial sickness allowance (osasairauspäiväraha) is intended for a 16–67 year-old employee or entrepreneur who works full-time and is covered by Finnish social security. The purpose of partial sickness allowance is that you can continue to work or return to work even though you have fallen ill. Discuss the possibility of applying for partial sickness allowance first with your occupational doctor and employer. Your occupational doctor will evaluate whether or not you will be able to work part-time during your illness.

When you are applying for partial sickness allowance, append to your application:

  • a doctor’s certificate of your incapacity for work
  • sickness allowance application
  • a copy of an agreement you have made with your employer, specifying that you will work part-time for a fixed term. The agreement must specify your working hours and salary.
  • a salary certificate for 6 months before falling ill, if your income has grown

Partial sickness allowance must be applied for within 2 months of starting part-time work.

You can find out more about partial sickness allowance on Kela’s website.

Link redirects to another websiteThe Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela

Partial sickness allowance

Link redirects to another websiteThe Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela

Applying for partial sickness allowance