Sickness benefit
If you cannot work because you are sick, you can get sickness benefits.
The first two weeks you are sick, your employer pays you sick pay instead of your regular salary. If you are still sick after the two weeks, you can apply for sickness benefit from Försäkringskassan.
Some employers do not pay sick pay. If this is the case, you can instead apply for sickness benefit from Försäkringskassan. If you do not know whether you are entitled to sick pay, contact your employer.
Am I eligible for sickness benefit?
You are eligible for sickness benefit if you
- are unable to work during your regular working hours due to illness
- lose income
- are insured in Sweden.
You can receive
25, 50, 75 or 100 percent sickness benefit.
How do I apply?
1. Report your sickness to your employer
The first day you are sick, you must report your sickness to your employer. If you are unemployed part time, you must also report your sickness to Försäkringskassan.
2. Your employer reports your sickness to Försäkringskassan
Once you have been sick for 14 days, your employer will report your sickness to Försäkringskassan. You can see on Mina sidor (My pages) whether you employer has submitted a sickness report.
3. Apply on My pages (Mina sidor)
Once your employer has submitted a sickness report, you can apply for sickness benefit via My pages (Mina sidor).
4. Send in a medical certificate
Försäkringskassan needs a medical certificate with information about your illness or injury. Most regions can issue electronic certificates. You can then submit your medical certificate via Mina intyg on 1177 Vårdguiden. This speeds up the process and you then do not have to send the certificate by post.
Intyg (1177.se)
External link, opens in new window.
5. Disbursement
The first sickness benefit disbursement is not paid on a fixed date. It is instead paid once we have completed the processing work. If your application is complete, this takes no more than 30 days.
After the first disbursement, sickness benefit is paid on a specific date each month. Which date applies for you depends on when you were born:
- If you were born between the 1st and the 10th: the 25th of each month
- If you were born between the 11th and the 20th: the 26th of each month
- If you were born between the 21st and the 31st: the 27th of each month
You can see all of your disbursements on My pages (Mina sidor).
Special disbursement dates
Special disbursement dates and processing times
When will the disbursement appear on My pages (Mina sidor)?
As soon as we have processed your application, you can see your preliminary disbursements under Disbursements (Utbetalningar) on My pages (Mina sidor).
The actual disbursement will be shown 1 bank day before the money is paid out.
1. Report your sickness
If you do not receive sick pay, you can report your sickness the first day you are sick.
Most who are employees receive sick pay. If you receive sick pay, then your employer is responsible for reporting your sickness. Check with your employer if you are not sure what applies in your particular case.
2. Apply on My pages (Mina sidor)
Once you have reported your sickness, you can log in to My pages (Mina sidor) and apply for sickness benefit.
3. Send in a doctor's certificate
If you are sick for more than 7 days, you must send in a doctor's certificate with information about your illness or injury. In some cases, you need to send in a doctor’s certificate from the very first day you are sick. Försäkringskassan will let you know if this is the case. Most regions can issue electronic certificates. You can then submit your medical certificate via Mina intyg on 1177 Vårdguiden. This speeds up the process and you then do not have to send the certificate by post.
Intyg (1177.se) External link, opens in new window.
If you have received a paper copy of your medical certificate and if for some reason it has not been submitted to us electronically, send the original to:
Försäkringskassans Inläsningscentral
839 88 Östersund
4. Disbursement
The first sickness benefit disbursement is not paid on a fixed date. It is instead paid once we have completed the processing work. If your application is complete, this takes no more than 30 days.
After the first disbursement, sickness benefit is paid on a specific date each month. Which date applies for you depends on when you were born:
- If you were born between the 1st and the 10th: the 25th of each month
- If you were born between the 11th and the 20th: the 26th of each month
- If you were born between the 21st and the 31st: the 27th of each month
You can see all of your disbursements on My pages (Mina sidor).
Special disbursement dates
Special disbursement dates and processing times
When will the disbursement appear on My pages (Mina sidor)?
As soon as we have processed your application, you can see your preliminary disbursements under Disbursements (Utbetalningar) on My pages (Mina sidor).
The actual disbursement will be shown 1 bank day before the money is paid out.
If you want to change any aspect of your sick leave
Send in your new medical certificate. You can do this digitally on My certificates (Mina intyg) on 1177 Vårdguiden.
Intyg (1177.se) External link, opens in new window.
If you answered yes when asked whether a new medical certificate will apply as an extension of your sick leave when you applied for sickness benefit, then you do not need to do anything else.
If you answered no, an application form for extended sickness benefit will be sent to your home. You cannot apply for extended sickness benefit via Mina sidor (My pages).
Can I receive compensation for work related travel?
If you are able to work even though you are sick or injured, but cannot travel to and from work as you normally do, you can receive compensation for the extra costs you incur. For example, you can take a taxi or your own car instead of the bus if you have trouble walking.
You can receive compensation for work related travel if you
- are sick or injured and have been granted full-time sickness benefit. We must therefore first decide whether you are entitled to sickness benefit, and then whether you can receive compensation for work trips instead of sickness benefit.
- have an injury or illness that prevents you from getting to work in the usual way.
How do I apply?
If you want to apply for a compensation for travel to and from work you need to write this in your application for sickness benefit. If you have already applied for sickness benefit, you can call us.
Before we can decide if you can receive compensation, we need to know:
- How much you normally pay for your trips to and from work.
- Your home address and address of the workplace.
- Distance between home and work.
- How much it costs you to travel to work in a different way than normal.
What do I need to do to have the compensation disbursed to me?
The compensation is paid retroactively. First, you must submit your receipts and a declaration of compensation for work trips available on My Pages.
Download the Declaration of Work Trips (7373) and send it in the same envelope as the receipts.
Your personal identity number must be on each attachment.
7373 Declaration of work trips (in Swedish)
Pdf, 150 kB.
How long can I receive compensation?
The compensation is only intended to be paid for a limited period of time when you are temporarily prevented from travelling to work in the normal way.
What if I get sick again?
If you’ve been ill for 14 days or more and should fall ill again within five days, you need to report it to Försäkringskassan your first sick day. This makes you eligible for sickness benefit. You have to submit a fit note on day 8 of your illness.
What happens if I am sick for a longer period of time?
If you are sick for a long time, you will be assigned a personal administrator. They help you with everything related to your sickness benefit, such as planning for how to return to work.
If you need support to return to work, your employer should help you. For example, you might need shorter workdays or different job tasks, either temporarily or on a permanent basis.
If you need more support, you can receive rehabilitation at your workplace. For example, you may need to train on working on certain job tasks to regain your work capacity. During that time, you can get rehabilitation allowance. The amount is the same as the sickness benefit.
When you have received sickness benefit for 364 days, your compensation will be reduced from the normal level of 80 percent to a continuation level of 75 percent of your sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI).
If you have a serious illness you can apply to keep your sickness at 80 percent of your SGI even after 364 days. What in this context counts as serious illness is described in the National Board of Health and Welfare's criteria for serious illness.
Please contact your administrator if you have questions about the levels or how to apply.
Criteria for serious illness (www.socialstyrelsen.se) External link, opens in new window.
