Sickness absence during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of this research was to perform comparative analysis of the publicly avaiable data of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) on sickness absence of insured persons in Poland in 2016-2021 (before the outbreak and during the COVID-19 pandemic). Materials and methods. The research material consisted of data from the Social Insurance Institution for the years 2016-2021 (Q1) concerning the sickness absence of the insured. Due to the publication of data in an aggregated form, quantitative analysis was performed instead of statistical analysis. The data used in the analysis included the number of insured persons, the number of people receiving sickness benefits, the number of issued medical certificates on temporary incapacity to work and the reasons for the incapacity to work. Results and Conclusion. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, following numbers have increased compared to 2019: the number of people receiving sickness benefit in Poland (by 10%), the number of days of sickness absence (by 7%) and the number of issued medical certificates of temporary incapacity for work (by 4%). The largest increase in the number of beneficiaries, the number of days of sickness absence and the number of medical certificates was recorded in the Q4 of 2020 (respectively by 21%, 16% and 24% compared to Q4 of 2019). Due to COVID-19, 4.84 million days of sickness absence were used in 2020 – it was the tenth cause of absence. The largest changes in the number of people receiving sickness benefit and the number of days of sickness absence can be observed in Q1 and Q4, which may result from the seasonality of COVID-19 and the subsequent wave of infections. Importantly, COVID-19 is not the only factor contributing overall increase in the number of days of sickness absence in Poland – absence due to non-communicable diseases also increased during the pandemic.

Recurrent sick leave after COVID-19: investigating the first wave of the pandemic in a comprehensive Swedish registry-based study

Background Sick-leave due to COVID-19 vary in length and might lead to re-current episodes. The aim was to investigate recurrent sick leave due to COVID-19 during the first wave. Methods This is a registry-based cohort study. The study comprises all people with sickness benefit due to COVID-19 in Sweden in March 1–August 31, 2020. Data from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, and Statistics Sweden were merged. Results Within the follow-up period of 4 months, 11,955 people were subject to sickness benefit due to COVID-19, whereof 242 people (2.0%) took recurrent sick leave due to COVID-19, and of those 136 (56.2%) remained on sick leave at the end of follow-up. People with recurrent sick leave were older, more often women, and more likely to have been on sick leave prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion A group of people presented with recurrent sick leave due to COVID-19. For half of them, the second sick leave lasted throughout the follow-up. People with recurrent sick leave differ in several aspects from those with shorter sick leave. To capture long-term sick-leave patterns due to COVID-19, a longer period of follow-up is needed.

Benefits of Paid Sick Leave During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Multiple jurisdictions have adopted or adapted paid sick leave policies to reduce the likelihood of employees infected with SARS-CoV-2 presenting to work, which can lead to the spread of infection in workplaces. During the COVID-19 pandemic, paid sick leave has been associated with an increased likelihood of workers staying at home when symptomatic. Paid sick leave can support essential workers in following public health measures. This includes paid time off for essential workers when they are sick, have been exposed, need to self-isolate, need time off to get tested, when it is their turn to get vaccinated, and when their workplace closes due to an outbreak. In the United States, the introduction of a temporary paid sick leave, resulted in an estimated 50% reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases per state per day. The existing Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) cannot financially protect essential workers in following all public health measures, places the administrative burden of applying for the benefit on essential workers, and neither provides sufficient, nor timely payments. Table 1 lists the characteristics of a model paid sick leave program as compared with the CRSB. Implementation of the model program should be done in a way that is easy to navigate and quick for employers.

Economics of mental well-being: a prospective study estimating associated health care costs and sickness benefit transfers in Denmark

Background Previous literature has examined the societal costs of mental illness, but few studies have estimated the costs associated with mental well-being. In this study, a prospective analysis was conducted on Danish data to determine 1) the association between mental well-being (measured in 2016) and government expenditure in 2017, specifially healthcare costs and sickness benefit transfers. Methods Data stem from a Danish population-based survey of 3,508 adults (aged 16 + years) in 2016, which was linked to Danish registry data. A validated scale (WEMWBS) was used for the assessment of mental well-being. Costs are expressed in USD PPP. A two-part model was applied to predict costs in 2017, adjusting for sociodemographics, health status (including psychiatric morbidity and health behaviour), as well as costs in the previous year (2016). Results Each point increase in mental well-being (measured in 2016) was associated with lower healthcare costs ($− 42.5, 95% CI = $− 78.7, $− 6.3) and lower costs in terms of sickness benefit transfers ($− 23.1, 95% CI = $− 41.9, $− 4.3) per person in 2017. Conclusions Estimated reductions in costs related to mental well-being add to what is already known about potential savings related to the prevention of mental illness. It does so by illustrating the savings that could be made by moving from lower to higher levels of mental well-being both within and beyond the clinical range. Our estimates pertain to costs associated with those health-related outcomes that were included in the study, but excluding other social and economic outcomes and benefits. They cover immediate cost estimates (costs generated the year following mental well-being measurement) and not those that could follow improved mental well-being over the longer term. They may therefore be considered conservative from a societal perspective. Population approaches to mental health promotion are necessary, not only to potentiate disease prevention strategies, but also to reduce costs related to lower levels of mental well-being in the non-mental illness population. Our results suggest that useful reductions in both health care resource use and costs, as well as in costs due to sick leave from the workplace, could be achieved from investment in mental well-being promotion within a year.

From Substitutive to Supplementary: Institutional Interplay between Public and Occupational Sickness Benefits in Finland, 1947-2016

In the context of the Finnish welfare state, this article examines the role of occupational welfare in the interplay between public and occupational sickness benefits from 1947 to 2016, to analyse how the two sickness benefits have interacted over time and the role occupational welfare has played in sickness provision. Previous research has noted that occupational benefits may support or compensate for the much-debated declining welfare state. Hence, it is important to acquire greater knowledge about the public-occupational interplay. The study uses in-depth individual-level analysis from a retrospective point of view, which has been rare in previous research, and examines the public-occupational interplay in the Finnish sickness benefit system from the first national collective agreements to 2016. Based on the reforms made to the public system, the article identifies and utilises six different phases of the Finnish sickness allowance system in the main analysis. The institutional development of sickness provision is investigated by analysing the compensation rate and benefit period, using metalworkers as a representative example of blue-collar workers. The results indicate that occupational benefits are strongly institutionalised in the Finnish sickness benefit system. The interplay between statutory and occupational sickness benefits has taken different forms over time, and occupational benefits have been re-negotiated as the statutory system has been reformed. The article provides valuable information on the historical development and relevance of occupational welfare, in terms of not only understanding its significance for individuals but also comprehending the logic of the interplay in the public-private mix of welfare provision.

Incydentalne wykonywanie czynności zarobkowych w trakcie pobierania zasiłku chorobowego

The aim of the paper is to analyse controversial situations in the Polish judicial practice relating to performing incidental paid activities in times of sick leave, both by the insured – employees and persons not being employees, especially entrepreneurs. According to the Author’s opinion only social activities or incidental and mainly formal occupational activities can be qualified as the exceptions from the rule of the loss of the right to sickness benefit. Such view is justified by the public character and formality of the system of social security. Situations resulting in a possible loss of sickness benefit should be assessed each time in the context of the principle of proportionality.

Gaps in social security protection of mobile persons: Options for filling these gaps

The effects of crossing borders can be advantageous or disadvantageous for the persons concerned; these are all part of the game and cannot be challenged on the basis of EU law. After all, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) does not provide powers for harmonisation, but only for coordination. However, the coordination rules themselves may make a person worse off when he or she makes use of the right to free movement. More precisely, such an effect may occur in combination with differences between national systems to which coordination rules are applied. One example is that the coordination rules provide that a person is subject to unemployment benefits in the country of residence and, as a result, if that person becomes ill, also to sickness benefit in that country. If the duration of sickness benefit in the country of residence is 52 weeks, but the waiting period for disability benefit (supposing, for instance, that this is (mainly) due from the country of employment) is 104 weeks, there is a gap of 52 weeks in protection. The relevance of such gaps is not to solve particular cases as such; after all, these are closely linked to particular national systems. The relevance lies in the more general approach that is now being developed by the Court of Justice to address such gaps. This will be useful in cases other than those discussed here and may be further developed in order to be codified in the Coordination Regulation.