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Sick pay in Finland: Income and protection when you cannot work
This article was created with artificial intelligence support.
When illness prevents work, identify who pays, what evidence they need and when responsibility changes. Paid sickness benefits, permission to be absent and protection from dismissal are separate rights to check.
Find who pays and whether you qualify
Start with your employer policy, employment contract and the documented statutory scheme below. Employer continuation of wages and a public sickness payment may cover different periods or different groups of workers.
Confirm employee status, qualifying service and contribution conditions before estimating income. An occupational injury can follow a separate route. Self-employed workers and people already out of work should check their own coverage.
Rules and programmes in Finland
Sairauspäiväraha
Medical incapacity and Kela coverage conditions apply; these are public benefit rules, and employer salary rights must be checked separately.
- Public allowance waiting period
First day + 9 working days
Kela's ordinary waiting period comprises the first illness day and the following nine working days; recurrent and continuing incapacity exceptions apply.
- Public allowance maximum
300 working days
Kela ordinarily pays sickness allowance for at most 300 working days. Employer contractual sickness salary can overlap, with allowance then paid to the employer.
- Kela: sickness allowanceChecked 3 October 2026 · Official guidance inspected
Report absence and keep the medical evidence
Tell the employer through the required reporting route and record when you did so. Check when a medical certificate is required, who can issue it and which authority must receive it.
Retain evidence of continuing incapacity and any extension requests. A certificate can support absence without automatically establishing payment entitlement. Ask which employment and benefit forms are both required.
A short absence and a longer illness
Use the rules for Sairauspäiväraha to find who pays during each part of an absence and what they require. Record when illness starts, when you obtain medical evidence and when each payment begins.
Example assumptions
Use these cases to organise your documents and decide what to check. Confirm benefit eligibility, dismissal rights and severance for your own situation.
The salary calculator estimates employment income. Entering a benefit as salary would apply the wrong rules: benefit entitlement and its tax treatment must be checked separately.
- Coverage and exceptions
- Medical incapacity and Kela coverage conditions apply; these are public benefit rules, and employer salary rights must be checked separately.
Plan the monthly income gap
Enter confirmed amounts after deductions. Keep recurring income separate from savings and one-off payments. Leave an unknown amount blank; enter 0 when you have confirmed there is none.
Use a dot or comma for decimals, with up to two decimal places. Leave out thousands separators. · EUR
Enter all four confirmed amounts to calculate the income gap.
This budget uses fixed monthly income and costs and assumes you can use the whole reserve immediately. Payment delays, changing benefits, interest and extra costs can change how long it lasts. It does not calculate a legal entitlement.
A brief certified absence
An employee misses several days. Check whether service conditions and waiting days apply before assuming the full usual salary continues.
Next step: Report the absence, submit the required evidence and verify the payer for those dates.
Employer payment ends
An employee remains unable to work when the employer-paid period ends. Public support under Sairauspäiväraha may require an application and its own conditions.
Next step: Confirm the handover documents and expected first transfer before employer payments stop.
A gradual return
An employee can return for some hours. Salary, sickness support and medical certification may each change, so an ordinary part-time comparison is incomplete.
Next step: Obtain the work arrangement and benefit treatment in writing, then update the monthly budget.
Use the part-time guide for the salary side of an agreed reduction in work; verify sickness benefits separately.
Estimate your usual take-home payList full pay, partial pay and unpaid days
Make a timeline of employer payments, public benefits and any waiting days. A scheme rate can use a defined insured-earnings base and a cap, rather than the entire salary.
Add contractual or collective supplements only when you have confirmed them. Compare expected cash after relevant deductions with normal household costs. The salary calculator cannot convert a sickness payment into an entitlement estimate.
Plan the handover during a longer absence
Check what happens when employer-paid time or statutory sickness entitlement is exhausted. A transfer to another payer may need a new claim and continuing medical evidence.
Prepare the documents before the expected change and verify the first payment date. Longer-term disability, rehabilitation and occupational-injury support may have different eligibility tests; do not treat them as automatic extensions of sick pay.
Check employment protection and return arrangements
Permission to take sick leave and protection from dismissal are distinct from payment. Check the applicable rules, any protected period and the employer obligations relevant to your situation.
Discuss adjustments, a phased return or reduced duties where appropriate. Confirm how working part of the time affects salary and benefits. A proportional part-time salary example alone does not model medical leave or benefit withdrawal.
Check payments against the absence dates
Compare the absence dates, certificates and approved rate with employer statements or the public award. Ask which period a payment covers before assuming a reduced transfer is an error.
Use the official source to identify the correction or review route. Keep reporting obligations current while disputing an amount. Preserve correspondence and the date each document was submitted.
When illness interrupts work
- Report absence and establish medical-evidence requirements.
- Check qualifying service, contribution conditions and waiting days.
- Map employer pay, public support and any change of payer.
- Verify return-to-work arrangements and longer-term support separately.
See your own numbers
The articles use example figures. Enter your salary in the calculator to see your own result.
Official sources · Coverage and exceptions
Coverage and exceptions
Contract terms, collective agreements, contribution history and regional law can affect which rules apply to you. The dates below show when we checked the official sources. Ask the responsible authority or an employment adviser how the rules apply to your situation.
- Medical incapacity and Kela coverage conditions apply; these are public benefit rules, and employer salary rights must be checked separately.