Illness-related costs

Calculate the employee's sick pay 

Sick pay is 80 percent of the salary. If your employee falls ill, you must pay sick pay for the first 14 days if you judge that their illness prevents them from working. You must make a qualifying deduction from the sick pay. The deduction should be 20 percent of the sick pay your employee would be expected to receive in an average calendar week. 

For an employee who works very varied hours, you can use their percentage of full-time employment or their weekly schedule to calculate their average weekly working time. If no such information is available, you can use the hours the employee worked before the sick pay period. 

You must always make a full qualifying deduction, regardless of whether the employee is entitled to full or partial sick pay. If it is not possible to make a full qualifying deduction from the remuneration for the first sick pay day, you must continue making the deduction until it has been made in full. However, the deduction cannot be greater than the sick pay that is to be paid for the sick pay period. 

Please note that the detailed calculation of the sick pay and the qualifying deduction may be determined by a collective agreement. After day 14, the employee can apply for sickness benefit from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. 

Compensation to the employer for high sick pay costs 

All employers in Sweden are protected against high sick pay costs. This means that you as an employer can be reimbursed for annual sick pay costs that exceed a certain level. 

The purpose of the compensation is to encourage employers to hire people. This is particularly true for small or newly established employers, for whom sickness absence can be a financial risk. 

Compensation for high sick pay costs at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (in Swedish) 

Occupational health services and medical care 

Preventive healthcare is tax-free 

Occupational health services include medical examinations, ergonomics, job modification and rehabilitation assessments. Benefits from rehabilitation or preventive treatment are tax-free. 

About occupational health services at Sveriges Företagshälsor (in Swedish) 

Healthcare for your employees – a taxable benefit

If you pay for healthcare for your employees, it is a benefit on which you must pay tax. This applies to both publicly funded and private healthcare, but there are some exceptions.

Healthcare at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)

Grant for preventive measures 

Employers can get a grant from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency for the purchase of investigative measures to prevent illness and help employees return to work after a period of sick leave. The grant is paid directly to you as an employer and covers half the cost of the measures carried out, up to a maximum of SEK 10,000 per measure. 

Read and apply for workplace-oriented rehabilitation support at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (in Swedish)