If you fall ill

If you fall ill

If you fall ill, you must notify your immediate manager or another delegated person. You are personally responsible for ensuring that your sick leave is reported in Primula self-service. You can also ask someone to do it. Your employer does not have to pay you sick pay until you report sick leave in Primula. Once you are back at work, you must report that you are well again in Primula.

Link to Primula self-service.

Sick period

A sick period is the time you become ill and well again. If a new sick period begins within five calendar days after the previous sick period ended, it counts as a continuation of the previous period in regard to qualifying deductions, length of the sick pay period and sick pay amount.

Example: You take sick leave Monday–Wednesday, work Thursday and Friday but fall ill again Monday–Wednesday the following week. Accordingly: four days after your last sick day, you fall ill again. This means that there will be no qualifying deduction the second Monday you are ill.

Qualifying deductions

Qualifying deduction is a deduction of sick pay or sickness benefit made in connection with sick leave. The deduction is 20 per cent of the sick pay or sickness benefit you receive after taking sick leave an average work week. The qualifying deduction means that it does not matter when in the day you report sick leave.

Sick leave after day 7 – doctor's certificate needed

If you are ill for more than 7 days during a period of illness, starting from the 8th day, you are required to submit a copy of a doctor's certificate certifying that you are ill. The certificate must state how much you cannot work, part-time or full-time, and the length of the sick period.

If you fall ill again within five calendar days you must submit a doctor's certificate from the eight day of the new sickness leave. 

In order to receive sick pay, you must submit the doctor's certificate to your manager, who will forward it to a payroll administrator.

If your illness cannot be confirmed through a doctor's certificate, your absence will be deemed not valid, and sick pay will not be paid. Under specific circumstances, a doctor's certificate may be required for shorter periods of illness. Your employer can also request that you submit a doctor's certificate from a doctor chosen by the employer, such as an occupational health doctor.

Sick leave after day 14

The first 14 days that you are sick are called the sick pay period. The employer is obligated to pay sick pay during this time. During these 14 days, a deduction is made per workday.

If you are ill for more than 14 calendar days, a payroll administrator reports this to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency then sends you a sickness benefit request which you need to fill in and send back together with the original doctor's certificate. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency then assesses your ability to work in relation to your ordinary duties.

Sick leave after day 90

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency assesses your ability to work in relation to your duties and decides on sickness benefit based on the assessment.

Sick leave after day 180

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency assesses your ability to work in relation to common labour market jobs and decides on sickness benefit based on the assessment.

Personal responsibility during illness

You are obligated to take part in rehabilitation to the best of your ability. This means that you must provide your employer with the information necessary to chart your working ability and need for rehabilitation. For example, this can mean taking part in rehab meetings, writing a return-to-work plan and taking the measures you and your employer have agreed on.

Sick leave for more than 60 days

Your manager is responsible for your rehab and must, in consultation with you, write a return-to-work plan if your working ability is expected to be completely or partly reduced due to illness for at least 60 days. The plan must be completed by the time you have been on sick leave for 30 days.

If your health does not allow you to go back to work, a plan does not need to be written, with or without rehab measures. The plan is written when your health has improved.

Sick leave on more than 6 occasions during 12 months

If you have been ill more than 6 times during a 12-month period, you and your manager must discuss why and possibly write a plan to improve your health. Under specific circumstances, a doctor's certificate may be required for shorter periods of illness.

If necessary, an employee can be off work without deduction of pay to attend certain medical and dental appointments. This applies in the following situations:

• visits to doctors, occupational health services, outpatient clinics or maternity centres (pregnant women) and appointments to donate blood;
• examinations or treatments following a referral from a dentist or doctor and in the event of acute dental problems.

A visit can be a visit to a doctor or, for example, a district nurse, physiotherapist, counsellor or midwife.

Outpatient care refers to all medical care provided when the employee is not hospitalised, such as X-rays or physiotherapy.

If necessary, an employee who is about to become a parent but is not the pregnant partner may take leave without deduction of pay, on two occasions per childbirth, to accompany their pregnant partner to a maternity centre. This applies up to the 60th day before the estimated date of birth of the child. After this date, parental benefits can instead be paid under the Social Insurance Code.

Employees decide on the time for such visits in consultation with their line manager. 

If you fall ill while on holiday in Sweden or abroad, you are permitted to change your holiday leave to sick leave. In such cases, you must report your illness in Primula as soon as possible and notify your manager that you wish to change your holiday leave to sick leave. Remember that you must submit a doctor's certificate after day 7. After the 14th sick day, it is not guaranteed that holiday leave can be changed to sick leave.

If you have an employment which lasts more than one month, or if you have worked continuously for at least 14 days, you have the right to receive sick pay from your employer the first 14 days of your sick period.

Secrecy applies to information regarding individuals' health.

Who is entitled to reimbursements for healthcare expenses?

All SLU employees are entitled to reimbursements.

Employees who are on unpaid leave are also entitled to reimbursements for healthcare expenses during the first 30 days of their leave. Reimbursement is also available to employees who are on parental leave and in receipt of the parental benefit supplement or salary supplement, temporary parental benefit, and for employees on sick leave.

Taxation

Reimbursement for medical care and medicine is a taxable benefit.

Medical care

You are entitled to reimbursement for medical care worth up to SEK 95 per visit. The receipt must state that the payment concerns medical care. 

You need to apply for the reimbursment within two years from the appointment.

SLU does not reimburse medical treatment given during a visit to a nurse or specialist nurse.

Preventative healthcare such as medical examinations, smear tests and prostate checks are not reimbursed.

Dental care

The employer does not usually reimburse dental care. Surgical treatment at hospitals or odontological institutions is exempted. For such treatments, you receive the same reimbursement as for doctor's visits.

Physiotherapy/occupational therapy

For visits to a physiotherapist or occupational therapist, you may receive reimbursement worth up to SEK 55 per visit. Please note that visits to a naprapath, chiropractor or similar do not count as physiotherapy.

Psychological treatment

Reimbursement for treatment by a psychologist is up to SEK 95 per visit. You can also be reimbursed for treatment by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

Hospital care

Reimbursement for hospital care is up to SEK 70 per day. You must personally pay the invoice and then apply for reimbursement.

Medicine

On 1 January 2024, procedures for applying for reimbursement for prescription medication changed. 

You can only apply for reimbursement for prescription costs once per year. We therefore recommend that you wait until you have reached the high cost protection limit. Details about the high cost protection limit are available on the Swedish eHealth Agency’s website.

You can prove your costs with an extract from the high cost database available from the Swedish eHealth Agency. The extract contains a list of your purchases over the past 15 months. You can only apply for reimbursement for the current year. Applications must be received by 31 January in the calendar year after the costs were incurred.

Example: Costs for 2024 must be registered in Primula by 31 January 2025. You may only register once per year.

X-ray treatments

X-ray treatments (excluding mammograms) will be reimbursed up to a maximum of 95 SEK per visit.

Travel reimbursement

You may be reimbursed for some of your travel expenses to and from hospitals and surgeries. The regulations can be found in a folder at all surgeries. The county councils pay the reimbursement.

Reimbursement of compensation of healthcare expenses

Apply for reimbursement for healthcare expenses in Primula self-service, print the form in question. For medical treatments, attach the original receipt or a verified, paid invoice together with a bank statement. For prescription medication, attach an extract from the high cost database available from the Swedish eHealth Agency. Send it to your administrator at the institution (invoices cannot be sent directly to SLU for payment).

Occupational health services are an external expert function for issues related to work environment and rehabilitation. In order to prevent work-related ill health and enable employees to return to work as soon as possible after long-term sick leave, SLU has an agreement regarding occupational healthcare for all employees. Managers and employees can make appointments in Swedish and in English. Basic services are paid for by the Division of Human Resources and additional services are paid for by the department/equivalent.

If you have any questions, please contact your HR-specialist.