Questions about getting sick while unemployed

What should I do if I get sick while I am temporarily laid off or unemployed?

If you have been sick for more than 10 days, report the illness in your application for earnings-related daily allowance. Apply for sickness allowance from Kela if your sickness lasts more than 10 days. Kela’s sickness allowance is the primary benefit in cases of illness.

Sickness allowance and earnings-related daily allowance cannot be paid at the same time. If you received an earnings-related allowance before you fell ill, we can continue to pay you the earnings-related allowance during the qualifying period for the sickness allowance from Kela.

If your sickness lasts up to 10 days, it will not affect the payment of your earnings-related allowance. Short-term illnesses do not need to be reported in the application.

If you are participating in a service that promotes employment and have to be absent due to illness, be sure to report the absence in your application for earnings-related daily allowance.

For more information about sickness allowance, visit the Kela website.

I am on an extended sick leave and have received a sickness allowance from Kela for the maximum 300 days. My disability/incapacity for work continues. Can I apply for earnings-related daily allowance even though my employment relationship has not ended?

You can apply for earnings-related allowance from us while you wait for the pension company’s decision on your disability pension. You can submit your first application for earnings-related daily allowance about two weeks after the end of the maximum sickness allowance period.

Please remember to sign up with the employment authority as soon as your sickness allowance period ends.

In your application for earnings-related daily allowance, include the following documents:

• Employer’s statement on whether the employer can offer you work that suits your work ability.
• Information about where you have applied for a rehabilitation allowance or disability pension. We also need to know whether the process is still pending or whether a decision has been made.
• Valid medical certificate for a sick leave. If you wish, you can hide any information regarding your health and diagnosis.
• Pay certificate for the period that meets the employment requirement. Periods during which you have received partial sickness allowance or reduced sick pay are not counted towards the employment requirement. The certificate must specify any holiday bonuses, holiday compensation and performance-based bonuses, including the periods during which they were earned. Unpaid and partially paid periods, along with the reasons for them, must also be indicated on the certificate.
  • Attach a pay certificate covering the most recent 26 weeks that meet the employment requirement if your most recent wages, holiday pay or full sick pay were paid for a period prior to 2 September 2024.
  • Attach a pay certificate covering the most recent 12 months that meet the employment requirement if you have received wages that were not reduced due to illness for a period on or after 2 September 2024.