Burnout sick leave in Finland: pay, Kela and return to work

Burnout is not a disease diagnosis in Finland: it is recorded with the ICD-10 code Z73.0, which is not a disease diagnosis, and according to the Finnish medical reference Terveyskirjasto a burnout diagnosis alone does not entitle anyone to Kela's sickness allowance. A doctor decides on sick leave by assessing whether an illness prevents you from working. If it does, pay and benefits work exactly as in any other sick leave: the employer pays sick pay under the Employment Contracts Act and the collective agreement, and after that Kela can pay sickness allowance.

This guide is for international employees and for founders and managers of startups and growth companies in Finland with 5–25 people. How sick leave works in general is explained in sick leave in Finland. This page is not a symptom test or treatment advice: a doctor assesses health and work ability.

Is burnout a diagnosis in Finland?

No. In Finland burnout (työuupumus) is not a disease diagnosis but an additional code. According to the Prime Minister's Office press release on a burnout study (in Finnish, 8 October 2024), burnout is defined in Finland by the ICD-10 code Z73.0, which is not a disease diagnosis. The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health's page on stress and burnout (in Finnish) describes burnout as a disorder that develops from prolonged work stress and depletes a person's resources. Medical classifications have no diagnosis for it, but it can be recorded alongside a diagnosis as a factor related to the health problem.

Duodecim's Terveyskirjasto article on burnout (in Finnish, updated 27 March 2026) says burnout is not a disease but carries a risk of illness. It also mentions the ICD-11 code QD85, given as an additional code with a diagnosis.

The same press release notes that burnout is an occupational disease in Italy and Latvia and also a disease in Sweden, so rules you know from another country do not carry over to Finland.

Can you get sick leave for burnout in Finland?

Yes, if a doctor finds an illness that prevents you from working. Terveyskirjasto says that a burnout diagnosis alone does not entitle you to sickness allowance, but that sick leave can be part of treatment when factors reduce your ability to work and function. The article adds that an occupational health doctor is best placed to judge the need for sick leave.

Kela's page on sickness allowance says you can get the allowance if you cannot do your usual work due to illness, and that being ill and being unfit for work are two different things. Kela decides on the basis of your doctor's statement. What a certificate contains and what the employer may ask for is covered in the guide to the sick leave certificate.

If exhaustion worries you, book an appointment with occupational health care (työterveyshuolto) or your own doctor. Terveyskirjasto recommends seeking help early, before your ability to function has declined.

How long is burnout leave in Finland?

A doctor decides the length of sick leave case by case, and it cannot be predicted from the diagnosis or from someone else's experience. This guide gives no durations. The law and Kela do set checkpoints for long sick leave, and they apply to burnout too.

Sick pay for burnout in Finland: who pays?

The same rules apply as for any illness. Under chapter 2, section 11 of the Employment Contracts Act (unofficial English translation, amendments up to 329/2023), an employee prevented from working by illness or accident is entitled to sick pay, and must on request give the employer a reliable account of the incapacity. Paid sick leave therefore depends on whether a doctor has found incapacity caused by illness, not on the code used for burnout.

After the statutory minimum, pay continues only if the collective agreement or employment contract says so. When the employer pays salary, Kela pays the allowance to the employer up to the amount of salary paid; the employer must apply within two months of the start of the incapacity, as Kela's sickness allowance page for employers (in Finnish) says. Details are in sick pay in Finland.

Does your employer learn the diagnosis?

Your employer needs to know that you cannot work and for how long, not the details of your illness. Under section 5 of the Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life, an employer may process health data only if it comes from the employee or with their written consent, and only where needed, for example to pay sick pay.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's page on health information says that only designated persons may handle it, that it is kept separate from other data, and that the employer may not register diagnoses entered on medical certificates. Occupational health care may not give the employer your health data without your consent. You may share more if you want to.

How does the return to work after burnout work?

The employer's duty concerns workload, not diagnosis: under section 25 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, once it learns that work strain endangers an employee's health, it must identify the causes and avoid or reduce the risk. A structure for the conversation is in the early support model, and long-term follow-up in work ability management.

Agree on the return before the first working day, between the employee, the manager and, where needed, occupational health care. Work can be adjusted: narrower responsibilities, urgent tasks moved to others and clear availability. Kela's page on partial sickness allowance (osasairauspäiväraha) describes part-time work as a voluntary arrangement agreed on the basis of an assessment by an occupational health doctor or another doctor who knows the working conditions; the allowance is half of the sickness allowance.

The three-party meeting (työkykyneuvottelu) is explained in work ability meetings in Finland. A checklist for the employer while an employee is on burnout leave:

1. Cover the work during the absence and agree how and how often you will keep in touch.
2. Check the paid period in the collective agreement or contract, and apply for Kela's allowance within two months if you pay salary after the waiting period.
3. Notify occupational health care at the latest when the absence has lasted a month.
4. Keep certificates separate from other records, never write the diagnosis in shared notes and never ask about it in front of the team.
5. Agree on the return before the first day: tasks, hours, availability and, if relevant, partial sickness allowance.
6. Set follow-up dates and find out what in the work caused the strain, so the situation does not repeat.

Can you resign while on sick leave in Finland?

Yes. According to the public employment service Job Market Finland's page on resignation, you can resign without giving any special reason, and a notice period then begins. Chapter 6 of the Employment Contracts Act, which governs termination, contains no exception for sick leave.

• Notice period: under chapter 6, section 3, unless otherwise agreed, the employee's notice period is 14 days if employment has lasted up to five years and one month if longer. A collective agreement or contract can set a different period.
• Not working the notice: under chapter 6, section 4, an employee who does not observe the notice period must pay the employer compensation equal to the pay for the notice period.
• Unemployment benefit: Job Market Finland's page on the waiting period says that resigning without a valid reason brings a waiting period (karenssi) of 30 or 45 days; valid reasons include health-related reasons, and the employment official decides.
• Dismissal by the employer: under chapter 7, section 2, illness is not grounds for dismissal unless work ability has been reduced substantially and for so long that the employer cannot reasonably be expected to continue the contract.

These are general rules, not advice for your situation; ask your trade union or a lawyer about your own case.

Is burnout an occupational disease in Finland?

No. Section 26 of the Employment Accidents, Injuries and Occupational Diseases Act (unofficial English translation) defines an occupational disease as one probably caused primarily by exposure at work to a physical, chemical or biological factor. Burnout develops from prolonged work stress and is not a disease diagnosis, so it does not meet the definition.

Rehabilitation for burnout: what does Kela offer?

A doctor assesses the need for rehabilitation. Kela's Oras rehabilitation course is for working adults, including those temporarily off work on sick leave, whose work ability is threatened by mental exhaustion. It is free of charge, you need a doctor's medical statement B or BC, and Kela pays rehabilitation allowance during the course.

When a founder or key person is on burnout leave

In a small company one person's absence can stall decisions, deliveries or a funding round. Make a continuity plan before you need it, about work, not health: who takes decisions and holds bank and signing rights, which systems a deputy can access, who looks after key customers and investors, and what can wait.

If the founder is an entrepreneur rather than an employee of the company, the sick pay rules of the Employment Contracts Act do not apply. Työeläke.fi says Kela uses confirmed YEL income when it calculates benefits for the self-employed, so the YEL income level also affects sickness allowance. The founder's own side is covered in founder burnout in Finland, and what keeps a team well in workplace wellbeing in Finland.

StartHealth's Minimum package is preventive occupational health care without medical care; Basic adds remote appointments, and Support adds in-person appointments based on a remote assessment, with limits confirmed in the offer. Compare the packages.

Where to get help now

Start with occupational health care; your own doctor or health centre also helps. In an emergency or if someone's life is in danger, call 112. The MIELI Crisis Helpline (in Finnish) answers in Finnish around the clock on 09 2525 0111, and MIELI's English page explains how English speakers living in Finland can book crisis counselling.

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