Sick pay in Finland: employer duties and Kela benefits

    Editorial update 26.10.2026

    Editorial: StartHealth (general employer guide, medical review pending)

    Sick pay in Finland depends on the Employment Contracts Act, the applicable collective agreement and any better contractual terms. Kela sickness allowance is separate from the employer’s pay obligation. Finland, position as at 26 October 2026.

    What does sick leave mean?

    Here, sick leave means absence because illness prevents an employee from performing their work. The employee notifies the employer under workplace instructions and provides reliable evidence when required. A clinically assessed absence period, a payroll entry and the period of paid leave are not necessarily identical.

    Self-certification may suffice within an agreed policy. If a certificate is required, the employer should identify accepted evidence and its delivery route. A certificate does not determine every pay entitlement, and a remote appointment does not guarantee a certificate. A written process reduces case-by-case guesswork for a small office team.

    Statutory sick pay and collective agreements

    Under chapter 2 section 11 of the Employment Contracts Act, the starting point is full pay for the onset day and through the following ninth working day when employment has lasted at least one month and illness prevents work. For employment lasting less than one month, the starting point is 50% of pay. Check the other statutory conditions and applicable collective-agreement provisions separately.

    A collective agreement, or työehtosopimus (TES), may provide a longer paid period and rules about evidence. Do not assume pay ends at the statutory baseline. Check how employment duration and linked sickness periods affect the applicable agreement.

    Payroll instructions should identify the agreement, responsible person and necessary information. Explain the basis of the paid period to the employee. Obtain advice about an unclear agreement rather than borrowing another company’s calculation method.

    Kela’s waiting period is not automatically unpaid leave

    The ordinary waiting period for Kela sickness allowance is the onset day plus the following nine weekdays. This concerns when the benefit starts, not a universal unpaid period for employees. Employer sick pay may be due during the same time under legislation or the collective agreement.

    Where an employer pays salary during sickness absence, Kela pays sickness allowance to the employer subject to benefit conditions. This does not promise reimbursement of every wage cost. Keep salary payments, the benefit application and the later Kela decision distinct in payroll planning.

    Long sick leave: how long does pay continue?

    There is no single end date for paid long-term sick leave covering every employee. Determine the paid period from legislation, the collective agreement and agreed terms. When employer pay ends, any employee entitlement to Kela sickness allowance is assessed separately: an internal absence entry does not start benefit payments.

    Agree who explains changes in pay, who submits application information and how contact continues. The employer notifies occupational healthcare once absence has lasted a month, or 30 days. The occupational-health statement on remaining work ability is needed before 90 sickness-allowance days. These are different checkpoints and should not be treated as the same counter.

    Plan a return through practical work arrangements with occupational healthcare. Focus on tasks, workload, actions and follow-up. Do not record a diagnosis in a shared work-allocation memo.

    Part-time sick leave and partial sickness allowance

    Informal references to part-time sick leave often concern an arrangement supported by osasairauspäiväraha, Kela’s partial sickness allowance. It is not an automatic right to halve the working day. The arrangement is voluntary, requires agreement between employee and employer and needs medical assessment of suitability.

    Working time is reduced by 40–60%, and part-time work must be agreed for at least 12 weekdays. Check the remaining Kela conditions and document working hours, duties, pay and follow-up. Employer–employee agreement alone does not guarantee the benefit.

    Workload must genuinely decrease with hours. Compressing a full day’s duties into a shorter day is not a useful return plan. Adjust client responsibilities and meetings too, and make clear who handles tasks outside the agreed working time.

    Long absence and annual leave

    Annual-leave accrual, transfer because of illness and other holiday rights depend on the Annual Holidays Act and collective agreement. Long absence does not automatically mean no leave accrues, and transfer of all holiday days is not automatic. Ask payroll to check accrual and any transfer-request conditions promptly.

    Kela’s guidance explains how annual leave affects sickness allowance and partial sickness allowance payments. An employer’s holiday decision and Kela’s benefit decision do not replace each other. Check benefit consequences before changing annual leave or an agreed part-time arrangement.

    Employment continuity during long sick leave

    Long sick leave does not automatically terminate employment. Any termination is assessed under separate conditions in chapter 7 of the Employment Contracts Act. A work-ability discussion is not itself a dismissal decision and does not guarantee an outcome.

    Explore appropriate adjustments and the conditions for continuing work. Employees can seek union advice and employers can consult their own adviser. An individual termination situation requires legal assessment; do not place an automatic termination day limit in a sickness-absence policy.

    Illustrative example and privacy

    A fifteen-person company checks the paid period for a continuing absence against its collective agreement. A designated person receives evidence confidentially, payroll handles necessary benefit information and the manager discusses work arrangements. Neither the certificate nor the medical reason is posted to ordinary Slack; health records are kept separate from other personnel information.

    Next step

    Align service coverage, self-certification rules and certificate handling with payroll’s collective-agreement check. Name a responsible person so employees receive one consistent instruction rather than conflicting answers.

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