How long does a Swedish employer pay sick pay, and at what rate?

Fourteen calendar days, at eighty percent of the employee's employment benefits. 7 § of the Sick Pay Act (1991:1047) defines the sick-pay period as the first day the employee's work capacity is reduced by illness plus the following thirteen calendar days, and 6 § sets the rate. Calendar days, not working days. A period starting on a Friday is two-thirds gone by the time the next working week ends. The employer pays it through ordinary payroll, with no application to anyone. From calendar day fifteen, responsibility passes to Försäkringskassan, but only once the employer has reported the case; sickness benefit cannot begin before that report is made. Sick pay does not cover time before the employer received the sick report, under the first paragraph of 8 §, unless the employee was prevented from reporting and did so immediately after the obstacle ended.

How is the sick pay deduction calculated, and is it the same as the abolished first unpaid sick day?

No. The karensdag, a whole unpaid first sick day, was abolished on 1 January 2019 and replaced by the karensavdrag. Under 6 § of the Sick Pay Act the karensavdrag is a fixed deduction of twenty percent of the sick pay calculated on the employment benefits the employee is on average expected to receive during a week. That makes it week-based and identical regardless of which weekday the sick period starts, or how many hours that particular day would have involved. It is deducted once per sick period, not once per day and not again for each new spell within the same period. The same paragraph caps it: once ten karensavdrag have been made within the preceding twelve months, no deduction is made for further sick-pay periods. Older templates and internal routines still using the term karensdag describe a calculation that no longer applies.

When is a medical certificate required for continued sick pay in Sweden?

From the seventh calendar day after the sick report, colloquially day 8, under the second paragraph of 8 § of the Sick Pay Act. The provision is framed the opposite way to how it is usually described. It does not grant the employer a right to ask for a certificate; it makes the duty to pay sick pay from that day onward conditional on the employee substantiating reduced work capacity with a certificate from a doctor or dentist. Until then the employee's own sick report is sufficient. An employer wanting one earlier needs special grounds under 10 a §, and the request must be in writing. That is a different provision from 10 §, which gives Försäkringskassan its own power to require an earlier certificate. Stating the day-8 rule up front, as part of the standard sick-reporting routine, makes clear it is a fixed rule rather than suspicion of an individual.

Does a relapse within five days start a new sick-pay period?

No. Under the third paragraph of 7 § of the Sick Pay Act, if an employee recovers and then falls ill again within five days of the earlier sick period ending, the new sick-pay period covers only as many days as, together with the earlier period with the same employer, add up to fourteen calendar days. Nothing restarts. Two consequences follow for payroll. The karensavdrag is not deducted a second time, because it has already been taken for that sick period. And the remaining employer-paid days are fourteen minus the days already used, which also moves the day-15 report forward in the calendar. Getting this right means looking back at least five days into each employee's sick history rather than at the latest report alone. A system that reads only the most recent absence in isolation will get this case wrong every time.

Sick pay in Sweden: what employers pay for the first 14 days

Someone reports sick on a Tuesday. Payroll needs three things: what you pay, for how long, and what to deduct.

Eighty percent of employment benefits, for fourteen calendar days, less one sick pay deduction. Then Försäkringskassan takes over, but only if you have reported the case in time.

The costly parts are the sick pay deduction, which is not an unpaid day and has not been one since 2019, and the day-21 reporting deadline, which decides when your employee actually gets paid.

Throughout this guide, N § refers to a numbered paragraph of the Sick Pay Act (1991:1047) — the shorthand used wherever a rule rests on a specific provision rather than an authority page.

TL;DR

Eighty percent of employment benefits, for fourteen calendar days — that is what you pay before Försäkringskassan takes over.
The sick pay deduction is a fixed 20 percent, taken once per sick period, not an unpaid day.
From day 8, sick pay is due only against a medical certificate.
Report the case to Försäkringskassan on day 15; the report must be made by day 21.
A relapse within five days does not restart the 14-day period or add a second deduction.

How long do you pay sick pay, and at what rate?

You pay eighty percent of the employee’s employment benefits, for the period running from the first day the employee’s work capacity is reduced by illness plus the following thirteen calendar days (7 § of the Sick Pay Act (1991:1047)). Day 1 through day 14, counted in calendar days rather than working days. Throughout, the employer pays, not Försäkringskassan.

The rate is 80 percent of the employee’s employment benefits (6 §), paid through ordinary payroll with no application to anyone.

Sick pay does not cover time before you received the sick report (8 § first paragraph), unless the employee was prevented from reporting and did so immediately once the obstacle ended. Which is the practical argument for a reporting routine that works on a Sunday.

Day	What happens	Provision
Day 1	Sick pay deduction: 20% of an average week’s sick pay, deducted once	6 §
Day 1–14	Sick pay at 80% of employment benefits, paid by the employer	6 §, 7 §
Day 8	Sick pay is due only against a medical certificate	8 § 2nd para
Day 15	Employer reports the case to Försäkringskassan	Försäkringskassan
Day 21	Last permitted day for that report	Försäkringskassan

Next: confirm your payroll counts the period in calendar days. A working-day count runs the employer period nearly three weeks long.

Is the sick pay deduction the same as an unpaid day?

No. Many employers still treat it as a full unpaid day, copying a rule that stopped applying in 2019.

The sick pay deduction (karensavdrag) is 20 percent of the sick pay calculated on the employment benefits the employee is on average expected to receive during a week (6 §).

Three consequences, all of which older routines get wrong:

It is week-based and fixed. The same amount whichever weekday the sick period starts on, and regardless of how long that first day’s shift would have been.
It is deducted once per sick period, not once a day, and not again for every new spell inside the same period.
It is capped. Once ten sick pay deductions have been made within the preceding twelve months, no further deduction is made for subsequent sick-pay periods.

That cap is the one payroll misses, because applying it means being able to look an employee’s sick history a full twelve months back, not just at the current absence.

The abolished first unpaid sick day, or the sick pay deduction?

The abolished first unpaid sick day ended on 1 January 2019 and was replaced by the sick pay deduction. The difference is not cosmetic.

The abolished first unpaid sick day made the first sick day entirely unpaid, however long that day’s shift happened to be. The sick pay deduction is a fixed twenty percent of an average week’s sick pay, deducted once per period. The change was made because the old rule fell unevenly on people with irregular hours. Someone rostered for a short shift on their first sick day lost far less than someone rostered for a long one.

Templates, internal routines and even some collective-agreement text still say karensdag out of habit. Updating them avoids both miscalculation and an employee looking for an unpaid day that the law no longer contains.

Next: search your handbook and payroll notes for “karensdag”. Every hit is either wrong or describing a rule that expired in 2018.

When is a medical certificate required for sick pay?

From the seventh calendar day after the sick report, colloquially day 8, under the second paragraph of 8 §, not 10 § as it is often cited. The provision is framed the opposite way to how it is usually explained.

The law does not give you a right to request a certificate. It makes your duty to pay sick pay for time from the seventh calendar day after the sick report conditional on the employee substantiating reduced work capacity with a certificate from a doctor or dentist. Until then, their own sick report is enough.

Two neighbouring provisions do different jobs, and mixing them up is common:

10 a § — you may require a certificate from an earlier day where there are special grounds. The request must be in writing, and a request covering future sick periods cannot run longer than a year. Not a general routine.
10 § — Försäkringskassan may impose the same requirement, on its own initiative or on your application, where special grounds exist.

The certificate need not name the illness. That is stated in the Act itself, and it is worth knowing before someone asks.

Next: put the day-8 rule in the sick-reporting routine you give every employee. Explaining it once, in advance, is what stops it reading as suspicion of an individual later.

When do you report a sick case to Försäkringskassan?

Report the case on day 15, and no later than day 21. When the fourteen-day period runs out, Försäkringskassan takes over payment, but only if you do your part.

Försäkringskassan states both dates plainly: report the employee on calendar day 15, and the last day the report can be made is calendar day 21.

Day 21 is the single most operationally important number in Swedish sick administration. Sickness benefit cannot be paid until the report exists, so a late report delays your employee’s income, not just an administrative step.

The failure mode is predictable. Attention drifts during a long absence, day 15 passes quietly, and nobody notices until the employee calls to ask where their benefit is. A reminder set around day 10 to 12 leaves margin.

Next: check whether anything in your process fires at day 15 without a person remembering. If not, that is the gap.

Does a relapse within five days restart the sick-pay period?

No. If an employee recovers and falls ill again within five days of the earlier sick period ending, the new sick-pay period does not reset. It covers only as many days as, combined with the earlier period with the same employer, make up fourteen calendar days (7 § third paragraph).

So:

No second sick pay deduction: it has already been deducted for this sick period.
Fewer remaining employer-paid days — fourteen minus those already used, which pulls the day-15 report earlier in the calendar than it looks.

Both require reading at least five days back into the employee’s sick history, not just the latest report. A system that evaluates each absence in isolation gets this wrong every single time it occurs.

Next: when a relapse is reported, check the employee’s sick history for the last five days before opening a new period.

What are the most common sick-pay mistakes?

The ten mistakes below account for most of the payroll corrections employers end up making after the fact.

Mistake	Correct rule	Provision
Treating the sick pay deduction as an unpaid day	It is a fixed, week-based 20 percent deduction; the abolished first unpaid sick day ended on 1 January 2019	6 §
Paying nothing for day 1	Day 1 is a sick-pay day at 80 percent, from which the sick pay deduction is taken, not a blank day	6 §
Deducting the sick pay deduction twice in one period	It is taken once per sick period; a relapse within five days is the same period	7 § 3rd para
Missing the ten-deduction cap	After ten deductions within twelve months, no further deduction applies; track a full year of history per employee	6 §
Counting the fourteen days as working days	They are calendar days	7 §
Requiring a certificate before day 8 as routine	That needs special grounds and a written request	10 a §
Citing 10 § for the day-8 rule	The rule lives in the second paragraph of 8 §; 10 § is Försäkringskassan’s own power	8 § 2nd para
Reporting to Försäkringskassan late	Due on day 15, and no later than day 21; a late report delays the employee’s benefit	Försäkringskassan
Paying holiday pay and sick pay for the same day	Once a day is swapped under the Annual Leave Act it is no longer a leave day; see Sick leave during annual leave in Sweden	Annual Leave Act
Leaving the abolished term in current documentation	It describes a calculation that no longer exists in law	—

Next: run this list against your last five sick cases and see how many of these mistakes show up.

How does Taito.ai help with this?

The sick pay deduction depends on a clean per-employee history: when each sick period started, and how many sick pay deductions have been made in the past twelve months. Taito.ai sets up that record and keeps it maintained.

Sources

Riksdagen publishes the consolidated Swedish text of the Act. There is no citable official English translation, so every rule here is paraphrased rather than quoted. Riksdagen’s SFS pages carry no paragraph-level anchors, so links point at the whole Act and the paragraph number travels in the link text.

Disclaimer

Taito.ai does not provide legal, tax or accounting advice. This article is general information about the law as it stood on the date above, not advice on your situation, and it is not a substitute for it. Rates and thresholds change. Check with a qualified adviser before acting on anything here.

People directory

Time‑off and attendance

Docs and eSign

Performance

People agents

MCP use cases

For founders

For people leads

For operators