Many applicants for partial sickness allowance will soon not need to provide any other supporting documentation besides a medical certificate A
The application process for partial sickness allowance will be simplified on 1 April 2023. After the change, many applicants will not need to provide any other supporting documentation than a medical certificate A issued by the occupational health physician or other doctor familiar with the circumstances at the applicant’s workplace. Partial sickness allowance can be paid for a maximum of 60 days based on an A certificate. Continued payment requires the more detailed medical statement B. Previously, the B statement was required in all cases.
Starting 1 April 2023, applications for partial sickness allowance will not require any other documentation than a medical certificate A in cases where the incapacity for work is of a short duration and working part-time will not endanger the health and recovery of the employee or self-employed person.
Applications must be accompanied by an A certificate written by the employee’s occupational health physician or other doctor familiar with the circumstances at the workplace. Based on an A certificate, partial sickness allowance can usually be paid for up to 60 days. After that, the more detailed medical statement B is required.
Kela will ask for a B statement as needed
Kela will ask applicants to provide a B statement if it is needed for example to evaluate their need for rehabilitation. A B statement may also be required if there are problems assessing incapacity.
An A certificate is typically used as proof of incapacity for work in illnesses of a short duration, whereas a B statement is a more comprehensive summary of the patient’s illness, work capacity and possible need for rehabilitation.
Eligibility for partial sickness allowance extended
A law amendment introduced at the beginning of 2023 brought changes to the eligibility criteria for the partial sickness allowance and extended the maximum payment period to 150 working days. Further, the amendment makes is possible to work on a part-time basis and continue to complete the waiting period.
The definition of full-time work, as used in the eligibility criteria, also changed. Full-time work now usually means gainful employment with a regular work schedule of at least 30 hours per week. This means that partial sickness allowance is now also available to those whose schedule does not comply with the terms of the relevant collective agreement or meet the definition of regular full-time work in the Working Time Act.