Rapport 2015-4

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The Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate (Inspektionen för
socialförsäkringen, ISF) is an independent supervisory agency for the
Swedish social insurance system. The objectives of the agency are to
strengthen compliance with legislation and other statutes, and to
improve the efficiency of the social insurance system through system
supervision and efficiency analysis and evaluation.
The ISF’s work is mainly conducted on a project basis and is
commissioned by the Government or initiated autonomously by the
agency. This report has been initiated by the agency.
Background and objectives
How the cost of sickness absences should be divided between the
state, the employer and the insured has frequently been the subject of
debate in Sweden. Several European countries have adopted systems
in which employers are financially responsible for a part of the
sickness insurance costs of their employees. Since 1992, employers in
Sweden have been liable for the initial period of sick leave, usually
two weeks, through so-called sick pay (sjuklön). The intention is that
this should motivate employers to prevent sickness absenteeism
among their employees. After the initial sick pay period, the state
covers the cost of all sickness benefits. In January 2005, the system
was reformed, and a so-called employer co-financing scheme
(Medfinansieringsreformen) was introduced, which meant that the
employer had to pay 15 percent of the sickness benefits for workers
who received sickness benefits full time. The employer co-financing
scheme was abolished in October 2006.