Swedish sick leave runs on a fixed timetable: day 1, day 8, day 15. Here is who pays at each stage, what the karensavdrag line on your payslip means, and the gaps that catch newcomers on short contracts.
When you need this
You work in Sweden and wake up too ill to go in. Your payslip shows a karensavdrag line you didn’t expect, or your manager has asked for a läkarintyg (doctor’s certificate) and you’re not sure that’s allowed. Maybe you’ve been off a week and want to know what happens next, you’re on a seasonal contract and wonder whether you’re covered at all, or you fell ill on vacation and want those days back.
If you’re a tourist who got sick on a trip, this system doesn’t apply to you. Your own employer and home country decide your pay; the Swedish questions are about care, covered in healthcare as a new resident and the tourist healthcare guide.
How the system works
Sweden splits a period of illness between two payers. For the first 14 calendar days your employer pays sjuklön (sick pay) under the Sick Pay Act. From day 15, if you’re still ill, Försäkringskassan, the state social insurance agency, takes over and pays sjukpenning (sickness benefit).
| Stage | Who pays | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Employer | Report sick to your employer |
| Days 1–14 | Employer: 80% of lost pay, minus one karensavdrag | Hand in a written self-declaration |
| Day 8 onward | Employer, then Försäkringskassan | Show a doctor’s or dentist’s certificate |
| Day 15 onward | Försäkringskassan: sjukpenning | Apply yourself on Mina sidor |
| Days 90, 180, 365 | Försäkringskassan | Your work capacity is tested more broadly |
These rules cover every employee working in Sweden, whatever their nationality. Anyone who works in Sweden is insured for sickness benefit; you don’t need to be a citizen. The design lets short illnesses be handled between you and your employer, with the state stepping in only for longer absences. Your workplace and its culture around calling in sick are covered in Swedish work culture.
Days 1–14: sick pay from your employer
You have the right to sick pay from the first day of your employment. It is 80% of the pay and benefits you lose, for the first day your capacity is reduced plus the following 13 calendar days.
Three duties sit on your side:
- Report on day 1. Sick pay does not cover time before your employer got your report, unless you were prevented from reporting and did so as soon as you could. Do it the way your workplace asks, usually a call or a message to your manager before your shift.
- Sign a written declaration. You give your employer a written försäkran (self-declaration) that you were ill and how much your capacity was reduced. It doesn’t need to name the illness, and the employer doesn’t have to pay until you hand it in.
- Tell the truth. Knowingly false or grossly careless information removes your employer’s duty to pay.
Your health details are protected: staff who see your declaration or certificate in personnel work may not pass them on without authority. If you fall ill again within five days of returning, it counts as the same sick period, with no new deduction.
The karensavdrag
The karensavdrag is an excess taken from your sick pay at the start of each sick period. By law it equals 20% of the sick pay you would get in an average week. For someone working five equal days a week, that’s roughly one day’s sick pay.
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Once per sick period | One deduction, however long the period lasts |
| Relapse within five days | Same period, no new deduction |
| Cap of ten | After ten deductions in twelve months, no more are taken |
| Special high-risk protection | Försäkringskassan can remove it if your illness causes many sick periods |
It replaced the old karensdag, an unpaid waiting day, on 1 January 2019. Many English-language guides and some colleagues still describe the unpaid day; that rule no longer applies to employees, and using it will make your payslip maths come out wrong.
If you’re often ill with the same condition, ask your doctor about särskilt högriskskydd (special high-risk protection). You apply to Försäkringskassan with a doctor’s statement, and if approved you pay no karensavdrag.
Day 8: the doctor’s certificate
The law says your employer only has to pay sick pay from the seventh calendar day after the day you reported sick if you prove the illness with a certificate from a doctor or dentist. In practice, that’s day 8. The certificate doesn’t need to say what you’re ill with.
Book the appointment before day 8, not on it. A video appointment counts as seeing a doctor, and 1177 can be used to book care and to send the certificate to Försäkringskassan if your doctor hasn’t (see digital doctors in Sweden).
Can your employer ask for a certificate earlier? Only for special reasons, in writing, and for at most one year, for example after a pattern of short absences. Försäkringskassan can impose the same requirement. A collective agreement can also set different certificate rules, so check yours.
Day 15 onward: sjukpenning
If you’re still ill and employed after day 14, your employer must report the case to Försäkringskassan within seven calendar days. You apply for sjukpenning yourself in the e-service on Mina sidor; most cases are decided within 30 days.
Sjukpenning is paid when illness reduces your working capacity by at least a quarter, as full, three-quarter, half or quarter benefit. The amount is 80% of your sjukpenninggrundande inkomst (SGI, the income the benefit is based on) after it is multiplied by 0.97, so just under 80% of pay, up to a ceiling. After 364 days within a 450-day frame it drops to 75%.
Longer sick leave is tested in steps called the rehabilitation chain:
- From day 90: could you do other work at your employer?
- From day 180: as a rule, could you support yourself in work that normally exists on the labour market? There are exceptions if you’re likely to return before day 365.
- From day 365: the labour-market test applies, with narrower exceptions.
If you’re expected to be off more than 60 days, your employer must draw up a plan for your return to work no later than day 30. And since 1 March 2026, an employee on full sjukpenning may try working at their employer for two 14-day periods within 365 days without losing the benefit. You and your employer report each trial to Försäkringskassan together at least 14 days ahead.
Before you travel: while on sjukpenning, you need Försäkringskassan’s approval in advance to travel outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or the UK, or the benefit can stop.
Many collective agreements and contracts add top-ups to sick pay or sjukpenning; unions and collective agreements explains where they come from, and Försäkringskassan explained covers the agency itself.
Short and seasonal contracts
This is where newcomers get caught. Two separate rules apply:
- Sick pay (days 1–14): if the agreed job is shorter than one month, the right starts only after you’ve been employed 14 calendar days in a row. Earlier jobs with the same employer count if the gap was 14 days or less.
- Sjukpenning (day 15 onward): you need an SGI, and the law requires income from work in Sweden that is expected to last at least six months in a row or recur every year, and at least 24% of the price base amount a year.
So a three-month summer or ski-season contract can give you sick pay for the first two weeks but nothing from Försäkringskassan after that. Check your contract and ask Försäkringskassan before the season starts; seasonal jobs in Sweden covers the contracts themselves.
A few other situations work differently. If a foreign employer sends you to Sweden, Swedish law doesn’t treat that as working in Sweden, and EU coordination rules can decide which country insures you. Self-employed sole traders get sjukpenning after seven waiting days unless they’ve chosen a waiting period of 1, 14, 30, 60 or 90 days. And without an employer, for example when unemployed, the karensavdrag equals one full day’s benefit.
Sick on vacation
Under the Annual Leave Act, days during your vacation when you couldn’t have worked because of illness don’t count as vacation days, as long as you ask your employer without delay. Report sick as normal; the remaining vacation days are then taken together unless you agree otherwise. The wider vacation rules are in annual leave in Sweden.
Is the karensavdrag being abolished?
Not as of 14 October 2026. Removing it was a campaign issue in the September 2026 election, with parties split on whether to scrap it and who should pay. One earlier proposed date, 1 July 2026, passed without a change, and no bill has been passed since. Until the Riksdag decides otherwise, the deduction applies, and we’ll update this page when that changes.
Practical information
| Item | What to know | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Sick pay (sjuklön), days 1–14 | 80% of lost pay and benefits | 2026-10-14 |
| Karensavdrag | 20% of one average week’s sick pay, once per sick period, max 10 times in 12 months | 2026-10-14 |
| Sjukpenning, from day 15 | 80% of SGI × 0.97 (about 77.6% of income up to the ceiling) | 2026-10-14 |
| Maximum sjukpenning, 2026 | 1,259 SEK per day at 80%; 1,180 SEK per day at 75% | 2026-10-14 |
| SGI ceiling, 2026 | 592,000 SEK a year (10 × price base amount of 59,200 SEK) | 2026-10-14 |
| Minimum income for an SGI, 2026 | 24% of the price base amount, about 14,200 SEK a year | 2026-10-14 |
The ceiling and price base amount change every 1 January; Försäkringskassan publishes the current figures.
FAQ
What is karensavdrag in Sweden?
The karensavdrag is a deduction from your sick pay at the start of each sick period: 20% of the sick pay you would get in an average week. For a five-day week that is about one day’s sick pay. It replaced the unpaid waiting day in 2019, and after ten deductions in twelve months no more are taken.
When do I need a doctor’s note for sick leave in Sweden?
From day 8. By law your employer only has to pay sick pay from the seventh calendar day after you reported sick if you show a certificate from a doctor or dentist. It does not need to name your illness. An employer may require one from day 1 only for special reasons, in writing, for at most a year.
Who pays when I’m sick in Sweden, my employer or Försäkringskassan?
Your employer pays sick pay for the first 14 calendar days, at 80% of lost pay minus the karensavdrag. From day 15 Försäkringskassan can pay sickness benefit, which you apply for yourself on Mina sidor. Your employer must report the case to Försäkringskassan if you are still ill and employed after day 14.
How much is sjukpenning in 2026?
Sjukpenning is 80% of your sickness-benefit qualifying income after it is multiplied by 0.97, so just under 80% of pay. Income counts only up to 592,000 SEK a year in 2026, which caps the benefit at 1,259 SEK a day. After 364 days it drops to 75%. The figures change every January.
Do I get sick pay on a short or seasonal contract in Sweden?
Usually yes for the first 14 days: if the job is shorter than a month, sick pay starts once you have been employed 14 days in a row. Sjukpenning after day 14 is harder, because it needs work expected to last at least six months in a row or recur every year. Check your contract before the season starts.
Has Sweden abolished the karensavdrag?
Not as of 14 October 2026. Removing it was a campaign issue in the September 2026 election, with parties split on whether and how to pay for it, but no bill has been passed and an earlier proposed July 2026 date passed without a change. Until the Riksdag decides otherwise, the deduction applies.
Can I get vacation days back if I’m sick on holiday in Sweden?
Yes. Under the Annual Leave Act, days during your vacation when you could not have worked because of illness do not count as vacation days, as long as you ask your employer without delay. You then report sick as normal, and the remaining vacation days are taken together unless you agree otherwise.
Related guides
- Healthcare as a new resident — finding the doctor who writes your day-8 certificate
- Försäkringskassan explained — the agency that pays from day 15
- VAB: staying home with a sick child — when it’s your child who is ill, not you
- Seasonal jobs in Sweden — short contracts and their sick-pay gaps
- Moving to Sweden for work — the first-month setup that puts you in the system
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Lag 1991:1047 om sjuklön, Socialförsäkringsbalk 2010:110, Semesterlag 1977:480, prop. 2025/26:53) and Försäkringskassan — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.