Information package: Sickness absence

One of Kela’s responsibilities is to compensate for the loss of earnings by paying sickness allowance for long absences that are caused by illness. The following is a brief overview of the current state of sickness absences compensated under the sickness allowance scheme and of recent trends. At the end, you will find links to more material on this topic from Kela, including statistics and studies on sickness absences.

The number of recipients of sickness allowance remained unchanged in 2024

A total of 306,000 persons received sickness allowance payments from Kela in 2024. The number of recipients remained more or less the same as in 2023.

Mental health disorders were by far the most common reason for being paid sickness allowance in 2024, with over 100,000 recipients as in the previous year. Approximately 77,000 people were paid sickness allowance due to musculoskeletal disorders.

In recent years, receiving sickness allowance because of mental health disorders has become more common, while the role of musculoskeletal disorders has diminished. However, the increase in absences caused by mental disorders seems to have levelled out for the time being.

In recent years, approximately 9–10% of the total non-retired, working-age population between 16 and 67 have been paid sickness allowance annually.

The number of persons who were paid sickness allowance due to anxiety disorders has increased to over 50,000

Of mental health disorders, anxiety disorders are now the most common reason for receiving sickness allowance. In 2024, more than 50,000 people were paid sickness allowance because of an anxiety disorder. There are now over 2.5 times as many persons receiving sickness allowance because of an anxiety disorder as there were in 2016. The percentage of people in this diagnosis group who were paid sickness allowance in 2024 increased by approximately 3% compared with the previous year.

Of mental health disorders, the second most common reason for receiving sickness allowance is depressive disorders. However, the number of persons receiving sickness allowance because of depressive disorders has no longer increased in recent years. The percentage of persons who were paid sickness allowance based on depressive disorders decreased by approximately 5% in 2024 compared with 2023.

Mental health disorders also the most common reason for sickness allowance

In 2023, Kela paid sickness allowance for a total of 14.8 million days. The number of days decreased by 263,000 compared to the previous year. Total expenditure on sickness allowances came to 924 million euros.

In addition, partial sickness allowance was paid in 2024 for 2.3 million days at a total cost of 87 million euros. Of the total days on sickness allowance and partial sickness allowance, the percentage of days on partial sickness allowance has been increasing and stood at 13% in 2024. 

Mental health disorders accounted for a good third (36%) of the days on sickness allowance in 2024. The number of days on sickness allowance due to mental health disorders has increased over the past decade and so has their percentage of the total days on sickness allowance.

Especially the number of sickness allowance days granted due to anxiety disorders has risen sharply in recent years. However, since sickness allowance payments due to depression last longer, depression still accounts for the largest percentage of sickness allowance days.

In 2024, musculoskeletal disorders accounted for a fourth (26%) of the compensated days on sickness allowance. The number of compensated days on sickness allowance due to musculoskeletal disorders has declined gradually for more than ten years.

Mental health disorders leading reason for sickness allowance payments among young people, musculoskeletal disorders predominate in older age groups 

The majority of sickness allowance payments made to young people are for mental health or behavioural disorders, while musculoskeletal disorders predominate among older working-age people. 

Sickness absences due to mental health disorders and covered by Kela have increased in all age groups in recent years, with a slightly larger increase among women than among men. Sickness allowance payments linked to mental health disorders have increased consistently in the 16 to 34 age group for more than 15 years. By contrast, a clear increase has been seen in older age groups only in the last few years. The most common recipients of sickness allowance due to mental health disorders are women between the ages of 25 and 34.

Women receive sickness allowance more often than men 

Women accounted for 61% of the recipients of sickness allowance in 2024. There are more recipients in older than in younger age groups.

Marked differences in sickness absences between occupational classes

Traditionally, sickness absences have been more prevalent among both men and women in manual occupations than in non-manual occupations.

However, the gap between different occupational classes has narrowed to some extent in recent years in terms of long sickness absences compensated by Kela, especially among women. By the beginning of the 2020s, sickness absences were as common among lower female non-manual employees as among female manual workers. However, sickness absences continue to be more prevalent among male manual workers than male non-manual employees.

Sickness absences due to mental disorders became more prevalent across all occupational classes in the 2010s, while sickness absences due to musculoskeletal disorders decreased. Among women, the overall change in the differences between occupational classes is explained by the fact that sickness absences due to mental health reasons have become significantly more prevalent among lower non-manual employees while sickness absences due to musculoskeletal disorders have decreased significantly among manual workers.

However, musculoskeletal disorders remain the most common reason for long sickness absences among manual workers. On the other hand, mental disorders became the most common reason for long sickness absences among upper and lower non-manual employees in the 2010s. Both male and female lower non-manual employees have more mental health-based absences than other occupational classes. The sharpest rise in mental health-based absences has occurred among female lower non-manual employees.

The self-employed have fewer sickness absences than salaried workers on average, but the sickness allowance periods granted to the self-employed are longer than average.

Regional differences in sickness absences follow more general regional differences in health status

The regional differences in long sickness absences are aligned with general regional differences in health: the number of sickness allowance payments is above the average among those living in Northern and Eastern Finland, and below the average in Southern Finland, especially in Uusimaa.

The trends observed in sickness absences in recent years have been broadly similar across all regions. The regional differences are also reflected in the distribution of sickness allowance expenditures among the regions.

The sickness allowance data are also used when calculating the Work Disability Index of the National Health Index.

Long sickness absence is often a precursor to retirement on a disability pension

A good third of all sickness allowance periods last for more than 30 days (the allowance is paid for working days from Monday to Saturday). Long periods of sickness absence are often a precursor to retirement on a disability pension. Yet even relatively short sickness allowance payments can be predictive of subsequent disability pension retirement several years into the future. 

Retirement on a disability pension is usually preceded by a sickness allowance payment of about 12 months. Those receiving sickness allowance for a maximum period of time tend to use health services frequently before they retire. A frequent use of health services is also seen before the start of a long sickness absence. On the other hand , those receiving sickness allowance for a long time have relatively low participation rates in rehabilitation organised by Kela or authorised pension providers.

Labour market trajectories following sickness allowance payments often complex

Labour market trajectories are often fragmented after long sickness absences, and once the sickness allowance payment has ended, people frequently move between different labour market statuses. Particularly those with a history of unemployment who begin receiving sickness allowance are a very heterogeneous group with diverse labour market trajectories. Future employment is often unlikely for those whose unemployment is followed by a sickness allowance period.

Not all who use up their sickness allowance entitlement retire, because their application for a pension may be denied or they may not always file an application. Still, few of those who have used up their sickness allowance entitlement return to paid employment. By contrast, the majority of those who have used partial sickness allowance for the maximum period go back to paid employment after the end of their partial sickness allowance period.

Sickness allowance as an indicator of lengthy sickness absences

Sickness allowance take-up is an indicator of the prevalence of long sickness absences in the working-age population. Sickness allowance can be paid to persons between 16 and 67 on account of disability lasting less than a full year, provided that the incapacity lasts longer than the waiting period, which consists of the first day of incapacity and the following nine working days.

A partial sickness allowance can be paid to persons who face work capacity related challenges but who can continue working on a part-time basis while registered as disabled for work.