Sickness benefit
Sickness benefit is paid by the employer and the Health Insurance Fund.
A certificate for sick leave can be issued by a doctor to a person insured through their employer. The doctor decides whether or not to issue a certificate for sick leave based on the person’s state of health.
The employer and the Health Insurance Fund pay the sickness benefit to a person based on a certificate of sick leave, the purpose of which is to partially compensate the employee for the loss of earnings during the period of sickness. No benefit is paid for the first three days of sickness. The employer pays the sickness benefit on days 4–8 of sickness. The Health Insurance Fund pays the benefit from the 9th day.
As a rule, the Health Insurance Fund pays out the benefit within a few working days of receiving the information from the employer. The procedure takes longer if, for example, an enforcement agent has issued a legal instrument of seizure, the employer is late with the insurance details, etc.
When calculating the benefit for incapacity for work, the social tax paid on doctoral student benefits, parental benefit, and other benefits paid by the rural municipality, city, or artistic association are not taken into account.
You can view and, if necessary, extract information related to the certificate of temporary incapacity for work on the state portal www.eesti.ee in the e-service ‘Certificates of temporary incapacity for work’
Please note! Employers do not have to pay the sickness benefit if the reason for the leave is an occupational disease, an accident at work (including an accident at work in traffic), a complication/injury resulting from an accident at work, an injury sustained while defending the interests of the state or society or preventing a criminal offence, a transfer to lighter work, or an illness or injury during pregnancy. In such cases, the sickness benefit is paid by the Health Insurance Fund from the second day.
Reimbursement of certificates for sick leave and care leave after parental leave
On 1 July 2024, an amendment to the Health Insurance Act came into force, creating a more favourable procedure for calculating sickness and care benefits for parents of young children when returning to work from parental leave.
The target group are parents of young children up to 3 years of age (incl.) in the calendar year preceding the certificate of incapacity for work, who were on parental leave for part or all of the year in the calendar year preceding the certificate of incapacity for work and who have received:
- the maternity benefit,
- the shared parental benefit, or
- the parental benefit of an adoptive parent.
The sickness and care benefits paid by the Health Insurance Fund are calculated on the basis of either the daily rate of benefit calculated on the basis of the person’s income subject to social tax in the previous calendar year or the daily rate of the shared parental benefit that the person is entitled to. The benefit will be paid at the most favourable rate for the person concerned.
The daily amount of the shared parental benefit is forwarded to the Health Insurance Fund by the Social Insurance Board. You can get more information about the calculation of the daily rate of parental benefit on the website of the Social Insurance Board.
The daily rate of income subject to social tax for the previous calendar year is calculated by the Health Insurance Fund on the basis of social tax data received from the Tax and Customs Board.
If enforcement proceedings have been initiated against you, the Health Insurance Fund is obliged to withhold from your benefit for temporary incapacity for work the amount to be attached and to transfer the amount to the official account of the enforcement agent who sent the attachment notice.
If you feel that the attachment fails to take into account your income and dependants, please contact the enforcement agent who is conducting the enforcement procedure. The enforcement agent can modify the attachment order. The contact details of enforcement agents can be found on the website of the Estonian Chamber of Enforcement Agents and Trustees in Bankruptcy.
For information on enforcement proceedings against you, see the ‘Execution proceedings commenced against a debtor’ page of the state portal
Comparison of benefits for incapacity for work
| Reason for release from work | Number of the reason | Type of certificate | Reimbursement procedure | Duration of payment for an insured event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illness or domestic injury | 1 | Certificate for sick leave | The employer pays the benefit from day 4 to day 8 of the illness. EHIF pays from day 9, the benefit rate is 70%. | Up to 182 days (up to 240 days in case of tuberculosis) |
Traffic injury Complication/illness as a result of a traffic injury | 4
18 | Certificate for sick leave | The employer pays the benefit from day 4 to day 8 of the illness. EHIF pays from day 9, the benefit rate is 70%. | Up to 182 days |
| Quarantine | 10 | Certificate for sick leave | Based on the certificate issued due to quarantine, the employer pays the benefit from day 4 to day 8. EHIF pays from day 9, the benefit rate is 70%. | Up to 7 days |
| Occupational diseases | 2 | Certificate for sick leave | EHIF pays the benefit from day 2, the benefit rate is 100%. | Up to 182 days |
Occupational injury Occupational injury in traffic Complication/illness as a result of an occupational injury | 5 6
7 | Certificate for sick leave | EHIF pays the benefit from day 2, the benefit rate is 100%. | Up to 182 days |
| Injury received while preventing a criminal offence, protecting national or public interests | 8 | Certificate for sick leave | EHIF pays the benefit from day 2, the benefit rate is 100%. | Up to 182 days |
| Transfer to easier work (the start date of the first certificate for sick leave is on or before 14 May 2024.) | 17 | Certificate for sick leave | EHIF compensates for the difference in wages caused by the transfer to an easier work, if the person's salary at the time of the transfer to an easier work is lower than his or her average income for the previous calendar year. If a person is released from work due to lack of easier work, the benefit is paid from day 2 at the rate of 70%. The benefit can only be claimed during pregnancy until maternity leave. | Until maternity leave or up 182 days |
| Giving pregnant people work appropriate to their state of health (the start date of the first sick leave is from 15 May 2024). | 17 | Certificate for sick leave | "The Health Insurance Fund reimburses the difference between the salary for the calendar month preceding the start of the first certificate for sick leave indicated by the employer and the salary for the calendar month of the period of transfer to lighter work. During the period of lighter work, the employer must pay the pregnant person at least 50% of their salary before the start of the certificate for sick leave for the transfer to lighter work. If a pregnant person is released from work due to the absence of lighter work, the Health Insurance Fund will pay compensation from the second day at the rate of 70% of their salary before the start of the first certificate for sick leave." | Until maternity leave or up 182 days |
| Illness or injury during pregnancy | 19 | Certificate for sick leave | EHIF pays the benefit from day 2, the benefit rate is 70%. | Up to 182 days |
| Nursing a child under the age of 12 or a disabled insured person under the age of 19. | 14 | Certificate for care leave | EHIF pays the benefit from the first day of release, the benefit rate is 80%. | Up to 14 days (the start date of the first certificate for care leave is on or before 14 May 2024.) Up to 60 days (the start date of the first care leave is from 15 May 2024) |
| Nursing a sick family member who is ill at home | 12 | Certificate for care leave | EHIF pays the benefit from the first day of release, the benefit rate is 80%. | Up to 7 days |
| Caring for a child of under 3 years of age or for a disabled child of under 16 years of age when the child’s mother is ill or is receiving obstetrical care | 13 | Certificate for care leave | EHIF pays the benefit from the first day of release, the benefit rate is 80%. | Up to 10 days |
| Organ or haematopoietic stem cell donation | 20 | Certificate for sick leave | EHIF pays from day 1, the benefit rate is 100%. | Up to 182 days |
| Temporary relaxation of working conditions not earlier than from day 61 of the sick leave | 21 | Certificate for sick leave | "The Health Insurance Fund reimburses the difference between the salary for the calendar month preceding the start of the first certificate for sick leave and the salary for the calendar month of the period of transfer to lighter work. During the period of temporary relaxation of working conditions, the employer must pay the person a salary of at least 50% compared to the salary before the start of the first certificate for sick leave." | Up to 122 days |