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Home Work life guide page Sick pay Notification to the employer

Notification to the employer

There is no provision in the Employment Contracts Act that obliges employees to report their illness. The reporting obligation is based on the general obligations arising from the employment relationship, which in legal practice have been interpreted to be extensive. Many collective agreements also contain a provision obliging you to report illness without delay.

As a rule, the notification must be made to the line manager. If an employee deliberately neglects the reporting obligation, the result may be that the obligation to pay wages does not begin until the report is submitted.

Determination of incapacity for work

According to the law, the employee must present a reliable account of the incapacity for work upon request.

Collective agreements contain provisions according to which the payment of sick pay requires that the employee presents an account of his or her incapacity for work approved by the employer. The employer can also create its own procedures for reporting that applies to all employees.

Education tips on the topic

You can also learn more about the topic in the online working life training library, which is part of your member benefits. To access the courses, you must sign up to the online training library. If you have already taken advantage of your free membership benefit and started using the service, log in and click directly to the trainings from the links below. If you haven’t yet signed up, you can do so in the Webinars and Courses section in the Oma+ service for our members

Work ability management