03 November 2026 12:00 - 12:30

SAL 2.04, 2nd Floor Conference Room, Sir Arthur Lewis Building, LSE, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH

About this event

Many sickness insurance systems leave the first day(s) of sick leave unpaid to deter excessive short-term absence, risking longer spells and contagious presenteeism. Using Swedish administrative register data, I study a policy that refunded the waiting-day deduction with a flat SEK 810 (about #70) per sick spell, claimed by the worker, and that was first switched off, then on, then off again in 2021-22. I compare workers who had previously claimed the refund with eligible workers who had not, within occupation, number of earlier sick spells, earnings group, and week. When the refund ended, claimants' one-day sick spells fell by about 14% relative to non-claimants, and their total sick-pay days by about 9%. The response reversed with similar magnitude when the refund returned, and recurred when it ended again. Although the flat refund replaced a far larger share of a day's pay for low earners (161% for the lowest-paid tenth against 42% for the best-paid tenth), the response is similar in every earnings quintile. In future work, I will incorporate effects on moral hazard and workplace contagion to evaluate the welfare-optimal design of first-day sick pay.

Participants are expected to adhere to the CEP Events Code of Conduct.

Directions

This event will take place in SAL 2.04, 2nd Floor Conference Room, Sir Arthur Lewis Building, LSE, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH.

The building is labelled SAL on the LSE campus map. You can also find us on Google Maps. For further information, go to contact us.

Labour Economics Workshops are part of the CEP's Labour Markets programme.