Helsingborg entrepreneur Ann Larsson, founder and CEO of staffing company Processbemanning, has calculated that eliminating Sweden's sick pay waiting day (karensdag) would cost her business nearly one million kronor per year. The proposal to pay employees from the first day of sickness absence has become a major election issue in Sweden. Larsson expressed concern that political parties are making campaign promises that businesses, not the government, would have to fund.
"Parties are making election promises that they themselves won't pay for, but rather the employer," Larsson stated. Her company, Processbemanning, provides staffing services to industries across western Skåne, including Malmö, Lund, Ängelholm, and Helsingborg. While the company reportedly has relatively low sickness absence rates, Larsson noted that when absences do occur, they are primarily short-term absences that employers must cover.
Parties are making election promises that they themselves won't pay for, but rather the employer,
The debate over sick pay policies is intensifying across Europe as countries grapple with weak economic growth and rising sickness absence rates.