“It is urgent to review the retirement allowance, but the task should be changed and clarified and linked more closely to the work of the Government Office,” writes Social Security Minister Anna Tenje (M) in a written comment on the government’s decision.
She writes that the government wants to see an internal, broader investigation and that a working group should be appointed immediately and start working. The government believes, she writes, that the qualifying period deduction “fulfills an important function as a deductible to counter unjustified high short-term sickness absence.”
The suspension deduction was introduced instead of the suspension day in the health insurance in 2019 so that the salary deduction in case of illness would be fairer, for example for those who work shifts or fewer, but long shifts, compared to those who work a five-day week Monday to Friday.
During the pandemic, temporary rules were introduced which meant that anyone who fell ill, or had to stay home from work due to the slightest suspicion of a risk of infection, received compensation for the salary deduction afterwards.
The internal investigation that the government will launch will, among other things, study how the waiting period has worked compared to the waiting period.
Anna Tenje emphasizes that the investigation must also analyze the need for a deductible in case of ongoing sick leave to “counteract unjustified high sickness absence”.
“If it is deemed justified, changes to the qualifying period must be proposed,” she announces.
The internal investigation must result in a report, a ministry memo, by December 15 this year at the latest.