Is part-time sick-leave helping to return to work?

The rules of the Swedish social insurance that cover the compensation for the earnings loss due to sickness are relatively unique from an European perspective. For example, the possibility to be on part-time sick leave and that there is not an official upper limit for how long a person can be on sick leave. On one hand, the combination of these two rules offers an alternative way to return gradually to work when the working capacity of a person was diminished by at least 25%. On the other hand, this combination can result in periods of sick leave that are longer than "necessary". This project aims to set-up both a theoretic and an empirical framework for the process of part-time sick-leave. It aims to develop behavioral models for both the individual and the employer, for which hypotheses will be empirically tested.

This project has three objectives. First, it aims to analyze if the duration of the sickness period with partial compensation becomes longer than necessary. Second, it aims to evaluate if the part-time sick-leave works like a vocational rehabilitation (i.e., helping people to return fully to work afterwards). Third, it aims to analyze the part-time sick leave separately for women and men.

This project aims to test the following hypotheses:
1) There are differences between duration of sick-leave of employees and unemployed across the regions. 2) There are differences between use of part-time sick leave across regions, sectors, and occupations. 3) There are differences between the use and duration of part-time sick leave across diagnoses.