Proposal for stricter sick leave controls rejected

A proposal that Austrian employers should not have to pay the first day of sick leave has been rejected by both parties in the coalition government. Opponents say sickness figures have already dropped from 13 days per employee in 2000 to 10.8 days in 2010 and no further measures are needed. However, the Austrian Business Alliance’s proposal came in response to the publication of data showing that sickness periods of between one and three days had more than doubled since 1990.

Proposal to stop first day of sick leave pay

Peter Haubner, General Secretary of the Austrian Business Alliance (ÖWB) which is affiliated to the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), has said that the first day of sick leave should not be paid by employers. His proposal was put forward after the publication of data showing that while total sick leave figures had decreased over the past few years, short-term sickness (of one to three days) had increased.

In 1990, 185.8 short-term sickness absences were counted per 1,000 employees, using data based on calculations by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). This had increased to 411.5 instances of short-term sick leave per 1,000 employees in 2010.

The argument was quickly picked up by the Austrian Workers’ Federation (ÖAAB), which is also affiliated to the ÖVP. Gabriele Tamandl, recently elected Chair of the Vienna branch of the ÖAAB, has suggested stricter control of sick leave, and she has been supported by the organisation’s Federal Chair, Johanna Mikl-Leitner. The ÖAAB suggests that if companies can provide evidence that employees are often absent from work on Fridays, Mondays and workdays that fall between a public holiday and a weekend, employers should be entitled to demand immediate checks through the social security institutions.

Sick leave regulations

Entitlement and length of sick leave differs by the category of employee, and according to their length of service:

• within the first five years of employment, white-collar employees are entitled to six weeks’ paid sick leave, and blue-collar workers to four weeks of sick leave;

• between five and 15 years of service, white-collar workers are entitled to eight weeks, blue-collar workers to six weeks;

• between 15 and 25 years of service, white-collar workers are entitled to 10 weeks, blue-collar workers to eight weeks;

• after more than 25 years of continuous employment, white-collar workers are entitled to 12 weeks, blue-collar workers to 10 weeks.

When the full pay entitlement period has been reached, employers are obliged to pay sick employees half pay for a further four weeks in any one year, and the other half of their usual wages is paid by insurance providers. After that, insurance benefits may be paid for up to a year.

When health insurance providers are concerned about an excessively long period of sickness, or about an employee who frequently takes sick leave, checks can be made to find out whether such employees are capable of working. In Vienna alone, the regional health insurance fund (WGKK) conducted 188,921 control investigations in 2010, and 38% of those examined were considered to be capable of working. In 2010, 32% of all sick leave periods in Austria lasted between four and 17 days and 40% lasted 36 days or longer.

According to the WGKK, viral respiratory diseases (coughing, sneezing and hoarseness) have been the number one cause of sick leave for the past 13 years, accounting for almost 40% of all illnesses.

In general, the number of sick days per worker has decreased significantly over the past decade. In 2000, 13 working days per employee were lost due to sickness. In 2010, the average was 10.8 working days per employee. The Austrian Working Health Monitor (in German) 2009 reported 42% of employees declaring that within the past six months they had gone to work at least once even though they were sick (AT1001029I).

Widespread criticism

The proposals by the ÖWB and the ÖAAB have received widespread criticism from all sides, even from affiliates of the ÖVP and its partner in Austria’s coalition government, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ).

ÖVP member Reinhold Mitterlehner, Federal Minister of Economy, Family and Youth, is not in favour of the proposal to cut the first day of sick pay, believing the social partners should decide such issues and that the measure might have the effect of making employees stay at home longer.

Alois Stöger, a member of the SPÖ and Minister for Health, says workers who are sick need to recover from illness and not be penalised. Fellow SPÖ member Rudolf Hundstorfer, Minister of Social Affairs, Labour and Consumer Protection, agrees that it should not be assumed that employees are on sick leave ‘for fun’. He said if sick leave accumulates for a specific worker, a solution should be found within the company, with the involvement of the employee, the works council and the human resources department.

Organised labour has also fiercely rejected the proposal. The Chamber of Labour (AK) has described it as bureaucratic and narrow-minded, and says the proposals are not justifiable due to the fact that the number of sick leave days per employee have dropped significantly over the past decade.

The President of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB), Erich Foglar, suggests that healthy working conditions, a good working climate and well-planned workflow processes contribute towards a reduction in sick leave days. He added that companies and employer organisations should be thinking about health promotion measures instead.

Bernadette Allinger, Working Life Research Centre (FORBA)