The waiting period deduction

The election manifesto demands a humane sickness insurance where someone who becomes ill can rely on the compensation without having to struggle. The party programme wants to see strong, general insurance that carries broad solidarity. The counter-proposal's demand that the investigation of the waiting period and sickness payment be resumed, so that income loss during illness is borne more solidaristically and sickness presenteeism decreases, follows directly from these commitments.

• humane sickness insurancedecisive»Vänsterpartiet vill se en mänsklig sjukförsäkring och ett slut på utförsäkrandet av sjuka.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to see a humane sickness insurance and an end to the disqualification of sick people.”
• general social insurance»Att socialförsäkringarna är allmänna och heltäckande gör dem« (party programme ↗)“That social insurance is general and comprehensive makes it”
• solidarity financing»för att skapa en bred solidaritet kring dem.« (party programme ↗)“to create broad solidarity around them.”
• reliable compensation when ill»När du blir sjuk eller föder barn ska du kunna lita på att få ersättning från Försäkringskassan utan att behöva stånga dig blodig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“When you become ill or have a child you should be able to rely on receiving compensation from the Social Insurance Agency without having to struggle.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto explicitly promises a major reform during the term to change the waiting-day deduction, arguing that the deduction unfairly impacts those who must physically be at work. The counter-proposal's requirement that investigation into the waiting-day deduction and sick leave be resumed promptly for a more equitable distribution of lost income is the same commitment. The plan also stresses that the sick should be able to rely on sickness insurance.

• reform the waiting-day deductiondecisive»Därför vill vi under nästa mandatperiod genomföra en miljardreform för att förändra karensavdraget och öka rättvisan för alla som inte kan jobba hemifrån.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“That is why we want to implement a major reform during the next term to change the waiting-day deduction and increase fairness for all those who cannot work from home.”
• the waiting-day deduction is class unjust»Karensavdraget skapar en ekonomisk orättvisa som slår hårt mot LO-förbundens medlemmar och andra som fysiskt måste vara på jobbet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The waiting-day deduction creates an economic injustice that hits hard against members of LO unions and others who must physically be at work.”
• economic security during illness»Också vid sjukdom är det nödvändigt med större ekonomisk trygghet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Also during illness, greater economic security is necessary.”
• protection against loss of income»Ett gott ekonomiskt skydd när den egna förvärvsinkomsten faller bort är grundläggande« (party programme ↗)“Good financial protection when one's own income disappears is fundamental”

The election manifesto contains the explicit commitment to abolish the waiting period in sickness insurance and that sickness insurance should provide better security during sick leave. The counter-proposal's demand to promptly resume the investigation into the waiting period deduction, so that income loss is borne more solidaristically and absenteeism is counteracted, is a step towards precisely what the plan promises.

• abolished waiting perioddecisive»slopa karensdagen i sjukförsäkringen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“abolish the waiting period in sickness insurance”
• more secure sickness insurance»förändra sjukförsäkringen så den ger bättre trygghet vid sjukskrivning och se till att människor inte bollas mellan myndigheter när de behöver samhällets stöd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“reform sickness insurance so it provides better security during sick leave and ensure that people are not passed between authorities when they need society's support”
• basic economic security»Alla har rätt till grundläggande ekonomisk« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has the right to basic economic”
• raised benefit levels»höja den lägsta nivån i sjuk- och aktivitetsersättningarna« (2022 manifesto ↗)“raise the lowest levels in sickness and activity benefits”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan contains no commitment to alleviate the waiting-period deduction; its line is instead that the work line should be protected and that more money should be spent on the core of welfare and less on benefits. Where the plan addresses sickness absence, it is about more flexible sick leave, better rehabilitation and lower costs for hiring, not higher compensation for illness. The counter-proposal's demand for a resumed inquiry for a more solidaristic income loss therefore does not receive support.

• protect the work linedecisive»Arbetslinjen måste värnas, och den som kan jobba ska inte leva på skattebetalarnas pengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The work line must be protected, and the one who can work should not live on taxpayers' money.”
• welfare core before benefits»Mer pengar ska läggas på välfärdens kärna, mindre på bidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More money should be spent on the core of welfare, less on benefits.”
• flexible sick leave»Vi vill göra sjukskrivningen mer flexibel och förbättra rehabiliteringen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to make sick leave more flexible and improve rehabilitation.”
• cheaper to hire»Det måste bli billigare och lättare att anställa, särskilt personer som står långt från arbetsmarknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It must become cheaper and easier to hire, especially people who are far from the labor market.”

The plan establishes that social insurance shall always contain a deductible and that there shall be a clear link between benefits and paid premiums, while it shall always be worthwhile to work. An investigation aimed at shifting the income loss from illness away from the individual goes against that principle. The counter-proposal's requirement is therefore rejected, even though the plan wants to lighten businesses' sick leave responsibility.

• deductible in social insurancedecisive»Även om det alltid behöver finnas en självrisk ska« (party programme ↗)“Even though there shall always need to be a deductible”
• the work line»Det ska alltid löna sig att arbeta.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It shall always be worthwhile to work.”
• link between benefit and premium»Det ska finnas ett tydligt samband mellan förmåner och inbetalade premier.« (party programme ↗)“There shall be a clear link between benefits and paid premiums.”
• lightened sick leave responsibility for businesses»I första hand bör ett avskaffande av den andra sjuklöneveckan prioriteras.« (party programme ↗)“First and foremost, elimination of the second sick leave week should be prioritized.”

The party programme requires a solidarity-financed social security system that provides reasonable security in case of illness. Investigating the waiting deduction again so that the income loss is borne more solidaristically aligns with that commitment. At the same time, the plan wants replacement levels to be designed so that the individual is stimulated to take measures that lead to return to work, which qualifies this support.

• solidarity-based social securitydecisive»Ett solidariskt finansierat socialförsäkringssystem« (party programme ↗)“A solidarity-financed social security system”
• reasonable security in case of illness»en rimlig trygghet vid sjukdom, arbetslöshet, arbetsskada och pension« (party programme ↗)“reasonable security in case of illness, unemployment, work injury and pension”
• incentives for return to work»Nivåerna på ersättningarna ska utformas så att den enskilde stimuleras att delta i åtgärder« (party programme ↗)“The levels of benefits shall be designed so that the individual is stimulated to participate in measures”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme establishes that taxes and benefit systems should be based on the work line, and the election manifesto explicitly warns that increased benefits weaken incentives to take jobs. The counter-proposal wants to make income loss during illness more solidarily borne, which in practice means higher benefits and weaker incentives. The plan provides no support for resuming an investigation in that direction.

• work line governs benefitsdecisive»Skatter och bidragssystem ska utgå från arbetslinjen.« (party programme ↗)“Taxes and benefit systems shall be based on the work line.”
• work must always pay»De samlade bidragen ska aldrig bli så höga att det inte lönar sig att jobba.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Combined benefits shall never be so high that it does not pay to work.”
• higher benefits weaken work line»Arbetslinjen försvagas ytterligare av att regeringens höjning av a-kassan gjort att även de som nyss blivit arbetslösa tackar nej till jobb.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The work line is further weakened by the government's increase in unemployment insurance making even those newly unemployed decline job offers.”

The plan wants to abolish the waiting period for preschool staff and establishes that it should be possible to stay home when sick instead of working, which is exactly the absence-at-work situation the counter-proposal wants to prevent. It also wants to lower sick-leave costs and ensure a secure and legally certain sickness insurance. Resuming an investigation into the waiting period and sick pay thus aligns with the plan's commitments.

• abolished waiting perioddecisive»Slopa karensavdraget för förskolepersonal« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish the waiting period for preschool staff”
• prevent absence-at-work»Det ska vara möjligt att stanna hemma då man är sjuk istället för att jobba.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It should be possible to stay home when sick instead of working.”
• lower sick-leave costs»Sänka arbetsgivaravgiften och sjuklönekostnaderna för småföretag« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Lower employer contributions and sick-leave costs for small businesses”
• secure sickness insurance»Verka för en trygg och rättssäker sjukförsäkring« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for secure and legally certain sickness insurance”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.