Health promotion
Educational grants
Psychology
Health promotion
Educational grants
Psychology
SUPPORT AVAILABLE
Members are entitled to sick pay from the sick fund Efling if it has been paid by them to the sick fund for at least six months before they become unemployed due to illness or accident.
Applications must be submitted no later than the 20th of each month to ensure payment at the end of the following month. If the 20th falls on a weekend, applications must be received no later than the Friday before. Applications received between the 21st and 31st of each month are paid out around the 10th of the following month.
The application must be accompanied by:
- A photocopy of a sickness allowance certificate from a doctor, originating from the health care and hospital computer systems. If you are also applying for daily allowance from the Icelandic Health Insurance, an original sickness allowance certificate must be attached to that application. Foreign certificates are not accepted.
- Employment certificate from the employer where the employee's working hours and work proportion for the past 6 months are stated, and which day the person was unpaid due to illness/accident and how many sick days were used.
- If the applicant has been receiving unemployment benefits before applying, a confirmation from the Directorate of Labour is required stating that the person is not receiving unemployment benefits while payments from Efling are pending.
- Completed form regarding the use of the personal tax allowance (persónuafsláttur).
- Other things that may be relevant, e.g.:
- If the applicant has been dismissed by the employer, a confirmation from the Directorate of Labour is required to show that the person is not receiving unemployment benefits while payments from Efling are pending.
- If the applicant is a parent and has been on parental leave for more than 7 months, a confirmation from the Parental Leave Fund must be attached to the application confirming that the applicant is not receiving an extension of parental leave.
- If the application concerns a continuation certificate for sickness benefits, Tax income overview from Skatturinn.
Applicants, please note!
By submitting an application, the applicant authorizes the Sick Fund to present the application and medical documentation to the fund’s medical advisor for review.
In some cases, applicants may be required to provide more detailed documentation or may be asked to attend a medical assessment with the fund’s medical advisor.
The Sick Fund may reject an application for sickness benefits based on the assessment of the fund’s medical advisor.
Conditions for payment of sick pay
A member is entitled to sickness benefits after paying membership contributions for 6 months before losing income due to illness or an accident. Entitlement to sickness benefits begins once the member’s contractual entitlement to sick pay from their employer has been exhausted.
If a member has paid contributions to another sickness fund (of another trade union) within ASÍ or BSRB, their rights are transferred between funds. This also applies to sickness benefit payments received from the previous trade union. See further information under Short-term membership and transfer from another union below.
Right to sickness benefits
- A union member is entitled to sickness benefits from the Efling Sick Fund if contributions have been paid by the member to the fund for at least the six consecutive months prior to becoming without wages due to illness or accidents. The right to benefits begins from the date on which the individual becomes without wages.
- A fund member is required to notify the fund when they are able to return to work or become entitled to benefits from other parties, such as a pension fund or the Icelandic Social Insurance Administration (Tryggingastofnun). Failure to do so may result in the loss of entitlement. Any sickness benefits paid in excess must be repaid by the fund member to the fund.
- Sickness benefits may be paid retroactively for up to three months from the date the application was received by the fund.
- The right to benefits or grants from the fund expires if an application is not submitted within 12 months from the date on which the entitlement arose.
Private sector
Public sector
Members working in the private sector
- Due to illness or accidents - up to 180 days*
- Due to children's sickness - up to 180 days*
- Due to spouse's illness - up to 90 days* provided there is continuous membership of at least 12 months or longer.
- Due to alcohol or drug treatment - up to 90 days*
Continuation payments due to longer illness or accidents:
It follows in special cases and that they have consulted with a vocational rehabilitation counselor and/or the fund's confidential doctor, it is permitted to pay fund members who have been paid less than 1% contribution to the fund for up to an additional 90 days, provided the fund member does not have rights to other payments such as disability, rehabilitation pension or old-age pension, and then daily allowances are paid based on minimum income.
Due to the mother's illness during pregnancy:
Due to the mother's illness during pregnancy, *paid out the seventh month of pregnancy, but no longer than according to the aforementioned rules. The mother can apply for up to a two‑month extension of maternity leave due to illness during pregnancy without affecting her right to maternity leave after birth according to the provisions of law no. 95/2000.
*based on full rights
Public sector - for members working for state, municipalities and self-owned institutions sush as nursing homes, independent kindergardens and Faxaflóahafnir.
- Due to illness or accidents - up to 90 days*
- Due to children's sickness - up to 180 days*
- Due to spouse's illness - up to 90 days* provided there is continuous membership of at least 12 months or longer.
- Due to alcohol or drug treatment - up to 90 days*
Continuation payments due to longer illness or accidents:
It follows in special cases and that they have consulted with a vocational rehabilitation counselor and/or the fund's confidential doctor, it is permitted to pay fund members who have been paid less than 1% contribution to the fund for up to an additional 90 days, provided the fund member does not have rights to other payments such as disability, rehabilitation pension or old-age pension, and then daily allowances are paid based on minimum income.
Due to the mother's illness during pregnancy:
Due to the mother's illness during pregnancy, ***paid out the seventh month of pregnancy*** but no longer than according to the aforementioned rules. The mother can apply for up to a two‑month extension of maternity leave due to illness during pregnancy without affecting her right to maternity leave after birth according to the provisions of law no. 95/2000.
*based on full rights
Members receiving unemployment benefits or on parental leave
Daily allowances are paid for up to 4 months for members working in the general market, but for 3 months for employers who pay less than 1% premium to the fund, such as the State, municipalities and private foundations.
Unemployment benefits are paid for up to 3 months for members of the fund who are unemployed or on parental leave, as long as the fund member has continued to pay the membership fee on their contributions to the union and had the right to sickness benefits before they became unemployed or went on parental leave.
Sick pay is income-related
Payments are 80% of the average salary based on the contribution base in the fund for the six months preceding the member becoming unemployed due to illness, but not exceeding an amount of ISK 854,197 per month, after deductions for benefits from the Health Insurance.
If one has been paying to the Sickness fund for 5 years or longer, the income connection in addition to daily allowances from the Icelandic Health Insurance can amount to up to 100% of the income loss, but to a maximum of ISK 1,029,693 per month. Members who meet this condition are entitled to daily allowances for up to 6 months.
Contributions to the fund (Efling Sickness Fund) must have been received for at least 54 of the previous 60 months in order to meet this condition.
Short-term membership and transfer from another union
If membership in the fund is shorter than 6 consecutive months the member is not entitled to daily allowances, unless it concerns that a fund member has come directly to Efling from another union within ASÍ or BSRB.
Transfer of rights from another trade union within the Icelandic Confederation of Labour or BSRB to Efling can occur if contributions have been paid to the fund by the individual for at least one month and to another health fund of a union within ASI or BSRB for at least the next six months thereafter. Then it is divided by the number of months with Efling, thus there is about six months of continuous membership in two or more unions before the fund member became unemployed due to illness.
Membership fee is calculated from benefits
To maintain rights in other funds at Efling, such as vacation and education funds, a 0.7% membership fee is calculated on daily allowances.
When are daily allowances not paid?
Daily allowances are only paid temporarily to those who become unemployed due to illness and are not entitled to other payments than sickness allowances from the Health Insurance Fund and daily allowances from the Icelandic Health Insurance. Payments are not made when/if a fund member becomes entitled to payments from the Social Insurance Institution or a pension fund such as disability benefits-rehabilitation pension/old-age pension/retirement. Payments are also not made for compensable accidents such as traffic accidents, which are considered mandatory payments and the insurance company is therefore obliged to pay the victim temporary loss of employment.
Renewal of sickness benefit entitlement
The right to sickness benefits is renewed every 12 months, proportionally according to the benefits used, calculated from the date on which benefit payments end in each instance and contributions to the fund resume, in accordance with the ASÍ rules on this matter.
Rules on medical certificates
- The application for sick pay must include a photocopy of a sick pay certificate from a doctor, originating from the health care and hospital computer systems.
- The initial certificate and follow‑up certificates must be Icelandic sick pay certificates.
- It is allowed to submit a foreign first certificate if a member suddenly becomes ill while on leave abroad. The member must provide proof that a pre‑arranged leave abroad was being considered.
Rights with Icelandic Health Insurance
Alongside daily allowance payments from the Health Fund, fund members are entitled to sickness or accident daily allowance payments from the Icelandic Health Insurance.
Health promotion - fitness training
Health promotion grants include physical education, sports, swimming, dance, etc. The grant can be used to purchase a bicycle.
The station, school or club must be a legal entity (ID number and permanent address) with permanent facilities and organized work and must employ approved physical education teachers or instructors.
Up to 23,000 ISK is paid every 12 months, up to a maximum of 50% of the cost.
The application must be accompanied by an original invoice showing the member's name and social security number. If there is no confirmation of payment on the invoice, additional confirmation of payment must be submitted, for example from a bank statement or a payment receipt from the invoice issuer.
Educational grants
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