Temporary incapacity for work and absenteeism. Critical aspects of statutory sick pay benefits with implication for and related to absenteeism

Abstract

The combination of temporary incapacity and absenteeism must be addressed by reconfiguring Social Security regulations concerning benefits for this contingency, necessarily orienting them towards the reintegration into work and professional activity of workers whose health has been affected. The absence of a medical-functional assessment of the illness or injury introduces multiple dysfunctions into the regulation of the benefit, which need to be rethought so that a balanced response can be made to all the interests that converge when a person is in a situation of temporary disability. With a holistic and integrative view of the different sectors of the legal system involved, namely prevention (care and safety and health at work), labour (temporary lay-off) and social security (protective guardianship by the public contributory social protection system), proposals are incorporated around this contingency, which should be called financial sickness benefit.