The sickness insurance benefits system Abstract This diploma thesis deals with sickness insurance benefits, which create a comprehensive system, whose main goal is to provide social security to economically active people, especially in the case of short term loss of income, due to social incidents, such as sickness, sickness attendance, pregnancy or maternity. This thesis analyses conditions of entitlement of the particular benefits, as well as the calculation of their sum. Due to significant complexity of certain calculations related to sickness insurance benefits, this thesis also contains practical examples. Attention is also paid to some specific areas of sickness insurance, because of their relatively new legislation. The text of the thesis, except for the introduction and conclusion, is divided into four chapters. The first chapter does not deal with the sickness insurance benefits, but rather introduces the concerns of the sickness insurance; outline its development and basic principles. The second chapter focuses on participation in sickness insurance in both employees and self-employed people. The subject of participation in sickness insurance is significant in terms of the assessment of the conditions of entitlement to insurance benefits; due to the participation in sickness insurance being one of...

This thesis examines the reforms of Sickness Insurance that have been realized in chosen countries of European Union. I've focused myself on Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Finland and every single reform step that have been taken in between 2003 -- 2005 in these countries. I've investigated how the situation in each country was before the reform came true and explored the main reasons that I believe have led to these reforms. I've also stated which impacts these reforms were supposed to have and after that I've studied the real impacts and consequences that were brought by this change in each country. You can see these in multiple graphs followed by my explanation whether and why I think the reform step was succesful. Judging by the succes that was noted in examinated countries I've decided which path is best to follow as far as the reform in Sickness Insurance is concerned. Thanks to previous examination of reforms that differs from each another I was at the end able to recommned which steps should be taken in Czech Republic since some kind of Sickness Insurance reform is needed as well. I believe comparing foreign Sickness Insurance reforms and my suggestions can help to improve Sickness Insurance system in CR and lead to the solution of various problems Czech Republic hasn't coped with yet.

Försäkringskassan (FK) har i uppdrag av Sveriges regering att ge ekonomisk ersättning vid funktionsnedsättning och att utreda medicinska förutsättningar för arbete med tillförlitliga bedömningsverktyg. Vid kompletterande bedömning av medicinska förutsättningar för arbete har Försäkringskassan valt det arbetsterapeutiska bedömningsinstrumentet Assessment of Work Performance som en del av aktivitetsförmågeutredningen. En specifik tillämpning med namnet Assessment of Work Performance – Försäkringskassan (AWP-FK) har utvecklats. I tillämpningen ingår tre arbetsuppgifter; namnskyltsbeställning, sortering av post samt montering av hyllor. Syftet med examensarbetet var att undersöka hur yrkesverksamma arbetsterapeuter uppfattar och använder bedömningsinstrumentet AWP-FK. Metoden som valdes var en e-Delphistudie. Urvalet bestod av 11 yrkesverksamma arbetsterapeuter i Sverige som har arbetat med AWP-FK. Resultatet visar att arbetsterapeuterna tyckte att manualen var tydlig. Färdighetsområdet kommunikations- och interaktionsfärdigheter ansåg arbetsterapeuterna var svårt att bedöma med dagens arbetsuppgifter. Slutsatsen blev att det finns utvecklingsmöjligheter för AWP-FK vad gäller manualen, kommunikations- och interaktionsfärdigheter samt utveckling av nya arbetsuppgifter. I diskussionen diskuteras metodens tillförlitlighet och dess begränsningar. Metoden var fördelaktig eftersom svaren från runda ett gick att följa upp genom en konsensusberäkning. Slutsatsen blir att det är svårt att bedöma kommunikations- och interaktionsfärdigheter. Vidare diskuteras att det behövs fler arbetsuppgifter som bedömer kommunikations- och interaktionsfärdigheter samt att detta färdighetsområde bör utvecklas.

I denna uppsats behandlas ohälsans regionala utveckling och syftet är att analysera vad som påverkar den svenska ohälsan. Teori angående hushållens val mellan fritid och arbete används för att analysera resultaten från den empiriska undersökningen. Bakgrunden till denna uppsats bottnar i utvecklingen av ohälsotalen som har ökat med 5,1 dagar mellan åren 2000 och 2004. De empiriska resultaten påvisar att arbetslösheten har ett positivt samband med ohälsa och att kvinnor tenderar att vara mer sjuka än män. Vidare bekräftar resultaten att inkomsten har ett negativt samband med ohälsa och detta är även sant för stora företag. Följaktligen har små företag en positiv inverkan på ohälsotalen och en analys av kommuner belägna i den norra delen av Sverige påvisar ett högre ohälsotal än övriga kommuner. Vidare är individernas ålder en faktor som kan förklara utvecklingen av öhälsotalen. Dessa resultat bekräftar att arbetslöshet, kön, inkomst, företagsstorlek, ålder och kommuner belägna i den norra delen är faktorer som kan förklara ohälsotalens utveckling, men även andra faktorer är av betydelse. / This thesis examines the regional development of ill-health and the purpose is to analyse factors that tend to influence the Swedish ill-health. Theory of household choice between work and leisure is used when analysing the results of the empirical study. The background for this thesis is derived from the development of ill-health that has increased with 5.1 days between the years 2000 and 2004. The empirical findings show that unemployment has a positive relationship with ill-health and that women tend to be more ill than men. Furthermore, the results confirm that income has a negative relationship with ill-health and this is also true for large companies. Consequently, small companies have positive influence on ill-health and an analysis of the municipalities in the northern part of Sweden points out a higher number of ill-health than the other municipalities. Moreover, the individuals’ age is also a factor that can explain the development of ill-health. These findings confirm that unemployment, gender, income, size of company, age, and the municipalities in the north-ern part are factors that can explain the development of ill-health. However, other factors are important in the process as well.

<p>I denna uppsats behandlas ohälsans regionala utveckling och syftet är att analysera vad som påverkar den svenska ohälsan. Teori angående hushållens val mellan fritid och arbete används för att analysera resultaten från den empiriska undersökningen. Bakgrunden till denna uppsats bottnar i utvecklingen av ohälsotalen som har ökat med 5,1 dagar mellan åren 2000 och 2004. De empiriska resultaten påvisar att arbetslösheten har ett positivt samband med ohälsa och att kvinnor tenderar att vara mer sjuka än män. Vidare bekräftar resultaten att inkomsten har ett negativt samband med ohälsa och detta är även sant för stora företag. Följaktligen har små företag en positiv inverkan på ohälsotalen och en analys av kommuner belägna i den norra delen av Sverige påvisar ett högre ohälsotal än övriga kommuner. Vidare är individernas ålder en faktor som kan förklara utvecklingen av öhälsotalen. Dessa resultat bekräftar att arbetslöshet, kön, inkomst, företagsstorlek, ålder och kommuner belägna i den norra delen är faktorer som kan förklara ohälsotalens utveckling, men även andra faktorer är av betydelse.</p> / <p>This thesis examines the regional development of ill-health and the purpose is to analyse factors that tend to influence the Swedish ill-health. Theory of household choice between work and leisure is used when analysing the results of the empirical study. The background for this thesis is derived from the development of ill-health that has increased with 5.1 days between the years 2000 and 2004. The empirical findings show that unemployment has a positive relationship with ill-health and that women tend to be more ill than men. Furthermore, the results confirm that income has a negative relationship with ill-health and this is also true for large companies. Consequently, small companies have positive influence on ill-health and an analysis of the municipalities in the northern part of Sweden points out a higher number of ill-health than the other municipalities. Moreover, the individuals’ age is also a factor that can explain the development of ill-health. These findings confirm that unemployment, gender, income, size of company, age, and the municipalities in the north-ern part are factors that can explain the development of ill-health. However, other factors are important in the process as well.</p>

A critical task of social policy in most Western welfare states during recent decades has consisted of reducing the economic burden on society due to sick leave, by stimulating participation in the labour market. Many jurisdictions have introduced activation policies, based on the premise that work “per se” has a therapeutic effect on sick-listed workers. People are expected to be “active”, rather than “passive”, recipients of financial benefits. However, there is limited knowledge of how activation policies focusing on return to work (RTW) are carried out in local practice. Against this background, the overall aim of this thesis is to study the local practice of activation policies by analysing how they are received, implemented and experienced by welfare state organizations, employers and sick-listed workers. The analysis has been influenced by theories concerning organization fields, individualization, street-level bureaucracy and organizational governance. In this thesis, the overall aim is investigated in four interrelated papers. In Paper I, the aim is to analyse the perspectives of stakeholders (i.e. welfare state actors and employers) on work ability by studying multistakeholder meetings. Paper II sheds light on activation policy, focusing on early RTW in the context of modern working conditions; the aim is to analyse RTW practice in local workplace contexts, in relation to Swedish early-RTW policy. The third paper focuses on employers, with the aim of analysing their role and activities regarding RTW, in local workplace practice. In Paper IV, the aim is to analyse sick-listed workers’ experiences of the sickness insurance system in their contact with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) and their front-line staff. The empirical material comprises two empirical studies: 1) audio-recorded multi-stakeholder meetings from regular practice (n=9) and 2) semi-structured interviews with sick-listed workers and their supervisors in 18 workplaces (n=36). The analyses of the material have been performed in accordance with the principles of qualitative content analysis. Main findings of the papers reflect strong organizational boundaries in the implementation process of activation policies. Welfare state actors and employers appear to be governed by their own organizational logics and interests, so the actors involved fail to take a holistic view of sick-listed workers and do not share a common social responsibility for individuals’ RTW. This thesis illustrates how current activation policies focusing on RTW are based on a rather idealized image of the standard workplace. There is an explicit or implicit assumption that employers and work organizations are able to welcome sick-listed workers back to work in a healthy way. However, the intensity of modern working life leaves limited room for accommodating people with reduced work ability, who are not considered to have a business value to the workplace. In several cases, findings indicate that the SSIA’s focus on activation and early RTW clashes with the financially oriented perspective of employers. Economic considerations regarding their business take precedence over legal and ethical considerations, and employers have difficulty taking social responsibility for RTW. Sick-listed workers are encouraged to adjust to new workplace settings and environments to meet the demands of the workplace, and, if RTW is not possible, to the demands of the labour market. The findings also show that sick-listed workers experience that contacts with the SSIA are ‘standardized’; i.e., they perceive that the officials are loyal  to demands in their organizations rather than being involved actors who support workers’ individual needs. Sick-listed workers clearly experience that measures in Swedish activation policies have a strong focus on demanding aspects (financial work incentives) and less on enabling aspects (investments in skills). Overall, this thesis illustrates an emerging social climate where sick-listed workers are positioned as active agents who must take responsibility for their sick leave and their RTW process. In a Swedish context, RTW is a matter of activating the sick-listed rather than activating the workplace.

Since numerous legislative changes in sickness insurance in the Czech and Slovak republics are currently occurring, it is worth to analyze their impact on society. Because of the interconnected evolution of sickness and health insurance, it is essential to look at these changes from a broader perspective. Also health insurance regulation constitutes one of the most debated over legal areas due to its enormous implications on the lives of every single one of us. Certain aspects of health insurance reform in the Slovak republic did not go exactly according to the plan and its results are therefore increasingly met with outrage. The aim of the work is to analyze the most interesting aspects of sickness and health insurance reforms in the Czech and Slovak republics and further identify its positives and weaknesses. Furthermore two alternative concepts of sickness and health insurance regulation are described. The social welfare system in the United Kingdom is briefly introduced and the legal framework of the National Health Service is presented as an alternative to the local concepts of Health insurance. Secondly, after successfully implementing large scale reforms in Health insurance regulation, the Netherlands serve as bright example of a market and patient oriented healthcare system with excellent...

Obligations of the employer in sickness and pension insurance Abstract This thesis deals with the individual obligations of the employer in sickness and pension insurance. Sickness and pension insurance are two of the social insurance subsystems. The state does part of its responsibilities in this area through employers, as they have the easiest access to some information. Of course, the state could obtain information from the employees themselves, but this would represent a huge administrative burden on the state and a great logistical problem in how to actually obtain information from the employees. Obligations that an employer must fulfil may be difficult for a small employer who does not want to hire external companies to fulfil its obligations to the state and it can be almost impossible to fulfil all obligations properly. The most well-known obligations of employers, of which (perhaps) all citizen-employees know, are payments into the sickness and pension insurance system in the form of social security contributions. The employer pays the social security contributions for himself and his employees. However, this is certainly not the only obligation of employers. There are many more of obligations and they are regulated in various pieces of legislation. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to present...

Material welfare of families with children Abstract This thesis deals with material welfare of families with children from its history to the present. This subject matter is highly discussed topic nowadays. Thesis focuses on comprehensive presentation of this issue, points on some problems in practice and proposes recommended alternations "de lege ferenda". Solidarity was noticed in Neolitic age, in antient Greece and Rome already. In the Middle Ages we can mention mutuality. Security system as we know has been formed in the modern history since 1848. International law was reflected in internal legislation during the half of 20th century due to effort of raising social rights level. Social rights are embedded in either primary and secondary law in European law. Social security law unification is not required in European secondary law and method of convergence is applied. Thesis focuses on benefits provided in case of social events, pregnancy and maternity, parenthood, dependent child, insufficient income, sickness and death. Social insurance consists of sickness insurance, health and pension insurance. Benefits provided by sickness insurance are based on insurance principle, concerning sickness benefit, attendance allowance, maternity benefit, compensatory benefit in pregnancy and maternity, paternity...

The principal aim of the thesis is to chart the development of social insurance in the Czech Republic and the sub-goal is to evaluate the influence of changes in the social insurance on social incomes of the Czechs. The practical part is at first focused on the development and changes of the social insurance in a social security insurance, sickness and retirement insurance from 2005 till now. Then there is a description of the development of social incomes in the Czech Republic from 2005 till 2009 followed by a comparison of social incomes with full incomes of the Czech inhabitants. Subsequently, a comparison of the social benefits with the disposable income in the Czech Republic and the European Union is done. In conclusion, there is an evaluation of the effectiveness of the changes in the social insurance system connected with the social incomes of the Czech inhabitants.