Effective as of January 1, 2023
Article 1 Introduction.
Compensation is paid to fund members in cases of accident and sickness according to the following rules.
Article 2. gr. Sickness allowance and the arrangement of payment thereof.
Those who are full members of Sameyki and enjoy the right to sick leave according to the collective labor agreement are entitled to allowance or subsidy from the fund. In addition, members of the fund who work on the general labor market whose rights are stipulated in Article 3 of these rules. Allowance is only paid temporarily to those who lose their income due to sickness, continue to be employed and are not entitled to other payments than the sickness allowance from Sameyki‘s subsidy and sickness benefit fund and sickness allowance from Icelandic Health Insurance.
Allowances are paid from the fund in the following manner:
a) The fund members´ right to allowance for each 12-month period is:
- Employment period during the past 6-12 months, 45 days
- Employment period during the past 12 months, 90 days
A fund member who has accrued the right to sick leave for 360 days according to a collective labor agreement has the possibility of receiving sickness allowance for 45 days provided that they do not have rights elsewhere. Regarding the right of fund members´ to sickness allowance where the sickness rights take note of the general labor market see Article 3.
Allowance is not paid longer than the intended period of the employee´s employment.
b) Allowance is paid from the time when the contractual wage or salary payments from the employer cease and the sickness has lasted for at least 10 days.
c) The allowance amount shall be 80% of the average total wages and salaries for the last 12 months. If the period of employment is shorter, the average wages and salaries for that period shall be taken into account. If settlement payments occur during the period, i.e., of vacation pay due to termination or retirement which are settled in toto, they are deemed to be future payments for the subsequent months and therefore they do not affect the calculation of the amount of sickness allowance.
d) All months of the year are calculated as having 30 days.
e) Proportional allowance may be paid if a fund member cannot, according to medical advice, work full time due to sickness.
f) Allowance may be paid for up to 60 days due to a long-term illness of the spouse or children of the fund member, provided that they lose wage or salary income because of their illness.
A fund member must, however, have completed one year of membership to benefit from this permission.
g) In relation to a child´s illness, it should be assumed that all other payments in relation to children´s illnesses by the employer or the Parental Leave Fund have been fully used or that an application for further payments has been rejected. Furthermore, the result of an application for caretaking compensation shall be submitted.
h) Due to illness of the mother during pregnancy. Payments are made during the seventh month of pregnancy, however, no longer than according to the aforementioned rules. A member can apply to the Parental Leave Fund for an extension of parental leave for up to two months due to illness during pregnancy without reducing their right to parental leave after birth according to the provisions of Act no. 95/2000.
i) Allowance is not paid in relation to alcohol or drug rehabilitation treatment.
j) If a fund member is entitled to disability or old-age pension, these payments shall be deducted from the sickness allowance. Allowance is only paid temporarily to those who lose their wage or salary income due to sickness, continue to be employed and are not entitled to other payments than the allowances from Sameyki‘s Subsidy and Sickness Benefit Fund and allowance from Icelandic Health Insurance. No payments are made when/if a fund member becomes entitled to payments from the Social Insurance Administration or a pension fund, such as disability pension - rehabilitation pension / old-age pension / retirement pension. Moreover, no payments are made due to compensable accidents, e.g., traffic accidents, which are considered statutory payments and thus an insurance company must pay the victim for temporary loss of employment.
3. gr. Members who work on the general labor market
Members of Part A of the union (members who work on the general labor market) for whom 1% is paid into the fund, shall enjoy comparable rights in relation to cases of accident and illness to the rights generally enjoyed by members of sickness funds on the general labor market for a maximum of 6 months.
- Employment period during the past 6 - 12 months, 90 days
- Employment period during the past 12 months, 180 days
Regarding allowances for the unemployed.
If unemployed persons lose sickness allowances, Sameyki‘s Subsidy and Sickness Benefit Fund can support them with an amount commensurate with 100% of the basic unemployment benefits for up to 45 days.
Unemployed people do not accrue rights while they are unemployed, but they do retain the rights that they had accrued while employed. To obtain this right, membership must be uninterrupted from the termination of employment until payments commence from the Directorate of Labor. No allowance or subsidy is paid if this period is interrupted.
NOTE! The following shall accompany an application for an allowance:
- A recent medical certificate confirming incapacity to work during the period for which sickness allowance is applied. If the medical certificate is uncertain, a renewed certificate must be submitted for every month for which the applicant is entitled to an allowance.
- A certificate from the employer stating when the right to wages or salaries during illness ceased, what date and how long the period of the right was.
- Confirmation of the use of a tax card. A form available on Sameyki‘s My Pages where application for an allowance is made.
- The three most recent pay slips.
Applications and accompanying documents in relation to an allowance must be received by Sameyki before the 20th of every month.
Disclaimer: The fund´s Board of Directors reserves all the right to alter the rules, if necessary, whether to narrow or expand them. This will be determined by the financial resources of the fund at any given time.
How to apply for a subsidy.
An electronic application is filled out on Sameyki‘s website, www.sameyki.is, under Funds and Subsidies, or on My Pages, in the top corner of the website. If an application is submitted via My Pages, attachments can be sent with the application during the application phase. Applicants are encouraged to take care in completing the application.