Legislation impact on sick leave in Slovakia

Purpose Sickness absence is a major public health and economic problem. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of a legislative intervention that concerns reduction of compensation levels in sickness absence in the Slovak Republic. In addition, the study encompasses appraisal of effects reflected by related indicators. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes an evaluation study, based on national statistics from relevant sources. Numeric data were used for characterizing the dynamics of sickness absence in Slovakia in the years 1997-2013. Statistical programmes join-point and R-environment were used for analytical purposes in terms of Wilcoxon test and linear regression. Findings The results suggest that following the implementation of the Act No. 462/2003 Coll. the number of new cases as well as the proportion of sickness absence among insured persons decreased by 50 per cent (from 2003 – 60/100 to 2004 – 30,8/100). Average duration of inability to work increased to 6.5 days and there were more women compared to men on sick leave. The most frequent causes of sickness absence were respiratory diseases, muscular-skeletal diseases and injuries outside the workplace. Research limitations/implications The trend of sickness absence can be influenced by many others factors, but the research is mainly focussed on legislative impact. Originality/value The research indicates an effect of legislative intervention at national level.