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The impact of a sick pay waiting period on sick leave patterns

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  • Catherine Pollak

    (DREES (French Directorate for Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics))

Abstract

This article assesses how a waiting period for sick pay impacts sick leave patterns. In the French private sector, statutory sick benefits are granted after 3 days. However, 60 % of employers in this sector provide complementary sick pay to cover this waiting period. Linked employee–employer survey data compiled in 2009 are used to analyze the impact of this compensation on workers’ sick leave behavior. The assessment isolates the insurance effect (moral hazard) from individual and environmental factors relating to sick leave (including health and working conditions). Results suggest that employees who are compensated during the 3-day waiting period are not more likely to have an absence. On the contrary, their sickness leaves are significantly shorter by 3 days on average. These results could be explained by consequences of presenteeism and ex post moral hazard when employees are exposed to a waiting period.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine Pollak, 2017. "The impact of a sick pay waiting period on sick leave patterns," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(1), pages 13-31, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:18:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10198-015-0755-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-015-0755-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kakoulidou, Theoni & Doolan, Michael & Roantree, Barra, 2022. "Earnings-related benefits in Ireland: Rationale, costs and work incentives," Papers BP2023/2, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    2. Eliason, Marcus & Johansson, Per & Nilsson, Martin, 2018. "Forward-looking moral hazard in social insurance: evidence from a natural experiment," Working Paper Series 2018:11, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    3. Nathalie Havet & Morgane Plantier, 2023. "The links between difficult working conditions and sickness absences in the case of French workers," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 37(1), pages 160-195, March.
    4. Olivier Marie & Judit Vall Castelló, 2023. "Sick Leave Cuts and (Unhealthy) Returns to Work," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(4), pages 923-956.
    5. Eliason, Marcus & Johansson, Per & Nilsson, Martin, 2019. "Forward-looking moral hazard in social insurance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 84-98.
    6. A. Cazenave-Lacroutz & A. Godzinski, 2017. "Effects of the one-day waiting period for sick leave on health-related absences in the French central civil service," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2017-06, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sick leave; Moral hazard; Complementary sick pay; Hurdle model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • C24 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models; Threshold Regression Models

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