Mela sickness allowance for recipients of grants
Has your grant work been affected by illness?
Mela sickness allowance is paid as compensation for loss of income due to work incapacity caused by an illness, such as seasonal flu. Mela sickness allowance is paid during the waiting period for the Kela sickness allowance for all days of the week, including Sundays and holidays.
Mela sickness allowance is available only if you have valid MYEL pension insurance when you contract the illness, or if your insurance application has been received by Mela no later than one day before the onset of your work incapacity.
You can receive the Mela sickness allowance starting from the fifth day of the illness. The waiting period is one day for seeing the physician plus the following 3 days.
Payment of the Mela sickness allowance ends no later than the day on which the waiting period for the Kela sickness allowance is completed, i.e. the first day of illness plus the following 9 working days, including regular Saturdays and holiday eves.
Do I claim sickness allowance from Mela or Kela?
The length of your sick leave determines whether you have to claim sickness allowance from Mela or Kela.
You should claim sickness allowance from Mela if the length of your sick leave after the first day of illness is less than 9 working days.
If your sick leave after the first day of illness continues for more than 9 working days, you should claim sickness allowance from Kela. The claim has to be submitted within 2 months of the onset of your work incapacity.
When you fill in the Kela claim form, remember to check the box marked “Allowance for persons insured under MYEL during the waiting period”. Kela will then provide Mela with the information about your sick leave required for payment of your Mela sickness allowance.
How to claim Mela sickness allowance?
You can claim Mela sickness allowance in the following ways:
- Online using our e-services
- By contacting a Mela representative
- By printing out the Mela sickness allowance application from our website.
A medical certificate is always required when claiming Mela sickness allowance. The physician should also be notified that Mela sickness allowance is also paid for weekends. You can submit medical certificates to Mela electronically using our e-services (Send attachments).
Submit your claim for Mela sickness allowance within 6 months of the onset of your work incapacity.
Amount of Mela sickness allowance
The amount of your Mela sickness allowance is calculated on the basis of your annual (MYEL) earnings. The daily allowance is 1/514 of your annual earnings rounded to the nearest euro. Kela also uses your annual earnings to calculate the amount of sickness allowance.
You can estimate the amount of your Mela sickness allowance using our Daily allowance calculator.
Mela sickness allowance is taxable income.
