• Sweden edition

Thousands lose out on sickness benefits

Published: 12 Sep 09 09:57 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22036/20090912/

Almost 4,400 Swedes lost their right to sickness benefits in the first half of 2009 as the Social Insurance Agency (Forsäkringskassan) tightened its regulations.

The figure is more than in the whole of 2008, new agency figures show, according to a report in the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.

The increase is due primarily to tighter regulations which stipulate that all those that have been registered sick for more than 180 days must have their capacity to work assessed in relation to the entire labour market.

This means that even if their doctor says that they are not capable of returning to their former position, the agency considers them able to seek other work.

The agency has not released any forecast for how many could lose their rights to sickness benefit by the end of the year. In June alone a further 1,000 people were told by the agency that they were capable of some form of gainful employment.

According to an anonymous DN source at the agency the new regime is especially tough on older claimants.

"It can be tough for the over 55s...We know how the labour market looks. It will improve later as those that get sick today know what's what. For them there will be no sudden and unexpected assessment of sickness benefit."

TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson (news@thelocal.se)

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15:57 September 12, 2009 by Mib
At long last....a Government that is ensuring that the social system is for the people who need it and not for those who just want an easy life. Just because you can't go back to work as a builder, cleaner etc, doesn't mean you can't do a desk job for example.

If I could vote, I would vote for Reinfeldt!
17:42 September 12, 2009 by magic1964
It´s time to put pressure on the lazy and disloyal people who want to live at regular basis on welfare.......
23:38 September 12, 2009 by justanotherexpat
No, it's time to (correctly) focus on the people who are in most need, in genuine need of help, not to trot out the same old right-wing, pitch-fork-waving, reactionary tripe about "lazy so-and-sos" that normally happens whenever an issue like this is in the spotlight - because all that serves to do is make the pitch-fork-wavers look typically smug and self-satisfied whilst at the same time tarring anyone who has genuinely become ill with the same tarred brush - and this is still supposed to be a caring society.......or have I got that hopelessly wrong.

Focussing on the genuinely-needy will BY DEFAULT filter out the scroungers and wasters - so the smug, sanctimonious tossers out there can go back to their comfortable, normal lifestyles safe in the knowledge that the government is protecting their tax öre from the scroungers.

No doubt someone supposedly learnèd and clever, like skane-refugee - will come along and point out something trite and moronic.......like "grrrrrr - get them picking up litter in the streets!" or equally prosaic statements that masquerade on The Local as "intelligence".....
01:19 September 13, 2009 by Jan M
Just a word of warning. If you strip away social and welfare support and combine that with a pretty ineffective law enforcement system you're going to quickly face increased social anarchy with violent and ultimately racist undercurrents. If that's the way Swedes want society to move I think it's only because there isn't the vision to see the consequences. From Reinfeldt's point of view he's not going to consider the consequences because he's running a country which is economically unsustainable in it's current form. If you believe that welfare cuts and privatisation are a great solution though take a good luck at the UK and then ask yourself if that's really so great.
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