A Swedish citizen falsely claiming to have 18 children managed to cheat UK welfare authorities out of more than £20,000 ($39,000/247,000 kronor) before getting caught.
People claiming sick benefits will be given the right to take sabbaticals in order to try out a new job. But those not prepared to change jobs after six months will lose their sick benefits, according to new government plans.
Welfare payouts have dropped considerable following tighter checks of parents who say they are staying home to care for their sick children, Göteborgs-Posten reports. Over the last six months, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency has paid out 74 million kronor less than in the previous half year period.
Fewer and fewer people are taking sick leave in Sweden. In the past year, the cost of sick benefits has fallen by 2.8 billion kronor. Yet over half a million Swedes are still on sick pensions.
Swedish trade union organization LO has called on the government to raise the level of VAT on food and culture to finance increases in benefits. The plans have been attacked by Moderate Party politicians, who say that VAT should stay as it is, and that both benefits and taxes should be cut to encourage people back to work.
Social welfare costs are on the rise for the first time since 1997 according to a report released by the National Board for Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) on Wednesday.
You are entitled to sick pay when you are too sick to go to work. It sounds simple, it sounds reasonable. But the problem is that not everyone in Sweden shares the government's views on what the word 'sick' means. This was evident from the results of a national survey on people's attitudes towards the sick pay system.
