No easy way to lower sick leave

Has the IW-agreement helped to reduce the sick leave or is it a mantra without practical consequences? The debate in Norway has been heated, but no one can be certain what exactly makes the sick leave go up or down. 

According to an OECD assessment the impact and importance of the IW-agreement has been overrated in the Norwegian debate:

“The tripartite agreement is essentially based on a standstill agreement between the government and the social partners:The government accepts the social partners’ veto against changes in the current sickness benefit system and refrains from introducing co-payments for either the employer or the employee on the promise of improved outcomes brought about through changes in workplace practices.”

According to OECD the positive effects on sick leave measured in 2004 was more likely to have come from stricter sick pay regulations introduced that year. They were not a part of the IW-agreement. An activity requirement was introduced after eight weeks, together with the need for a new medical examination to determine the capability to work.

According to OECD there are virtually no differences in trends between enterprises which have signed IW-agreements and those that haven’t:

“In the 2nd quarter of 2004, doctorcertified sickness absence rates started to fall very suddenly in all enterprises.”

This is countered by Sigrun Vågeng, Executive Director for Labour market and social affairs at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise.

“The IW-agreement has been thoroughly assessed by several research institutions in Norway. None of them supports the view of the OECD”, she says.

Axel West Pedersen, a researcher at the institute of Social Research, Nova,thinks the OECD is right, however:

“We have no research that shows that the IW-agreement has had any clear positive effects on sick leave”.

“There are some reports claiming this, but there are a number of factors that can affect the result, such as which companies are selected and which periods in time”, says Axel West Pedersen.

Ebba Wergeland, senior medical adviser at the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, has another way of looking at sick leave.

“The number of hours lost in sick leave will vary depending on who we think should work. It mainly varies with which people are employed, and with the fraction of the adult population that is employed. If one wants to include elderly people in the workforce, the sick leave will be higher”, she says.

“The IW-agreement tries to achieve three goals which are not compatible. The main focus since 2001 has been on sick leave, as if the first priority was to use less money on sick leave – with much less effort spent on including elderly and disabled people in the workforce.”