Sick leave as a sole trader

With a sole trader business (enskild firma) there's no employer paying sick pay. Instead Försäkringskassan steps in directly after your chosen waiting period, and sickness benefit is based on your business income (näringsinkomst), not on what you've drawn from the business.

Two things set you apart from an employee: you decide how long the waiting period is, and your SGI is built on the business's profit. Both affect what you get, and the calculator factors in your waiting period.

You choose your own waiting period

You pick a waiting period of 1, 7, 14, 30, 60 or 90 days. During the waiting period you get no sickness benefit, but in return your sickness insurance fee is lower the longer the period you choose. The difference in the fee is small, around one percentage point between shortest and longest, while the number of unpaid days grows quickly. That's why a short waiting period is usually right for most people. A change to the waiting period also only takes effect from your next sick period, not the current one.

SGI is based on business income

Your SGI is calculated on the business income you're expected to take (the business's profit), not on your own drawings. For the first 36 months you count as being in a start-up phase and can get an SGI based on what an employee doing similar work earns, even if the business's profit is still low. Sickness benefit is 77.6% of SGI, up to the same cap as for employees.

A 1- or 7-day waiting period gives high-risk protection

If you choose a 1- or 7-day waiting period, special high-risk protection (särskilt högriskskydd) applies automatically. That means Försäkringskassan pays sickness benefit even during the waiting period if you fall ill due to a chronic illness. With a longer waiting period (14 days and up) it doesn't apply automatically.