nobody records it
The discomfort that lingers for months
It starts as tightness at the end of the shift. The person keeps coming in, performs less and appears in no statistics. It is the longest phase and the only one with no visible cost.
no benefit
The three days that belong to no one
For common illness, no benefit is paid for the first three days unless the collective agreement improves on it. Many do, so in practice this stretch is usually already yours.
you pay
Twelve days paid entirely out of pocket
From day four to day fifteen the company pays the benefit: 60% of the regulatory base, plus the employer's contributions on top, without a single day's break. This is where most sick leaves fall.
Social Security pays
You stop paying the benefit, not everything else
From day 16 the benefit passes to the mutua and rises to 75% on day 21. Cover, team overtime and lost production are still yours, and they are not counted as absenteeism.
average duration
Seven weeks later, the return to work
49.4 days is the average duration of a musculoskeletal sick leave according to 2025 mutua data. And the person does not come back at 100%: the return curve lasts several more weeks.
and back to square one
Between 20% and 40% relapse
If the cause has not been addressed, the episode returns within the same year. On the dashboard it appears as a new sick leave, so nobody links it to the first. It is the most expensive and least visible item.
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