Return to work after COVID-19: an international perspective

Figures & data

Table 1. Country comparison of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates.

	Japan	Philippines	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	USA
Persons registered infected (n)^a	2,599,599	3,528,796	688,336	9,779,130	2,070,456	74,236,114
Proportion of population registered infected (%)^b	2.1	3.1	33.1	20.9	20.3	22.2
Mortality rate among infected (%)^a	0.7	1.5	0.8	0.9	0.8	1.2

^aRegistered COVID-19 cases and deaths, as of January 30, 2022, John Hopkins University & Medicine, Corona Virus Resource Center, https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html (Note that these figures may be under-estimated due to possible testing and reporting issues in the respective countries).

^bPopulation as of January 30, 2022, Worldometer, https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/ (The proportion of population infected stated here does not consider and control for individuals being counted multiple times due to repeated infections).

Table 2. Country comparison of return to work conditions for COVID-19 recoverees.

	Japan	Philippines	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden	USA^a
Source of support for recoverees	Social security	Social security + private insurance	Social security + national budget	Social security + private insurance	National social security	FECA or FMLA + disability insurance or social security
Eligibility	Sickness > 3 days	Paid social security contributions Sickness with > 4-day hospital-stay	Physician-issued certificate COVID-19-related measure: up to 3 days absence from work with no physician certificate	Universal coverage	Physician-issued certificate COVID-19-related measure: physician certificate waived in certain cases	Employed by Federal services (FECA) Employed at least 12 months prior to sickness (FMLA) COVID-19-related measure: physician certificate of COVID-19 diagnosis with positive PCR test
Benefit	⅔ of average daily salary (most recent year)	90% of average daily salary (most recent year) COVID-19-related measures: DOLE’s one-time 5,000 PHP (100 USD) financial assistance; ECC’s 10,000 PHP cash assistance	100% of salary for work-acquired disease 90% of salary if COVID-19 disease is acquired outside of work	70% of salary for first 3 months and 60% thereafter for up to 12 months 100% of salary for work-acquired disease	80% sickness benefit qualifying income COVID-19-related measure: immediate compensation from day 1 of sick leave	⅔ of monthly salary (¾ of monthly salary if dependents are claimed) COVID-19-related measure: 100% of salary for 10 sick or quarantine days (FECA) ∼60% base pay (short/long-term disability) 12 weeks unpaid leave that protects job and preserves health benefits (FMLA)
Limitations (duration, cost, etc.)	Maximum 1.5 years from the date of grant	Maximum 120 (or 240) days/calendar year Maximum 200 PHP (public sector) or 400 PHP (private sector) per day	General limitation: employer not obliged to cover >120 days of sick leave/year (social security takes over) Absence > 30 days: assessment by the Health Insurance Institute is required	Maximum of 12 months; thereafter worker has to file for disability	No more than 378,000 SEK (41,600 USD) for 2021	Maximum 45 days (FECA) Maxmimum 75% of GS-15 salary (142,180 USD) (FECA) Maximum 2 years (short-term disability) 3–6 waiting period (long-term disability)

Note: DOLE: Department of Labor and Employment; ECC: Employees’ Compensation Commission; FECA: Federal Employees’ Compensation Act; FMLA: Family and Medical Leave Act; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction.

^aConditions vary greatly between states, thus information presented is only Federal-level support.