Guider

#SGI: the figure that decides what you receive

Sick pay from Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) isn't calculated on what you've invoiced, but on your sickness benefit qualifying income, SGI. SGI is the annual income from work you can be expected to earn going forward, so it's an assessment of your situation rather than a reading of last year's figures. For anyone freelancing with uneven income, that distinction is exactly what matters.

Two things follow from this. First: only income from work counts. As a light entrepreneur, your pay is issued as salary, which gives you a clear, documented work income to base your SGI on, while money that isn't salary builds no cover at all. Second: the benefit is always lower than your regular pay, and it's only calculated up to an upper limit. The exact amounts, and how the calculation is made, are set out by Försäkringskassan.

#Why gaps in income are risky

Your SGI can be lowered or reset to zero if you go a longer period without either working or receiving a benefit that protects it. This is the trap freelancers most often fall into: a slow half-year, a longer trip, or a pause between projects can affect your cover, and you usually only notice once you actually need it.

There are rules on so-called SGI protection that let you keep your SGI in certain situations, for example during illness, parental leave, or studies under specified conditions. The rules are detailed, and you can't assume your situation is covered. If you're planning a longer break, ask Försäkringskassan in advance what it means for your SGI, rather than finding out afterwards.

#If you fall ill: do this, in this order

Report the illness immediately, from day one, without waiting to see how long it might last. Then notify your client, so deliveries can be rescheduled or paused, and notify your light-entrepreneurship company, since they are your employer and need to handle salary and documentation. Get a doctor's certificate when required, and check the current rules at forsakringskassan.se, since requirements have changed over time.

As an employee of a light-entrepreneurship company, there are also rules on sick pay during an initial period of a sickness spell, with a qualifying deduction ("karensavdrag") at the start. How this applies to you depends on how your employment is structured, and for assignment-based work the picture can be uneven. So ask your light-entrepreneurship company specifically how they handle sick pay, and get the answer in writing before you need it.

#Documentation makes a difference

Keep your pay slips, employment records, assignment agreements, and communication with clients. If Försäkringskassan has to assess your income, it's the documentation showing how you've worked and what you've earned that decides the outcome, and for anyone with several clients, that picture isn't obvious without records.

Also keep your own details up to date. If your work situation changes significantly, for example if you go from part-time to full-time freelancing or the other way around, your SGI may need to be reassessed. It's easier to report a change as it happens than to explain several years of it afterwards.

#A buffer is part of your cover

Since sick pay replaces less than your usual salary, and since a freelancer's income also dries up when the work does, having your own buffer is a practical part of your sickness cover. Plan for a few months' worth of expenses, and treat that saving as a fixed cost in your pricing rather than as surplus profit when business is good.

Many people also add a sickness or accident insurance. Check first what's already covered through your light-entrepreneurship company and any union membership, so you're not paying twice for the same protection.

#Salary and documentation in one place

With Truster, you invoice without a company of your own and receive your pay as salary with tax and fees handled, which gives you documented work income and consolidated pay slips to show when Försäkringskassan asks. The platform is built by a payment institution authorized by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority and is used by more than 55,000 people across the Nordics. Truster is launching in Sweden by invitation: join the waitlist.