Good news for employees in South Africa

Data shows that sick pay rates in South Africa are among the best in Africa, with employees earning an average of R1,863.29 in mandatory sick pay for a week off.

This comes from Moorepay, which manually researched the statutory sick pay legislation in 113 countries to determine which countries offer the highest and lowest sick pay for a week’s leave.

To compare sick pay rates around the world, Moorepay calculated the amount of sick pay a resident would receive for the first week of sick leave.

They took into account the national adjusted net income per capita for each country, based on data from the World Bank.

Then, they converted these figures into United States dollars, GBP and international dollars, a hypothetical currency the World Bank uses to create a realistic comparison of the buying power of local currencies.

International dollars reflect the comparable amount of goods and services a US dollar would buy in the United States.

Moorepay also ranked countries based on the average number of sick days that are taken yearly in each country using World Health Organisation data and local reports.

In absolute terms, Moorepay found that Luxembourg offers the highest first week of sick pay at an average of £1,107.29 (R25,016), based on somebody earning the country’s average salary.

This is followed by Norway at £995.85 (R22,498). Both countries offer employees sick pay at 100% of regular salary levels.

In Luxembourg, the employer covers this cost for the first 77 days within an 18-month period, after which the Social Security Medical Control Service takes over.

When measured in international dollars, however, Qatar took the top spot. Qatari workers can have two weeks’ sick leave at full pay. On the average salary, this is equal to Intl$1,644.69 (around R16,955) for the first week off.

On the other end of the spectrum, Moorepay said the United States, South Korea and Tunisia have no statutory sick pay.

Some United States employees of medium-sized firms upwards are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Eighteen states have their own sick pay laws. Other than that, sick pay is the employer’s prerogative.

As many as one in five workers in the United States may have no paid sick leave at all. Meanwhile, in Tunisia, Moorepay revealed that the sickness benefit is only paid after the first five days of being sick.

South Africa

In South Africa, employees earn an average of R1,863.29 in mandatory sick leave for a week off. When converted to international dollars, South Africa’s weekly sick leave amounts to $251.29.

While this is lower than the global average of Intl$366.67, it still exceeds the amounts provided in several European countries, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

It is also the second highest paying African country measured, with only Egypt offering higher sick pay, at Intl$354.35 for a week off.

Notably, Moorepay found that seven of the ten countries that give the least sick pay worldwide can be found in Africa.

Below are the African countries that pay the best and worst rates of sick pay for the first five working days of sick leave, ranked by spending power.