20 §  Medical examinations

1.       The employer’s duty to arrange occupational health care is based on the provisions of the Occupational Health Care Act. In addition to statutory occupational health care, employees working in shifts will be provided with the opportunity to have a medical examination once a year.

2.       Preconditions for salary payment

Salary for regular working hours will not be reduced in the following cases, provided that the examinations have been arranged in a manner that prevents unnecessary loss of working hours, that it has not proved possible to arrange the examinations outside working hours, and that the employer has been notified of them in advance.

a. Other than statutory examinations

In order to diagnose an illness, the employee attends

·         a necessary medical examination or

·         a laboratory or X-ray examination associated with a medical examination and ordered by a doctor.

This is also applicable to incapacity for work due to a medical examination, as well as observation or examination in a hospital due to symptoms of ill health

The employee attends a medical examination due to a previously diagnosed illness.

This applies to the following cases:

          an illness becomes fundamentally worse and the employee has to attend a medical examination

·         a chronic illness requires a medical examination by a specialist in the field concerned in order to determine the appropriate medical treatment

·         a specialist’s examination is necessary in order to determine treatment in connection with which an order to acquire a medical appliance such as eyeglasses is issued

·         a medical examination is necessary in order to determine treatment for any other previously diagnosed illness if the service cannot be obtained outside working hours

·         incapacity for work caused by necessary treatment for cancer.

b. The period of treating an acute dental condition if

 ·         the dental condition causes the employee’s incapacity for work,

·         the dental condition requires treatment on the same day or during the same shift, and

·         the dentist’s certificate proves incapacity for work and the urgency of the treatment.

 c. Pregnancy

 ·       when the employee attends an examination related to the payment of maternity allowance.

 d. Statutory check-ups and examinations

When the employee attends:

 ·         examinations referred to in the Government decision on statutory occupational health care and approved in the action plan for occupational health care

·         examinations related to the Young Workers’ Act

·         examinations required by virtue of the Health Care Act to which the employer sends the employee.

The employer will compensate the employee for necessary expenses for travel to the examinations or check-ups in question, as well as pay a daily allowance if they are conducted in another locality. When an examination is carried out during the employee’s free time, he or she will be compensated for additional expenses in an amount corresponding to the minimum daily allowance in accordance with the Sickness Insurance Act.