Can my employer stop my pay when I am ill?
Stop it, no — but expect 80 %, not 100 %. Every employer with a seat or branch in Liechtenstein must insure employees for sickness benefit on a compulsory basis (KVG Art. 7 para. 1 lit. b) — a Liechtenstein feature with no Swiss equivalent, where such cover is voluntary. The benefit is at least 80 % of insured earnings and runs for at most 720 days within 900 (Art. 14). The myth: «my pay continues at 100 %, and I only need a doctor's note from the third day». Neither is in the statute. Once the insurance covers four fifths, the employer owes no wage at all (§ 1173a Art. 19 ABGB).
📋 The rules
- Compulsory cover: employees over 15 working in Liechtenstein for an employer with a seat or branch in the country are compulsorily insured for sickness benefit (KVG Art. 7 para. 1 lit. b). Employer and employee each pay half of the contributions (Art. 24 para. 8).
- The benefit: paid from the second day after the day of falling ill, on a medically certified incapacity of at least 50 %; at least 80 % of insured earnings; for at most 720 out of 900 consecutive days. It continues to be paid even if the employment has since ended (Art. 14).
- The employer's continued pay: 3 weeks in the first year of service, thereafter «for an appropriately longer period» depending on how long the employment has lasted (§ 1173a Art. 18 para. 2 ABGB). No fixed scale of weeks for later years exists in the statute — the Bern and Zurich scales in circulation are Swiss law.
- How the two interlock: the employer owes no wage where the compulsory insurance benefits cover at least four fifths (80 %) of pay; where they are lower, he pays the difference up to four fifths (§ 1173a Art. 19 paras. 1 and 2 ABGB). The start of the benefit may be deferred for the duration of the continued pay, by at most 360 days (KVG Art. 14 para. 2).
- Doctor's note: the statute names no fixed day. What governs is your contract or collective agreement — in the building-cleaning agreement, for instance, from the second day, and from the first where the insurer makes its benefit conditional on it.
🔓 Exceptions
- The first three months: continued pay under Art. 18 ABGB only exists if the employment has lasted more than three months or was entered into for more than three months. Below three months the sickness-benefit insurance duty also falls away — in that constellation, nothing may flow at all.
- Very small workloads: according to the building-cleaning collective agreement, people working fewer than 8 hours a week for the same employer are not covered by compulsory sickness-benefit insurance. If in doubt, have your health insurer confirm your position.
- Agreements can be better — fault makes it worse: under the building-cleaning agreement the employer pays at least 80 % from day one despite the deferred benefit, so there is no waiting day. Conversely, Art. 18 para. 1 requires the incapacity to arise «without fault»: fall ill through your own fault and the claim is lost.
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Employers who failed to insure, or to insure to the statutory extent, are liable to employees at least for the lost insurance benefits (KVG Art. 25 para. 1); the AHV runs a compliance check on this. Notice given during the illness-related protected period is void (30/90/180 days depending on years of service, § 1173a Art. 49), and illness may never be good cause for summary dismissal (Art. 53 para. 3). The harm nobody sees coming: with more than one month of illness in a year of service, the employer may cut your holiday by 1/12 per full month (Art. 31) — the illness costs holiday days too.
📎 Official sources
- Gesetze.li · Health Insurance Act (KVG), Art. 7, 14, 24 and 25 →
- Gesetze.li · § 1173a Art. 18, 19, 31, 49 and 53 ABGB →
- AHV-IV-FAK Liechtenstein · Sickness benefit compliance check (home) →
❓ Frequently asked
Do I get 100 % of my pay when ill?
As a rule no — the standard is 80 % of insured earnings. Once the compulsory insurance covers four fifths of your pay, the employer owes no wage at all (§ 1173a Art. 19 ABGB).
From which day do I need a doctor's note?
The statute names no fixed day; your contract or collective agreement governs. The «three-day rule» does not exist in Liechtenstein law — in building cleaning it is the second day, and the first where the insurer requires it.
How long is sickness benefit paid?
For at most 720 days within 900 consecutive days (KVG Art. 14). It continues to be paid even if the employment relationship has ended in the meantime.
Is sickness benefit insurance voluntary as in Switzerland?
No, and that is the decisive difference: in Liechtenstein sickness benefit cover for employees is compulsory. Employer and employee each pay half of the contributions.
What is the ceiling on insured earnings?
We publish no figure: the two official sources we checked contradict each other, and without the full ordinance text the conflict cannot be resolved. Ask your health insurer for the ceiling that applies to you.
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