Incidence of sickness absence by type of employment contract: one year follow-up study in Spanish salaried workers.

Elena Zaballa,Constança Albertí,David Gimeno Ruiz De Porras,Fernando G Benavides,José Miguel Martínez,Xavier Duran

doi:10.1186/s13690-016-0152-x

Abstract

BackgroundTo examine the differences in the incidence of registered sickness absence by type of employment contract in a large representative sample of salaried workers in Spain in 2009.MethodA study of 653,264 salaried workers covered by the Social Security system who had 133,724 sickness absence episodes in 2009. Crude and adjusted rate ratios and their corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with Poisson regression models.ResultsThe incidence rate per 100 workers-year of sickness absence for temporary workers (IR = 32.2) was slightly higher than that of permanent workers (IR = 28.9). This pattern was observed in both men (RR = 1.12; 95 % CI 1.10–1.14) and women (RR 1.11; 95 % CI 1.09–1.12). However, after adjusting for age, company size, and occupational category, the differences disappeared in men (aRR = 1.01; 95 % CI 0.99–1.02) and decreased in women (aRR = 1.06; 95 % CI 1.04–1.07).ConclusionOur findings provide evidence on the independence of sickness absence benefits from the type of employment contract as well as on the nonexistence of incentives for taking sickness absence in workers with a permanent employment contract. In the context of increasing market flexibility, these results show a positive functioning of the Social Security system.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13690-016-0152-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

To examine the differences in the incidence of registered sickness absence by type of employment contract in a large representative sample of salaried workers in Spain in 2009
The sickness absence incidence rate per 100 workersyear was slightly higher in temporary (32.2; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 31.9–32.6) than in permanent workers (28.9; 95 % CI: 28.7–29.1). This pattern of higher incident rates in temporary versus permanent workers was observed for age, except among workers in the older age group (26.9 vs. 29.0); occupational categories, but manual workers exhibited similar incidence rate of sickness absence irrespective of contract type (29.4 vs. 30.2 in skilled workers; 35.0 vs. 34.2 in unskilled workers); and economic activity, excluding workers in financial intermediation (18.9 vs. 20.0) and education, health activities, community service and activities at home (36.1 vs 36.3)
The difference between temporary and permanent workers in men diminished after adjusting for age and occupational category

Summary

Introduction

To examine the differences in the incidence of registered sickness absence by type of employment contract in a large representative sample of salaried workers in Spain in 2009. Mainly reflected by an increasing the number of temporary employees, is offered as a solution for the financial and economic crisis, especially in Europe [1]. In the current global market economy, flexibility cannot occur in a vacuum and a balanced combination of. To assess this hypothesis, in a 1-year follow-up study we examined the differences in the incidence of registered sickness absence between a large representative sample of permanent and temporary salaried workers in Spain In Spain, the use of temporary work contracts has become a commonplace strategy for achieving labour market flexibility, with temporary jobs accounting for 25.3 % of the total jobs created in Spain, the second highest rate in the European Union [2].

Methods

Results

Conclusion