Appeals board: quarantine is lawful absence

Covid quarantine qualifies as lawful absence from work, according to a recent ruling by the appeals board.

The case concerns an application for sickness benefits, which was declined by Almannaverkið (the Social Agencies) as the applicant failed to meet the minimum requirement of 120 hours of paid work in the 13 weeks prior to the sickness absence.

The applicant appealed this decision to the appeals board as they had been absent from work for lengthy periods due to Covid quarantine.

Recommended by health authorities

Since the health authorities recommended quarantine and the complainant followed this recommendation, the appeals board ruled that quarantine qualifies as lawful absence in applications for sickness benefits.

In this particular case, the past five weeks were deemed a more suitable basis for the sickness absence than the 13 week-period specified in the sickness benefits regulations.

The appeals board has ordered Almannaverkið to reconsider its rejection of the application.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

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