Sick leave isn’t consistent with a nation’s working rights, average wage or career satisfaction. In fact, the likes of the UK and Ireland offering far worse sick-leave benefits than most other European nations.

Research from vouchercloud has revealed the amount of mandatory sick pay available to workers for both a week and a month off sick across Europe, with Switzerland and Liechtenstein out in front and Ireland, Finland and the United Kingdom lagging way behind. With the average payout for a week of sick leave across Europe (including Australia) sitting at £245, the UK’s £35.96 payout is one of the lowest by a long way – and with a slightly healthier £305.71 monthly payment still far below the £1,034 average, a strong average salary across the UK means nothing in terms of sick pay.

In fact, the average worker across Europe receives 65 percent of their salary as pay during a week of sick leave – in the UK, we are paid less than 9 percent of our typical week’s salary. That increases to a slightly healthier 18 percent when you look at a month of sick leave, but the number is still far below the European average (70 percent of your typical wage across a month of sick leave). Norway, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Belgium pay out 100 percent of a worker’s wage during a week and month of sick leave, pushing them towards the top of the table when it comes to providing acceptable sick leave payments – Malta and Croatia also pay out 100 percent, despite their far lower average national wage. Due to a combination of long ‘waiting periods’ and lower national wages, Ireland, Finland, the UK, Estonia and Slovakia are holding up the table, paying £51 and below for a week of sick leave. Finland and Ireland, in fact, pay out nothing for a week of sick leave, due to extended ‘waiting periods’.