Podcast: Sickness benefits for gig workers under COVID-19
Sickness benefit schemes provide cash payments to persons who are temporarily incapable to work due to illness, accident or another health condition In this way, they provide income replacement, contribute to preventing poverty and, accompanied by the necessary health care, enable the worker to properly recover before returning to work. Sickness benefits provided through social insurance, reduce employers’ financial burden and prevent discrimination against sick workers, particularly those who are working in non-standard forms of employment. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of sickness benefits funded by social insurance, together with health insurance to protect the most vulnerable workers, particularly those continuing to work and most exposed to the pandemic.
The EU social protection project team had conversations respectively with Marielle Phe Goursat, Regional Social Health Protection Program Manager, ILO Country Office for Viet Nam, and Emmanuelle St-Pierre Guilbault, Legal Specialist at the ILO’s International Labour Standards Department. They are co-authors of the Policy Brief “Review of international experience in social insurance sickness benefits for gig workers”.
The EU social protection project team had conversations respectively with Marielle Phe Goursat, Regional Social Health Protection Program Manager, ILO Country Office for Viet Nam, and Emmanuelle St-Pierre Guilbault, Legal Specialist at the ILO’s International Labour Standards Department. They are co-authors of the Policy Brief “Review of international experience in social insurance sickness benefits for gig workers”.