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Compensation for loss of income due to sickness from the Swedish national sickness insurance systems require that the capacity to work is reduced. The concept of working capacity, as well as how it should be measured and proven, has be a topic for discussion in research, and in law and politics, for many years. In this article, the burden of proof, medical certificates as evidence and evidential requirement regarding working capacity within the sickness insurance [sjukpenningförsäkring] are analysed and problematised from a legal perspective. Overall, the analysis shows that the burden of proof rests primarily on the insured, and that medical certificate must contain such information that it is possible to assess the consequences of a disease, which work task’s ability should be assessed against, and how the consequences affect the ability to work. The evidentiary requirement is “probable”, while there are exceptions that enable a lower evidentiary requirement, “consideration of the reasons”. In conclusion, it is most likely that the concept of working capacity, and how it should be understood and assessed, will continue to be the subject of ongoing discussions and investigations in the future.

Arbetsgivarens och arbetstagarens juridiska ansvar för arbetsmiljön är utformat för ett arbetsliv där arbetet huvudsakligen bedrivs i arbetsgivarens lokaler och under dennes kontroll. I och med att hem- och distansarbete kan förväntas öka i omfattning i spåren av coronapandemin aktualiseras vilket rättsligt ansvar för arbetsmiljön som gäller för arbetsgivaren och arbetstagaren. Avsikten i den här artikeln är att analysera det rättsliga ansvaret för arbetsmiljön vid distansarbete och skissera eventuella brister i regleringen.

The legal responsibility of the employer and employee for the work environ­ment is designed for a working life where the work is mainly carried out on the employer’s premises and under his control. As work from home, which has in­creased significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, can be expected to persist in the future, the legal responsibility for the work environment that applies to the employer and the employee is highlighted. The purpose of this article is to analyze the legal responsibility for the working environment in working from home and teleworking and to outline the problems that regulation may cause.

I artikeln ”Kommunalt självstyre och rättighetslagstiftning – om fördelningen av makt och ansvar mellan stat och kommun” i detta nummer av Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift diskuteras kollisionen mellan idealet om nationell jämlikhet i välfärdspolitiken och det lokala självstyret (Leijon & Moberg 2024). Författarna analyserar hur rättighetslagstiftning, närmare bestämt individers rätt till sociala omsorgsinsatser, kan påverka kommuners agerande i välfärdsfrågor och därmed inverka på det kommunala självbestämmandet. Artikeln är både intressant och relevant, särskilt i tider då de kommunala finanserna är begränsade och den kommunala (och regionala) vården och omsorgen är hårt belastad (SKR 2024).

AIMS: Study objectives were to investigate how changes in social insurance legislation influenced the incidence of disability pension.

METHODS: The study included 295,636 male construction workers who attended health examinations between 1971 and 1993, aged 20-60 years and without previous disability pension. Via the Swedish National Insurance Agency national register we identified 66,046 subjects who were granted disability pension up until 2010. The incidence rates were calculated and stratified according to age and diagnosis.

RESULTS: The incidence rate of disability pension was fairly stable until the 1990s when large variations occurred, followed by a strong decreasing trend from the early 2000s to 2010. Trends in incidence rates, stratified by age and diagnosis, showed a consistent decrease in cardiovascular disease for all age groups. In subjects aged 30-49 years there was a high peak around 2003 for musculoskeletal diseases and psychiatric diseases. For the age group 50-59 years, musculoskeletal diagnosis, the most common cause of disability pension, had a sharp peak around 1993 and then a decreasing trend. In the 60-64 age group, the incidence rate for psychiatric diagnosis was stable, while incidence rates for musculoskeletal diagnosis varied during the 1990s.

CONCLUSIONS: There are considerable variations in the incidence rate of disability pension over time, with different patterns depending on age and diagnosis. Changes in social insurance legislation, as well as in administration processes, seem to influence the variation.