The Effect of Employee Income on Absence from Work Due to Illness

Abstract Illness, or the medical treatment of a family member, comprises an inherent part of human life, the occurrence of which often prevents employees from attending work. This article analyses the relationship between absence from work due to illness and the amount of an individual’s income. The article further monitors the impact of the Covid-19 disease and whether it affected absence from work. In theory, it can be assumed that persons with lower incomes have higher absence rates. The data, which was analysed for the period 2014–2022, was provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. Basic descriptive statistics and methods of structural breaks were applied to determine the underlying trends. It is possible to state that absenteeism decreases from the 6th decile and is lowest in the highest decile of the working population. Covid-19 was found to have significantly affected employee absenteeism.