Short Term Disability: Overview
Short term disability is a type of insurance that pays a percentage of an employee’s salary for a specified amount of time, if they are ill or injured, and cannot perform the duties of their job. Coverage usually starts anywhere from 1 to 14 days after your employee suffers a condition that leaves him/her unable to work. Many times, employees are required to use sick days before short term disability kicks in, if it’s an illness that keeps them out of work for an extended period of time.
A short term disability policy can be an employer or employee paid benefit.
Different short term disability plans dictate different terms for qualifications. The main terms are listed below:
- Employees need to work for the employer for a certain amount of time before coverage kicks in.
- Employees need to work full-time, usually 30 hours or more a week.
The following are part of what a short term disability plan benefits package may include:
- Percentage of weekly salary paid out (typically between 50% – 70% of weekly salary).
- Duration of short term disability benefits (typically between 10 to 26 weeks).
- Maximum amount of time covered under this disability program.