SV / EN

Krav på enskildas insikt i den digitala förvaltningen – en granskning av återkrav av sjukpenning i ljuset av hemsideinformation

Publicerad i Nordisk socialrättslig tidskrift nr 40.2024, september 2024 s. 33–54

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In cases where someone other than the recipient has caused incorrect disbursements of sickness benefit, the individual’s understanding of the incorrectness determines whether they should have to repay the amount. In some decisions from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) and judgments from the administrative courts, the individual’s bad faith is assessed by establishing the availability of information about sickness benefit on the agency’s website. Based on this account, the recipient is obligated to repay the incorrectly disbursed amount. Over the last few decades, the Swedish welfare administration has undergone extensive digitalisation with agency websites playing a crucial role in communication with individuals. However, upon reviewing the SSIA’s website, it is noticeable that the information referenced in assessments of the individual’s bad faith is often difficult to find and sometimes even missing. Moreover, the assessments are based on abstract reasoning rather than on the concrete circumstances of the particular case. The digital transformation of the administration has previously been researched in how it affects administrative law and how individuals dependent on the welfare state may struggle with or benefit from digitalisation. This article further explores these questions and considers how digitalisation influences the administration’s responsibility to investigate and obligation to state reasons.