Employees at the University of Gothenburg are entitled to compensation for wellness activities of a maximum of SEK 2,000 per calendar year. As of January 1, 2022, the university is changing its handling due to adaptation to the Swedish Tax Agency’s legal guidance on compensation for health care. The change means that reimbursement for keep-fit-activities is approved according to the main rule only for the calendar year in which the cost is paid. Employees therefore need to report the request for compensation as soon as possible after they have incurred the cost, but no later than the December pay run in the current year.
There is an exception to the main rule. If the employee has already been granted the maximum amount for health care compensation in the current year, it is possible to use the next year’s compensation if there is a receipt for November or December. However, it must be reported for payment and charged to the health care balance for the coming year. This means that such a case can be approved for payment at the earliest in January, the year after the cost has been incurred. The exception makes it possible to continue to take advantage of the usual offers at the end of the year to buy annual passes to, for example, gyms for the coming year.
All in all, the new handling means that from the turn of the year onwards, the university will not replace receipts older than 1 November of the previous year, then charge the next year.
