The presentation characterizes the particular systems of sickness insurance in selected countries of the European Union and outside the EU – in France, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, Luxemburg and Italy. The content is structured in a standard way so that the systems were comparable, i. e. the system of sickness insurance, conditions for demanding rates of sickness benefits, rates of sickness benefits payed by the employer, rates of sickness benefits payed by the state and taxes from the rates.

        Key words: sickness insurance – rates of sickness benefits – working disability – taxes from rates