The sick days part varies by employer. At a previous employer it was 10 sick days in addition to your vacation days, and unused sick days accumulated from one year to the next. When my son was born 8 week early with my wife in the hospital 2.5 weeks before that, I had accumulated enough sick time that I could take 11 weeks off to spend at the hospital (Caleb spent 25 days in neonatal intensive care) and at home after he was released.
What about if you were sick and your doctor said you had to stay home?
In Norway we can take up to 3 consecutive days off due to illness 4 times during 12 months. If you work in an extra exposed environment (kindergarten, old people's home) you have more days. If you need more than that, you have to see a doctor. The doctor can give you up to 12 months of leave. During this period the state refunds your employer for your wages (after 14 days or so). Under no circumstances can you be fired due to your illness, and if you can not return to your position your employer will need to provide a new position. This of course can be very bad for small companies and start-ups. So they tend to use temporary employment to circumvent these issues, though there is a limit as to how long you can employ someone temporarily.
In that instance I pay for long term disability insurance. If I have to be off for medical reasons for more time than my sick days, I get paid by LTD instead of employer.
Past the first 12 months the state (Norway) will start paying you equivalently to your pension. So as a student I too have private long term disability insurance, mostly to cover my student loans, in case I for instance get my fingers cut off and can't do much with a computer anymore.
