It can be abused though: I know of several cases where people are ill for two years, miracuously get better, work a month, then get ill for another two years.
Overall it's preferable to the UK situation.
Like you though I'm a freelancer; you earn more for less net work time so it's good.
I do too, but it is important to recognise that many people earn a lot less when freelancing than a typical salary. There are a lot of very poorly paid "self-employed" in the UK.
I've known freelancers in the UK paid less than £3 an hour, legally because "self-employed". Think things like Uber drivers, data entry on a "per document" basis or article writing "per word".
It is tough for them.
For perspective, that is less than half the legal minimum wage, and they have no sick pay, maternity, pension or other worker protections.
I am genuinely surprised people on HN think zero pay on sick days is unusual. So I'll quote from a BBC article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51738837
But TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said two million workers do not earn enough to qualify.
Prospect union added that freelancers and self-employed people would continue to face "the dilemma of no pay or going to work when it may be putting their colleagues at risk".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked Mr Johnson if the sick pay announcement would help those currently not eligible for statutory sick pay - such as those on zero hours contracts, or self-employed people.
I'm in a European juristiction - the UK. We have reasonable labour protections here. But they don't protect everyone.
If you are self-employed, then taking time off means going unpaid. It's that simple. Zero income. I have been in that position. Took a month off due to flu once (not the current flu). Lost 1 month income.
There is a government system called "Statutory Sick Pay" (SSP), but it is not paid to the self-employed, and if it did it would only start after a few weeks.
If you are a "casual" worker, then taking time off also means going unpaid because you don't have a contract of employment or regular hours to refer to. Sucks to be you, but it's harsh reality for many.
For salaried workers, the employer pays salary for a while. But it's time limited, depending on the employer. Some are more generous than others. The less generous will switch over to Statuory Sick Pay, which is not much money. It is rarely enough to cover rent or mortgage, for example, let alone food and bills.
A lot of people are self-employed, casual workers, or have household bills exceeding SSP. Taking a few weeks off due to sickness has a serious financial impact for those people, unfortunately, and it is wrong to assume everyone can afford to do so.