Everything you need to know about sick leave: the most frequently asked questions

What could be a reason to take sick leave?

When applying for medical help, a certificate of incapacity for work will be issued to working persons:

• in the event of a deterioration in health that does not allow one to lead a normal lifestyle, it does not matter whether the disease is related to the type of activity, working conditions, that is, professional, or belongs to a general group of diseases;
• similarly when it comes to domestic injuries or those sustained in an industrial accident;
• if a sick child (or other relative) requires outside care;
• if the employee himself or the child he is raising (under 7 years old) is quarantined, when visiting organizations or taking part in public events is prohibited, so as not to become a spreader of viral and infectious diseases;
• if necessary, prosthetics in a specialized medical institution;
• for follow-up treatment after injuries and serious illnesses after providing direct care through inpatient treatment, in sanatoriums and resorts in Russia.

In addition, women preparing for childbirth have the right to take sick leave before the birth of the baby and for the recovery period after its birth.

Not a single legislative or legal act sets specific restrictions on how many sick days you can take per year.

Nobody knows what might happen to him. For example, just returning to work after suffering from the flu, a person has an accident and then sits at home on sick leave with a fracture.

The document is recognized as legally issued if the sick leave is issued:

• doctors of institutions providing medical care with appropriate licenses;
• in certain situations established by local authorities by paramedics and dentists;
• practicing doctors of research clinics and institutes involved in prosthetics and prosthetics.

How many days a sick leave certificate can be issued for also depends on the reason for issuing it.

You cannot receive sick leave:

• in ambulance organizations, if after an emergency call the person did not go to the hospital;
• after donating blood, becoming a donor;
• having undergone healing procedures in balneological and mud baths;
• using the services of dispensaries and assistance centers after disasters.

Not all doctors have the right to issue a certificate of incapacity for work.

What if I’m not sick, but just sitting in quarantine?

Illustration: Olga Selepina / Lifehacker
In this case, sick leave is opened to representatives of the following categories:

1. People who came to Russia from countries where cases of the new coronavirus infection have been registered.
2. FSS insured who live with people from point 1.

The benefit is calculated according to general rules. For persons from the first category, an application and photos of documents confirming a trip abroad are required. You can apply for sick leave online on the FSS website. Muscovites can also do this on Mos.ru.

Sick leave is also issued over the phone. You need to call the clinic you are assigned to or the hotline in your region. If you test positive for COVID‑19, you will automatically be given sick leave for 14 days - even if you feel excellent.

In addition, if your child attended a kindergarten that was closed for quarantine, you can apply for sick leave to care for your baby while he is at home. The calculation of the amount here is the same as for caring for sick children. But the quarantine period is not included in those 60 days, beyond which benefits are no longer paid.

Duration of sick leave

If the treatment does not require hospitalization and takes place at home, the doctor can keep you on sick leave for up to 15 days, prescribing medications, observing the course of the disease, and trends towards recovery.

If it is necessary to extend treatment, the patient is examined by a medical commission.

How many days you can stay on sick leave will largely depend on the type of disease, the general health of the patient, and any complications that have arisen.

The period of how many days you can stay on sick leave at home, after discharge from a medical institution until you return to work (discharge), is limited and is only 10 days.

How does the duration of sick leave depend on the reasons for its registration?

Naturally, no employer will like the constant absence of a subordinate and the need to find a replacement for him during treatment. How many days are needed to restore working capacity, according to the law, you can be on sick leave; attention is not focused on specific numbers.

The duration of the period of payment of cash benefits, in other words, how long you can not work while on sick leave, is established by the norms of Art. 6 Federal Law No. 255.

The law obliges owners, managers, entrepreneurs acting as employers to stipulate the conditions of compulsory social insurance when hiring new employees.

The duration of sick leave depends on the circumstances of its registration.

If a sick child needs care, it depends on the age of the children and their capacity.

In cases where the child’s health condition requires care for longer than this period, a working parent (no matter - father or mother, adoptive parent or guardian) has the right to request a medical certificate. On its basis, days of absence from work will not be paid, but a person can take free leave, knowing that his place and position will be retained.

The number of days of sick leave to care for a child depends on his age and type of illness

Particular attention is paid to the protection of childhood and motherhood. The law gives working women the right to take maternity leave (before and after childbirth). The basis for such rest is a certificate of incapacity for work issued by a medical institution where the expectant mother must register.

The duration of the prenatal period of sick leave is 70 or 84 days (depending on the number of babies being carried).

To restore the mother’s health after childbirth, a certificate of incapacity for work is issued:

• if 1 child was born - 70 days;
• when twins or more children are born at the same time – 86 days;
• if there were complications - 110 days for complications.

Employees recognized as disabled can receive benefits for continuous treatment of up to 4 months or a total of up to 5 months per calendar year.

To undergo sanatorium-resort treatment, you can use a maximum of 24 days.

The law identifies cases of tuberculosis as an exception to the rule. A certificate of incapacity for work is issued until the patient has fully recovered. If treatment does not bring the desired effect, the patient undergoes a recommission to establish a disability group.

Everything you need to know about sick leave: the most frequently asked questions

Sometimes people prefer not to go on sick leave, but to endure the illness “on their feet” and continue to go to work so as not to lose money. Now such behavior is dangerous not only for the person himself, but also for those around him. Together with Oleg Shein, a member of the Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, we answer the most frequently asked questions about sick leave.

Sick leave is regulated by the Federal Law “On Compulsory Social Insurance in Case of Temporary Disability and in Connection with Maternity” and individual articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

In what cases is sick leave issued?

In the following:

• illness (injury) of a citizen;
• further treatment of an employee in a sanatorium-resort institution;
• prosthetics in a hospital;
• illness of a family member who needs care;
• pregnancy and upcoming birth;
• quarantine.

Where does the money for disability benefits come from?

There is no need to be afraid to go on sick leave - you will definitely be paid.

When sick leave is paid due to an employee’s illness or injury:

• for the first three days, payments come from the funds of the employer (the policyholder);
• for the following days - from the funds of the Social Insurance Fund of Russia.

In other cases - caring for a sick family member, quarantine, prosthetics, after-care in a sanatorium - the benefit is paid from the Social Insurance Fund from the first day.

“Sick leave is paid from the Social Insurance Fund. Accordingly, the employer does not bear any personal losses. Expenses come from the fund, where there is no budget money, but deductions from the employee’s salary. This money also pays for sick leave. A person receives his own money, set aside from a government institution,” the deputy explained.

What determines the amount of disability benefits?

Based on your length of service and average earnings. If the length of service is:

• less than five years - payments will be 60% of average earnings;
• from five to eight years - 80% of average earnings;
• more than eight - 100% of average earnings.

The length of service is calculated based on the work record book, contracts, certificates or information on transferred wages from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

To calculate average earnings, all payments for which insurance premiums were paid over the last two years are taken, including from the previous employer.

Can all medical organizations issue sick leave?

Sick leave is issued by medical organizations authorized to examine temporary disability. These may include private clinics with a suitable license.

Do they pay benefits only for working days, weekends are not considered?

The benefit is paid for calendar days, that is, for the entire period for which the certificate of incapacity for work was issued.

There are exceptions to this rule.

Is there a minimum benefit?

Yes. There are situations when an employee had no earnings over the previous two years or the average earnings were below the minimum wage. In this case, the benefit is calculated from the minimum wage.

There is also a benefit maximum. The maximum payment for sick leave is made dependent on the maximum value of the base for calculating insurance contributions to the Social Insurance Fund. The value is indexed annually by resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation and characterizes the maximum amount with which contributions to the Social Insurance Fund can be paid for the year. Thus, the FSS cannot pay benefits in an amount above this limit (it does not receive contributions for this).

The maximum base for calculating contributions was:

• in 2022 - 815,000 rubles;
• in 2022 - 865,000 rubles;
• for 2022 - 912,000 rubles.

This means that in 2022, the value of the average daily earnings for calculating the maximum sick leave payment will be no more than: (865,000,815,000) / 730 [days] = 2,301.37 rubles.

Does violation of the regime prescribed by the attending physician affect the amount of sick leave?

Yes, from the date of violation, benefits will be calculated from the minimum wage. If the cause of an employee’s illness is alcohol, drug or toxic intoxication, then the benefit for the entire period of illness is calculated from the minimum wage.

What is the maximum period of sick leave?

Temporary disability benefits for loss of ability to work due to illness or injury are paid for the entire period until the day the ability to work is restored or disability is established.

Is it possible to extend sick leave?

If after 15 days the patient has not improved, then a medical examination will be required to extend the sick leave. If, for medical reasons, the patient must go to a hospital, then sick leave is issued for the entire period of stay in the medical institution. After this, the hospital doctor can extend the document for 10 days for rehabilitation at home.

Sick leave to care for a child can be extended until the child is fully recovered only if the child is under seven years old.

In the case of long-term treatment, the medical organization issues a new certificate of incapacity for work and at the same time draws up the previous certificate of incapacity for work to assign and pay benefits for temporary disability, pregnancy and childbirth.

Can a person be fired on sick leave?

No. It is not allowed to dismiss an employee at the initiative of the employer (except in the case of liquidation of the organization or termination of the activities of an individual entrepreneur) during the period of his temporary incapacity for work and while on vacation.

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How are days paid for when an employee is absent on sick leave?

The amount of benefits paid depends on:

• the duration of the insurance period at the time of incapacity;
• calculated for the two years of work preceding the insured event, the average earnings of a specific person on sick leave.

An ill or injured employee, while undergoing treatment, will receive:

To understand how to calculate the amount of benefits due for payment, it is enough to know the definition of average earnings for 1 day.

The mathematical algorithm is quite simple:

• sum up the employee’s salary 2 years before the insured event (for example, if sick leave is counted in 2022, they take earnings for 2017, 2022);
• dividing the resulting amount by 730 (or 731 if one of the calculated goals was a leap year), the average monthly earnings are obtained;
• divide the result by 29.3 (the accepted average monthly number of days) and see how much the employee earned on average per day;
• By multiplying the average daily salary by the number of days spent on sick leave, taking into account the insurance period coefficient, the amount of disability benefits is obtained.

When calculating average earnings, the following are not taken into account:

• time spent on free vacation (when there were no contributions to the Social Insurance Fund);
• one-time payments, such as financial assistance or compensation for money spent on travel, food, etc. (if insurance premiums were not deducted from them).

When the employee’s total insurance period is insignificant (less than six months), the benefit is calculated based on the time actually worked. The amount of sick pay cannot exceed the minimum wage in such situations.

What does the size of the payment depend on?

This is simultaneously influenced by several factors.
The key one is your average daily earnings (ADE). It is calculated for the two calendar years preceding the year of incapacity for work, using the following formula: SDZ = salary accrued for 2 years ∶ 730 days

Important! Law Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated November 15, 2017 No. 1378 “On the maximum value of the base for calculating insurance contributions for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity and for compulsory pension insurance from January 1, 2022” establishes limits on accrued annual earnings upon payment sick leave:

• 815,000 rubles - in 2022;
• 865,000 rubles - in 2022.

Taking into account these amounts, the maximum SDZ according to the above formula will be as follows:

(815,000 rubles + 865,000 rubles) ∶ 730 days = 2,301.37 rubles per day

This means that even if you earned more than a million rubles a year in 2018–2019, you will still receive payments based on the limits.

But what if during these two years you did not work at all or received symbolic amounts, say 10,000 rubles per month? However, you are entitled to sick pay. In this case, the amount of average daily earnings is calculated from the federal minimum wage Order of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated 08/09/2019 No. 561n “On establishing the subsistence level per capita and for the main socio-demographic groups of the population as a whole in the Russian Federation for the second quarter of 2022” (Registered in Ministry of Justice of Russia 08/22/2019 No. 55714), which now amounts to 12,130 rubles. The minimum SDZ is then determined as follows:

(12,130 rubles × 24 months) ∶ 730 days = 398.79 rubles per day

So, all sick leave payments will be based on your SDZ. But it will, however, be limited to the amounts indicated above.

Sick leave payments are unlikely to fully cover forced downtime and your expenses for treatment. And if several family members get sick, it will be even harder.

The “Individual Protection” policy from the VSK Insurance House will help offset a significant portion of the costs. If you get sick, you will receive a one-time payment for treatment, as well as up to 1,000 rubles for each day of hospital stay (from the 8th day) and up to 1,500 rubles in intensive care (from the 1st day). In addition, the policy will allow you to save money: it includes a coronavirus test, laboratory examination and online consultations with doctors 24/7.

How it works

How do you get sick leave?

A document confirming the inability to perform work duties due to health reasons is issued from the day of examination by a medical professional.

When an employee was sent to a medical facility from a health center, where he went after feeling unwell or injured during work, sick leave is issued from the moment of treatment.

If a person has an appointment with a doctor after a working day (work shift), a certificate of incapacity for work can be opened from the next day (at his request).

Citizens who were treated in an inpatient setting while in a medical organization are given a properly documented sick leave upon discharge for the entire period of their stay in the hospital.

If necessary, it can be extended for complete recovery on an outpatient basis (at home).

How many days will I be paid?

Illustration: Olga Selepina / Lifehacker
It depends on the reason for the disability and how you are registered in the HR department. Let's say you are injured or simply sick and are working under a regular open-ended contract. According to the Federal Law “On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity” dated December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ (latest edition), in this case you will be paid for the entire period of disability. If you work under a fixed-term contract of up to 6 months, then you will only be paid for up to 75 calendar days within the validity of the document.

Alas, you are not entitled to any sick pay while on vacation at your own expense. If it was annual paid leave, then sick leave is calculated according to the general rules.

A certificate of temporary incapacity for work can also be issued if health problems arise in one of the family members, and you must care for him. Here the number of days that will be paid is also limited. For example:

• Caring for a sick relative during outpatient treatment - no more than 7 days for each case of illness and a maximum of 30 days per calendar year.
• Caring for a child under 7 years old, at home or in a hospital, is a maximum of 60 days (90 days if an illness from this list is diagnosed).
• Caring for a child from 7 to 15 years old under the same conditions - a maximum of 15 days in one period and no more than 45 days in total.

How is sick leave paid?

In order to receive guaranteed payments for days of illness or recovery from injuries, in other insurance situations, the employee must submit a certificate of incapacity for work to the personnel department (or accounting department).

The sooner the documents reach the employer, the sooner the sick leave will be paid.

The period for accepting a document for accounting and accrual of due payments is limited, six months after full restoration of health (or the establishment of a disability group).

There is no need to write any additional statements.

Within 10 days from the date of provision of the certificate of incapacity for work, benefits are accrued. The employee will receive money for the period of illness on the next date of payment of wages.

So I can always count on sick leave payments?

Alas, no, and this is stated in the Federal Law “On Compulsory Social Insurance in Case of Temporary Disability and in Connection with Maternity” dated December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ (latest edition). For example, you, while on sick leave, for some reason decided to violate the regime prescribed by the doctor and left the hospital without permission or left the city altogether. It will also be a violation to fail to appear for an examination without a good reason on a certain day. The doctor is obliged to note this on your certificate of incapacity for work, and from the date of such a violation, your benefits will be calculated based on the minimum wage, and not on your average daily earnings.

And if you went on sick leave due to an injury or illness caused by alcohol or drugs, then accruals taking into account the minimum wage will be for all days.

In addition, you may not be paid if you do not provide sick leave to your employer. But you have 6 months to do this.

So, follow your doctor’s orders, show up for your appointment on time, and be sure to cover your sick leave. And then you will definitely get everything you are entitled to.

With the “Individual Protection” policy from the VSK Insurance House, you don’t have to worry about not having time to make an appointment with a doctor at a convenient time. You can schedule an online appointment and chat with the doctor without leaving your home. In the mobile application or in your personal account on the website, you can get support from a therapist, specialized specialists, and even a psychologist. This is real help that is provided in comfortable conditions.

As part of the policy, you can also get tested. The COVID‑2019 test is worth taking if you use public transport every day or work in crowded places. And if you have a personal car or work remotely, you can undergo a full-fledged laboratory diagnosis instead of a coronavirus test. VSK has prepared comprehensive programs for men and women.

Find out about all the benefits

How and by whom sick leave is paid for laid-off workers

The legislator does not emphasize for what exact reasons the employment relationship must be terminated in order for the former employee to have the right to apply for sick leave pay.

If, within a month after dismissal, a person falls ill or is injured, after recovery he submits a certificate of incapacity for work to his former employer. Termination of employment relations of one's own free will does not deprive the right to receive compensation for all days of treatment.

In this situation, the date of opening of sick leave can only affect the amount of payments.

If illness overtakes an employee working the required 2 weeks before the expiration of this period, despite the termination of the employment relationship on the specified date, sick leave must be paid for the entire period of illness, even if he is discharged after dismissal. Moreover, the amount of payments is calculated according to general rules.

If the insured event occurs after dismissal, the former employee will receive benefits for days of incapacity at the rate of only 60% of average earnings, regardless of the insurance period.

When you are dismissed due to reduction, when the enterprise is closed by decision of the owner, you most often have to contact the Social Insurance Fund regarding payment of sick leave.

The main criterion for whether sick days will be paid or not is the deadline – when the documents are submitted.

To accrue sick leave, a certificate of incapacity for work must be provided within 6 months from the date of receipt.

The law does not specifically limit how much time can be paid in connection with disability confirmed by medical documents.

In such a situation, the former employer pays for the first three days of illness, the remaining period of illness is paid by the Social Insurance Fund.

What do you need to know when you take out a certificate of incapacity for work?

What do you need to know when you take out a certificate of incapacity for work? The first thing you need to understand is that if you get sick while on vacation, your vacation may be extended to cover sick leave. Payment for such sick leave will be made on a general basis. These payments should take into account the following:

• cash payments must be issued no later than 10 days after the certificate of incapacity for work is provided;
• you will receive payments on payday;
• The social insurance fund, which will pay you for sick leave, must provide information about your place of work, as well as provide a certificate of income for the last two years.

You should not count on payments if you were on paid leave and took sick leave to care for a child that lasted more than seven days.

You should know some nuances:

1. If you were not paid sick leave on time, you can demand compensation for each day of delay.
2. If an employee is injured at work and goes on sick leave, he must be paid sick leave in the amount of 100% of his salary.
3. An employee with whom the employment relationship has already been terminated (that is, quit), can issue a certificate of incapacity for work within 30 days from the date of termination of the relationship and demand appropriate payments. The amount of payment for such sick leave will be 60% of the former employee’s salary. However, to process such payments, you should prepare a package of papers: a work book, a photocopy of your passport and a certificate of incapacity for work. This scenario is only possible if the sick leave was provided directly to the former employee, and not to care for his relatives.

Probably, many people did not guess about the last point. But every officially employed citizen has the right to take such a step.

Maximum duration of recovery while on sick leave

An employee may remain in outpatient treatment as prescribed by a doctor for no more than 15 days. If a person has not recovered, his further stay on sick leave is decided by a medical commission.

As a rule, if it is impossible to predict an improvement in health, disability is established after 4 months.

When treatment provides a chance for a favorable outcome and restoration of working capacity, the certificate of incapacity for work can be periodically extended after examinations every 15 days.

The total duration of treatment in such situations can reach up to 10 months, and after reconstructive operations or in case of tuberculosis - up to one year.

A certificate of incapacity for work by a paramedic or dentist is issued for a maximum of 10 days.

The legislation does not limit the number of sick days, but regulates the maximum number of days a sick leave can be issued for.

Features of registration of sick leave

From July 1, 2022, along with the usual paper forms, with the consent of the patient, electronic sick leave certificates are used

In order for innovations to be fully implemented, it is necessary for medical organizations and employers to be participants in information interaction.

The form consists of cells that must be filled in:

• a doctor at the medical institution where the employee sought medical help;
• employer.

Important! In accordance with clause 4.2 of the first section of Order No. 624n, if a citizen in need of treatment, at the time of issuing sick leave, works simultaneously for several employers, at his choice he can receive sick leave to provide any of them or several certificates of incapacity to provide according to every place of work.

Please note that sick leave will be issued from the day when the employee was supposed to begin his work duties if it is necessary to continue the course of treatment begun:

• while on annual paid leave or additional leave provided for special working conditions, sick leave is issued in accordance with the general Rules;
• during the period of free leave or child care up to 3 years.

If an employee, caring for a baby, works part-time or at home, a certificate of incapacity for work is issued as usual.

This is what a completed certificate of incapacity for work looks like

Is my insurance record important?

Yes, this is a significant parameter when calculating: the longer your insurance period, the higher the sick leave payments.

• Less than 6 months - sick leave is calculated based on the minimum wage.
• From 6 months to 5 years - 60% of average annual earnings.
• 5–8 years – 80%.
• More than 8 years of experience - 100%.

If you have taken sick leave to care for a child under 15 years of age, while he is being treated at home, then these coefficients apply only for the first 10 days. The remaining period is compensated based on 50% of the average daily earnings.

Let us remind you that the calculation takes into account your earnings over the past two years. If you were not paid a salary in at least one of the two years (let’s say you were on maternity leave), you can replace this time. For example, take another year for which you had an insurance period. But if you want to replace a period simply because labor income was higher before, it won’t work.

Also keep in mind that the replaced years have their own limits on contributions to the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). For example, in 2017 the amount was limited to 755 thousand rubles, and this is noticeably less than in 2022 and 2019.

And one more important point: if you work part-time, then the amount of sick leave payments to you will be divided by two. The minimum wage as the minimum parameter for calculation is used for a full working day. In your case, the lower limit will be half the minimum wage.

Employer's liability for late payment of sick leave

Payment for days of incapacity for working citizens is guaranteed by labor legislation.

Violation of the deadlines for payment of benefits or accrual of the required amounts not in full is fraught with administrative punishment for the employer:

• warning;
• fine

Among other things, if due payments are delayed, a penalty must be charged on the day of final settlement.

You can appeal against illegal actions (inaction) of an employer not only through the court, but also by contacting supervisory authorities - the labor inspectorate, the prosecutor's office.

Does an employer have the right to dismiss an employee who is constantly on sick leave?

According to survey results, hired employees take sick leave only in extreme cases

General reasons for termination of employment do not give the employer the right to unilaterally dismiss a frequently ill employee.

All the owner or manager can do is pay for the established number of days of sick leave per year, offering treatment beyond this period while on vacation, or terminating the contract by agreement of the parties.

At the same time, according to Part 5 of Art.
83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation recognizes the dismissal of an employee as justified after the medical commission has recognized his complete loss of ability to work in the prescribed manner. Order a free legal consultation

An employee is sick

The law does not establish any time limits for the employee himself. He has the right to be sick for as long as he is sick - until complete recovery or disability is established. All days of documented illness must be paid.

And there is only one exception here: with a fixed-term employment contract (less than six months), you are not allowed to be sick for more than seventy-five days (unless it is tuberculosis). If you are sick more, you will only be paid for 75 days.

Determination of disability is an obstacle to further work. In this case, dismissal is usually issued. The third paragraph of the sixth article 255-FZ promises that a newly disabled person will receive temporary disability benefits. This payment is limited to five months per year.

Tuberculosis patients are given benefits until recovery.