Notification of sick leave: is it mandatory and how to prepare it?

Is it necessary to warn about the disease?

According to the law, if an employee is absent for more than four hours, the employer has the right to regard this as absenteeism and fire him (Clause 6, Part 1, Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). What to do if a person gets sick? Often employees take sick leave and forget to report it at work. Or they notify you later that they issued a certificate of incapacity for work late. Personnel officers consider this approach a violation and demand that negligent employees be punished.

Personnel officers and lawyers argue whether an employee should notify the employer about sick leave - the answer is ambiguous. The former believe that in order for absence to not be considered absenteeism, you should notify your manager on the same day that you are sick. Lawyers have a slightly different point of view: for clarification, you need to turn to the legislation and the internal labor regulations (ILR).

In law

Each situation is individual, and it all depends on what criteria to judge by - by the law, by the PVTR or by human rules. It is immediately necessary to clarify that labor legislation clearly answers the question of whether it is necessary to notify the employer about sick leave - no, there is no mandatory requirement in this regard. Neither the Labor Code nor the Law on Insurance for the Period of Temporary Disability (No. 255-FZ of December 29, 2006) obliges to notify the employer. And this is understandable, since different situations happen when a person is not able to report, for example, being in intensive care, unconscious at home, without a phone, etc.).

But in the Labor Code there is a requirement to prove absence from work - to present a document for each day of absence. Even if the employee’s illness does not immediately become clear, but he brought a certificate of incapacity for work for the entire period of absence, it cannot be punished. If an employee was sick for the first few days without a certificate (not documented), but brought proof for the rest, then the employer has the right to even fire him for this.

According to internal rules

In order for company employees to make it a rule to report temporary disability, some lawyers advise stipulating this in employment contracts, permanent labor regulations and other documents. They should specify the officials to whom notifications must be sent, the method of transmission and deadlines. Article 21 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes the employee’s obligation to conscientiously perform duties in accordance with the employment contract; comply with PVTR and more.

Other human rights activists, on the contrary, consider introducing mandatory notification into local regulations inappropriate, since these rules apply only to the period of the work process. During illness, a person is not required to observe labor discipline. He is temporarily disabled.

In the event of legal disputes, internal rules do not take precedence over official legislation. If, even knowing about such a requirement within the organization, the employee did not notify the employer about sick leave, but then brought a certificate of incapacity for work, by law, he is prohibited from being punished for absenteeism. But management has the right to issue a reprimand or reprimand for violation of official discipline and to deprive a bonus. And it will not be possible to maintain your reputation and friendly relations with management.

On the one hand, one must act strictly according to the law. And the employer cannot force staff to send sick leave notices to the company. On the other hand, if each employee does not notify their superiors about going on sick leave, then the company will have difficulties in organizing the work process. This easily explains the desire of employers to implement a mandatory notification procedure. Management has the right to count on the employee’s integrity in relation to official duties and to colleagues. This warning system is created on a voluntary basis.

But in this matter there is a regulatory act in favor of the employer. Paragraph 27 of the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 No. 2 states: if possible, it is worth notifying about sick leave. Otherwise, it is regarded as an abuse of right. For example, it is useless for a subordinate to hide the fact that he is sick if he knows that he is going to be fired. According to the Labor Code, it is impossible to relieve someone from their position during sick leave and vacation (Article 81). Having hidden his incapacity for work, the employee expects that the court will reinstate him to his previous place. But if it turns out that the employer is not aware, the claim will be denied.

IMPORTANT!

If the illness occurs during vacation, then its period is extended for the period of sick leave. Provided that the sick person informs the employer about it.

Didn't warn - it means you abused your right

However, judges are not always so loyal to employees who prefer not to announce to their superiors that they have sick leave. An employee may specifically hide information about his temporary disability, for example, at the time of dismissal. And subsequently try to be reinstated in the service on this basis, demanding various types of compensation. So, by now there has already been a fairly stable judicial practice that helps punish such cunning people. In this case, the fundamental principle will be the conclusion of senior judges that in the event of termination of an employment contract with an employee, it is unacceptable for him to conceal his temporary disability at the time of his dismissal.

Read also “Sick leave – vacation – dismissal. When should I pay?

In this case, his behavior will be considered an abuse of right (clause 27 of the RF Supreme Court Order of March 17, 2004 No. 2). “However, this also has its own nuances,” warns Moscow lawyer Sergei Voronin. – For example, we should not forget that failure to notify cannot be automatically equated to concealment. And the employer will have to prove the fact that the employee hid information about his illness himself (since Article 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation results in the presumption of innocence of citizens).” Indeed, in practice, for example, such a situation may arise. A person, having a sick leave, could not inform his superiors about it and go to work (out of necessity, due to a keenly developed sense of duty, etc.). But the servants of Themis most often consider such behavior to be an abuse of rights on the part of the employee and refuse his claim. After all, while at the workplace, the employee had a lot of opportunities to warn the employer about his “ill status”, but, nevertheless, did not do this (see, for example, PP of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) dated February 6, 2015 No. 44-g-8; appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated June 26, 2015 in case No. 33-20425; rulings of the Samara Regional Court dated October 26, 2011 No. 33-10953 and the St. Petersburg City Court dated September 24, 2013. No. 33-12714/13, etc.).

In this regard, it is necessary to clarify what, according to the judges, should be considered a notification to the employer of temporary disability. For example, a sick employee has the right to notify the employer about sick leave by telephone. In this case, evidence of notification will be the details of telephone conversations and decoding of local intrazonal telephone connections of the plaintiff and defendant (see, for example, decisions of the Naberezhnye Chelny City Court of the Republic of Tatarstan dated January 20, 2015 in case No. 2-1711/2015, 2-20592/2014 ; Ezhvinsky District Court of Syktyvkar in case No. 2-428/2013). If the employee refers to the fact that he sent a warning by email, then it will be possible to prove the fact of the notification using screenshots.

To whom and when should you report illness?

The law does not have a clear procedure for notifying the employer about sick leave; usually a message is sent to the head of the personnel service, direct superiors or director. It is advisable to notify colleagues on the same day that the doctor issues a sick leave. Then management will promptly redistribute responsibilities, and you will not cause disruption to the work process.

Here you should rely on common sense and corporate ethics. If the company’s internal rules provide for such an obligation, there is no point in evading it. Otherwise, you risk coming into conflict with management. And this doesn't end well.

This is especially important for valuable financially responsible employees. If the chief accountant did not warn about going on sick leave in a timely manner, then the manager will not organize business processes on time, will not be able to assign responsibilities to other employees, will not be able to quickly and accurately prepare financial statements, accounting, etc. The company management must also be informed about the possible extension of the certificate of incapacity for work if treatment is delayed.

Sick leave must be provided within six months after returning to work. Otherwise, the employer will refuse to pay sickness benefits.

ConsultantPlus experts examined whether an employee can work while on sick leave. Use these instructions for free.

Registration of transfer or extension of vacation

The documents drawn up for transferring and extending leave are slightly different - see the table.

We arrange the transfer

So, first of all, the employee writes an application to postpone part of the vacation, in which he indicates the reason (temporary disability), the number of days and the desired dates. A copy of the sick leave certificate is attached to the application.

Based on this application, the employer issues an order to postpone the vacation. The order should indicate the reasons for this and the dates to which the vacation is postponed. If the employee has not decided on the dates, he must write that the dates of the transferred vacation will be determined on the basis of an additional application from the employee.

Then the vacation schedule is adjusted, indicating the actual dates of rest in accordance with the order.

For your information

Since vacations granted to an employee while working for a given employer are taken into account in the personal card, changes must be made to it as well. To do this, in column 6 of the T-2 form, the specified information is crossed out with one line and the number of vacation days actually used and the date of its end are entered below or on the next line. Column 7 reflects information about the details of the order, on the basis of which part of the vacation was postponed to another period

We arrange an extension

Everything is much simpler here. An order to extend vacation is not issued, since by virtue of clause 18 of the Rules on regular and additional vacations, this happens automatically. An application from the employee to extend the leave is not required.

But changes will have to be made to the working time sheet - days when the employee was sick, Fr. You also need to know about the days for which the vacation is extended.

And of course, you need to adjust your personal card. How to do this is stated above.

How to report

In practice, sick employees notify colleagues in different ways. You can decide on your own how to report sick leave to work:

• leave messages in instant messengers or social networks;
• write by email;
• send notification by regular mail;
• convey through colleagues;
• send by fax or just call.

Orally

An ill employee has the right to inform the manager orally, sometimes in person during a meeting (during planned surgery, viral and chemotherapy, etc.). But most often, in case of ARVI, injuries and other unexpected diseases, they report by telephone. Today, this option can prove in court that the employer has been notified. Technical capabilities make it possible to transcribe and detail calls.

In writing

In fact, not all methods are equally good. Especially if it is necessary to dialogue with management directly. You need to decide how to properly inform your boss about sick leave - according to lawyers, in writing. If labor disputes arise, it is easier to prove the fact of notification in court.

Today there are many written options: the employee has the right to notify by regular mail or telegram, send a message by fax, e-mail, via instant messengers, social networks, via SMS, MMS. In the case of emails, proof of notification will be a screenshot.

Summarize

If an employee receives sick leave during annual leave, the employer is obliged to extend the vacation by the number of sick days or reschedule it.
The exception is cases when sick leave is issued to care for a child or other family member and when the employee is on vacation with subsequent dismissal. Both transfer and extension of leave must be recorded in the relevant documents. Hello Guest! Offer from "Clerk"

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How to write a notification

There is no clear procedure for writing to an employer about sick leave in legislative acts. The employer has the right to independently think through it in internal documents. Typically, the notification is drawn up in any form according to the rules of business document flow. In the top right corner, indicate to whom you are addressing the message and from whom. Then in the middle - “Notice of Temporary Disability”.

In the main part of the text they inform you about the date on which they have been on sick leave, indicate the diagnosis (if desired) and for how long the treatment is expected (if this is known). Below is the signature and date.

Sample

Here is an approximate sample and form that you should refer to when writing a notice:

Sample:

To whom and how to give a warning about illness at work and where to submit sick leave?

A notice of sick leave can be given to the employer orally. But it is still better to include in the organization’s local documents an obligation to draw up a written version.

The employee did not come to work on the first working day due to illness, which he reported to the employer by telephone. The employer canceled the employment contract. Is it necessary to reinstate the employee at work or conclude a new employment contract with him if the employee calls in sick after a week? The answer to this question was explained by 1st Class Advisor to the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation I. I. Dudoladov. Get free trial access to the ConsultantPlus system and get acquainted with the official’s point of view.

Employees can send the document in question - in any available way (via e-mail, social networks, fax, MMS) and on a voluntary basis - to the responsible employee of the HR service or to the manager himself. The document may indicate what the employee is ill with and for what period he is expected to be absent.

The warning may also be addressed to the employee responsible for accepting sick leave. This could be an accounting or human resources employee.