Day off for medical examination: features of provision

Who to let go

In accordance with Art. 185.1 of the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to provide the following employees with a specified number of days off from work for the purpose of conducting a medical examination:

• all employees, regardless of age (from 18 years old according to general rules) and health status - 1 day every three years;
• recipients of long-service pensions;
• pensioners and pre-retirees (citizens who have reached the age when there are five or less years left before retirement) - 2 days annually.

WHAT IS DISPANSERIZATION

Clinical examination is a set of measures that includes a preventive medical examination and additional examination methods carried out to assess health status (including determining the health group and the clinical observation group) and carried out in relation to certain groups of the population in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation[1] .

The procedure for conducting clinical examination of certain groups of the adult population (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure) was approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated October 26, 2017 No. 869n. As a general rule, all employees over 18 years of age have the right to undergo medical examination once every three years[2]. The age at which an employee can undergo medical examination is indicated in Appendix No. 1 to this Procedure.

How to apply

The Labor Code partially specifies how to arrange a medical examination at work and what documents are required. This procedure is simple; the algorithm includes only two stages.

Stage 1. Application from the employee

First of all, you need an application, which is drawn up by the employee himself. The date of the examination is agreed with the administration. The application form is not approved by law; it is written in free form.

Recommended application details:

• name of the addressee indicating the surname, name, patronymic of the immediate superior, name of the organization;
• last name, first name, patronymic of the employee and an indication of his position;
• Title of the document;
• a request for days off from work and the purpose of such release from work;
• an indication of a specific day of release from work;
• signature and date.

Stage 2. Employer's order

In the order, be sure to indicate that on a specific day the employee is exempt from work to undergo a medical examination. The form of the order is free; there is no normatively approved form.

WHAT CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXEMPTION FROM WORK

The employer is obliged to release employees who have written a corresponding application from work to undergo a medical examination. Moreover, the frequency and duration of exemption depend on the category of workers.

It is necessary to be released from work to undergo medical examination:

• employees of pre-retirement age and pensioners - for two working days once a year;

• other employees - for one working day once every three years.

In order to receive release from work, the employee must write an application addressed to the head of the organization (other authorized person). In this case, the day(s) of release from work must be agreed upon with the employer[3].

Do I need to check the progress?

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employee is not obliged to report to his superiors about the implementation of the given free day. But Rostrud recommends developing a regulation in which the reporting procedure is agreed upon. In particular, a certificate of medical examination for work may be required, if this is provided for by the LNA. Order of the Ministry of Health No. 124n dated March 13, 2019 provides for the obligation of medical institutions to issue such certificates to working citizens. The unified sample of a medical examination certificate has not been approved in Order No. 124n, but it is assumed that it should have the following details:

• doctor's signature;
• seal of the organization.

Official form must be used.

Organization of medical examination - regulatory justification

Unlike mandatory medical examinations, preventive medical examination of employees is a voluntary procedure. This is an examination for which no reason or health complaints are needed. On the contrary, the task of medical examination is to prevent the disease or to recognize in time the early signs of a disease that a person is not aware of.

At the end of March 2022, an Order was signed on the suspension of medical examinations - preventive examinations of adults in the context of the spread of coronavirus.

In accordance with these recommendations, at the 1st stage of lifting restrictions, medical examinations and medical examinations are not carried out; at the 2nd and 3rd stages, they are resumed for some groups of the adult population.

How many days are required for medical examination?

Since 2022, the rules for medical examination and medical examination have been combined in the new order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated March 13, 2022 No. 124n “On approval of the procedure for conducting preventive medical examination and medical examination of certain groups of the adult population.”
Starting this year, workers under 40 years of age have the right to one day, paid and free from work, to undergo medical examination. If an employee is 40 years or older, he can undergo medical examination annually.

And for an employee of pre-retirement age, you must provide and pay for two working days once a year. These are workers 5 years before retirement. This is established by Article 185.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Who should be sent for medical examination?

Not every employee can take a day for medical examination. But only those who, based on their year of birth, fall into the group of citizens who receive free medical examinations this year.

That is, in order to undergo medical examination, you must be of age.

There are no problems with workers over 40 years old.

And workers under 40 years old are entitled to 1 day every 3 years. That is, they can undergo medical examination during the year when they turn 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39 years old.

How can we help a particular young person find out whether he can get a day for medical examination or not?
It's quite simple. To do this, the number of years should be divided by 3. If the number is divisible without a remainder, the person can undergo medical examination in this particular year. Example.
How to calculate the right to medical examination Ivanov and Petrov decided to undergo medical examination. Ivanov is 37 years old, Petrov is 36. In the current year 2022, Petrov has the right to be released from work with payment: the number of his years is divided by 3 without a remainder (36: 3). Ivanov will not be able to get a day for medical examination this year. He needs to wait until the year he turns 39.

On the day or days when the employee goes for a medical examination, he is credited with average earnings.

What's with the order?

Exemption from work for medical examination is provided for in Art. 185.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

From its provisions it is not entirely clear whether the employee’s statement of desire to undergo a medical examination will be sufficient.

The position of Rostrud is as follows (Rostrud’s review of current issues from employees and employers for January 2022): the norms of the current legislation do not establish the mandatory execution of an order for release from work while undergoing an examination at a dispensary. However, the issuance of such an order is recommended for the following purposes:

• streamlining the organization's document flow;
• avoiding disagreements with employees and regulatory authorities.

Also see “Amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation: an additional day off for medical examination.”

On the days of medical examination, the employee retains his place of work (position) and average earnings (Part 1 of Article 185.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The day(s) of release from work is agreed upon with the employer (Part 3 of Article 185.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Also see “How the state protects pre-retirees.”

Who is given a day for medical examination?

Employees who are given a day off to undergo medical examination, and the number of days that they are assigned to undergo it, are listed in Article 185.1 of the Labor Code.
It stipulates that in order to undergo medical examination:

• employees under 40 years of age are provided with 1 day once every 3 years;
• employees over 40 years of age are entitled to 1 non-working day per year;
• employees of pre-retirement age (within 5 years before retirement age), as well as employees who receive old-age pensions or long-service pensions, have the right to be released from work for 2 working days 1 per year.

Whether an employee is pre-retirement can be determined using the Ministry of Labor table (appendix to Letter No. 21-2/10/P-9349 dated December 18, 2018).

At the same time, the 2 days that are provided for medical examination for employees of pre-retirement age can be used by them in parts at different times during the year, i.e. not in a row.

The Ministry of Labor drew attention to this in a letter dated September 8, 2020 No. 14-2/OOG-14583.

He also recommended that the employer and employee decide on the issue of providing the specified days for medical examination in parts in each specific case jointly, depending on the current situation and taking into account the interests of each party.

More on the topic:

Additional day off for medical examination for employees 40+

How to check that the employee received the day off spent in the clinic

The law does not say that a subordinate is obliged to somehow confirm a trip to a medical facility. Officials emphasize that if a certificate of medical examination for work is not provided, a person cannot be fired for absenteeism.

But at the same time, Rostrud believes that the employer has the right to demand some document confirming the reason for absence. For example, the LNA may require that an employee present a certificate confirming that he underwent some medical procedures on the day off he received.

The Ministry of Health also came to the rescue: officials approved amendments to the procedure for conducting medical examinations (Order of the Ministry of Health dated March 13, 2019 No. 124n), specifying that:

a medical organization issues a certificate to a working citizen in accordance with the procedure approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated May 2, 2012 No. 441n.

Order No. 441n does not provide a sample certificate of medical examination. It is assumed that it is compiled in free form. But the document has mandatory details:

• it is drawn up on the official letterhead of the medical organization;
• signed by the doctor's personal signature;
• confirmed by the seal of the medical organization.

What documents are needed for rest on the day of medical examination?

The employee must bring the employer a certificate from the clinic stating that he has undergone medical examination (Part 5 of Article 185.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). This certificate will confirm that the employee actually attended a medical examination and did not miss work.

As a general rule, this is given one day every three years. Those who are over forty years old undergo medical examination every year for one day. And pensioners, as well as those who have 5 years left before retirement, have the right to undergo medical examination within two days.

But before using the right to attend a medical examination during working hours, the date of going to the clinic must be agreed upon with the employer. To do this, the employee needs to send an application to the employer requesting a day of rest. The employer does not always immediately agree on the day that the employee requests. Taking into account workload and production needs, this date may have to be “pushed forward.”

On the application, the employee supervising the medical examination puts a mark on the right to a day off for the purposes of the medical examination in the current year, and the manager agrees on the date.

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