The Social Insurance Fund clarified the procedure for sick leave payments for working maternity leave

Author of the article: Anastasia Ivanova Last modified: January 2022 39581

Whether it will be possible to open sick leave during maternity leave depends on the type of leave. Namely, the reasons why the woman temporarily interrupted her work activity. If there is a certificate of incapacity for work, compensation is paid by the employer according to standard regulations. The basis for the calculation is the employee’s average daily earnings.

What is included in the concept of “maternity leave”

Maternity leave is a period during which an employee interrupts her professional activities due to the onset of motherhood. The basis is preparation for childbirth, the need to restore health after it, as well as looking after the newborn baby. According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, for this period the newly-made mother retains her position.

Typically, maternity leave is a combination of two periods:

1. Maternity leave (briefly - Maternity leave). Article 255 of the Labor Code provides for the possibility of a woman temporarily interrupting her work activity even before giving birth. The period of such leave is fixed. In a standard situation, the interval is 140 days (70 days before the birth of the baby and 70 after, but in case of complications another 16 days are added). In case of multiple pregnancy, it is allowed to take leave 84 days before the birth, and after it the period will be 110 days. Only a woman expecting a child can take advantage of the right to leave under the BiR.
2. Leave to care for a newborn child – up to 3 years. The right is provided for in Article 256 of the Labor Code. Both the mother and the second parent, or a close relative (grandmother, grandfather and others) have the right to take such leave. The period is paid by the employer in the form of benefits, which are subsequently compensated by the finances of the Social Insurance Fund.

The standard maternity leave scheme consists of taking maternity leave, and then submitting an application to management to interrupt work activities based on the need to care for a child. The possibility of looking after a newborn while maintaining a place of work is allowed only up to 3 years. If, upon reaching this age limit, the mother does not take up her duties, another person may take her position on a permanent basis.

In addition, a woman has the right to go to work earlier or not use this type of leave at all. There are also special labor guarantees and concessions for mothers of young children. One of them is the opportunity to work part-time or perform professional duties at home during maternity leave (Article 256 of the Labor Code). Moreover, in this case, the mother retains the right to receive social benefits.

How long is sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth?

Current legislation determines sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth and how many days it lasts. It depends on some circumstances. For example, the duration of a maternity leave is established taking into account factors (Part 1 of Article 255 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and Article 10 of Law No. 255-FZ):

1. If a mother is carrying two or more babies at the same time, then the duration of sick leave is 84 days before the babies are born and 110 days after, that is, 194 days in total.
2. In case of complicated childbirth, maternity leave will be issued for 156 days, that is, 70 days before birth, and 86 days after.
3. In other cases - 140 days of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth. There are 70 days before the birth of a newborn and a similar period after.
4. When adopting a child who is not yet three months old, payment is subject to a period of time starting from the day of adoption and ending with the 70th day after the baby’s birthday. When adopting several babies at once, the sick leave is extended - up to 110 days after their birth.
5. In case of premature birth that occurs before the 28th week of gestation, a maternity leave is issued for 156 days.
6. Women who have lived or are living in an area exposed to radiation are issued maternity leave for 160 days (90 days of the prenatal period).

For clarity, let's summarize this data in a table.

Is sick leave payable on maternity leave?

To figure out whether sick leave is paid at the time of maternity leave, you need to determine what period we are talking about in a particular case:

1. The initial stage, including leave due to pregnancy, is payable only if there is a certificate of incapacity for work. An obstetrician-gynecologist or attending physician who is seeing a woman has the right to issue a bulletin. Requesting a document is possible from the 30th week of pregnancy or from the 28th week if the pregnancy is multiple. It is also possible to take leave at a later date - at the moment when the employee needs it. The benefit for a certificate of incapacity for work opened for pregnancy and childbirth is paid in total in the form of a single payment. Accordingly, in this case we are talking about paying sick leave, but not on the basis of illness, but on the basis of maternity.
2. The second stage is caring for a child up to 3 years old. In this case, the period of absence from work is also paid, because it is recognized as an insured event on the basis of Article 1.3 of Law No. 255-FZ (clause 2). However, there is no need to provide a ballot here. It is enough to send an application to the manager. The important thing is that the benefit is accrued monthly, but only until the child is 1.5 years old.

Expert commentary

Kamensky Yuri

Lawyer

If the right to leave for employment and child care is used, then the period of illness that occurs at that moment is not subject to payment. In this case, the employee already receives financial support due to failure to fulfill professional duties on legal grounds. There is a continuation of income under the condition of release from work. Opening a second ballot is not allowed and the woman is not entitled to double payments.

This point is further reflected in Order No. 624n of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, which regulates the procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work. Chapter 5 (clause 40) states that sick leave is not provided during periods of maternity leave and caring for a newborn.

In a situation where a mother on maternity leave is placed in a hospital setting for treatment and restoration of her own health, she also does not have the right to claim sick leave payment. To look after a young child during her absence, the ballot will need to be opened to the father or another relative. And such a certificate of incapacity for work is subject to payment in full. However, it has nothing to do with the person who is actually on maternity leave.

Online calculator for calculating sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth

You can find out how much you are supposed to pay for sick leave during pregnancy and childbirth on the website of the Social Insurance Fund using an online calculator.

To do this, you need to enter the following data in the appropriate cells:

• start and end date of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth;
• type of sick leave (pregnancy and childbirth). It is indicated on the sick leave certificate in the “Cause of disability” field;
• amount of earnings;
• the amount of days excluded from the calculation of average daily earnings;
• standard working hours per week;
• other.

For a more accurate calculation, it is advisable to fill in all fields.

Exception cases

There are a number of situations when an employee who has taken maternity leave can still qualify for payment for an additional maternity leave. This is due to the labor privileges of working mothers. A reference to exceptional cases is indicated in Order No. 624n - Chapter 2, paragraph 23 and Chapter 5, paragraph 40.

Sick leave will be fully compensated if, during the maternity period, a woman:

• works part time;
• Performs professional duties at home.

In this case, you can issue a certificate of incapacity for work both in case of illness of the mother and in case of health problems in the baby.

In addition, it is possible to open a ballot if, after the end of the period of child care for a young child, the woman’s physical condition is considered unsatisfactory. And, of course, payment of sick leave is legal when there is continuation of activity without using the right to leave upon the occurrence of maternity. Under such circumstances, a woman performs her duties as an ordinary employee, which means that in case of health problems requiring treatment, she can go on sick leave.

What does sick leave pay look like now?

The state will pay 100% of average earnings to workers who have children under eight years of age. The new rules are enshrined in Law No. 151-FZ dated May 26, 2021. In this case, the employee’s length of service and method of treatment will not be taken into account.

Tatyana Petukhova, accountant

From September 1, an employee who has worked for five years and an employee who has only a year of experience will receive the same payment. There is also no need to confirm work experience if the young parent has switched to an electronic work record book. In addition, the amount of sick leave for caring for a child under eight years of age is not affected by how the treatment took place - outpatient or inpatient.

To receive the payment, the employee does not need to fill out additional documents—the information on the certificate of incapacity for work is sufficient. Let us remind you that from January 1, 2022, sick leave is paid directly from the Social Insurance Fund, so the expenses of business owners will not increase from September 1.

An employer can provide incentive payments for its employees in local regulations that apply at the enterprise. However, in practice such stories are extremely rare.

Important. For working parents with children over eight years old, the rules will remain the same. The basis is Article 7 of the Law of December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ.

To calculate the amount of sick leave for caring for a child under eight years old from September 1, 2022, use the step-by-step algorithm.

Sick leave calculation

The responsibility for calculating the certificate of incapacity for work issued due to illness or pregnancy rests with the employer’s accounting department. The payment is also made last, but the Social Insurance Fund will compensate this amount in the future. The employer only pays for the first 3 days of the ballot. In case of incapacity for work due to pregnancy and childbirth, the period is compensated in full from the Social Insurance Fund budget.

The amount of social benefits for pregnancy for women registered in the social insurance system is established in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of Law No. 255-FZ.

The following points are taken into account:

• the payment is 100% of the average salary;
• for less than 6 months of service, social benefits are paid in an amount not exceeding the minimum wage for a calendar month.

Expert commentary

Gorchakov Vladimir

Lawyer

As for how to calculate the amount of benefits, it is necessary to rely on the standard calculation procedure, where the average daily profit is multiplied by the number of days of sick leave. In this case, compensation for a bulletin issued on the basis of illness is calculated taking into account the employee’s length of service (Article 7, Law 255-FZ).

The payment will be:

Average earnings in each situation are calculated by summing wages for the last 2 years and dividing the resulting value by 730 (fixed value).

How is sick leave calculated for pregnancy and childbirth?

The calculation of the state maternity benefit is calculated at 100% of the average daily earnings of the mother, calculated for the two years preceding the year in which the sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth was issued. For example, for maternity leave in 2022, data from 2022 and 2022 are included in the calculation; professional work experience does not affect the calculation. Therefore, there is no need to determine the working period.

When calculating average daily earnings, only those income accruals from which insurance premiums were calculated in the manner prescribed by law are taken into account:

• wage;
• vacation pay;
• bonuses;
• business trips;
• compensation for unused vacation;
• financial assistance in the amount of more than 4,000 rubles.

A similar condition applies to determining the duration of the billing period. From its maximum duration (2017-2018 - 730 days), periods of time in which accruals were completely absent or the woman received payments that were not subject to insurance contributions are excluded. For example, I was sick, was on unpaid leave or on care leave for up to 1.5 years.

Total income accruals cannot be lower than the minimum wage, and also cannot exceed the established limit for the calculation and payment of insurance contributions to the budget. In 2022, there were restrictions in the amount of RUB 755,000, and in 2022 - RUB 815,000.

If a mother works for less than 6 months in total, then she will have to calculate sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth based on the minimum wage. In other words, a woman with less than six months of experience will receive benefits in an amount that does not exceed the minimum wage for a full calendar month. Moreover, if in the area of ​​residence there are territorial or regional coefficients established for wages, then the minimum wage is calculated taking into account such coefficients (Letter of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation dated December 2, 2002 No. 02-18/05-8417).

IMPORTANT!

The minimum wage from 01/01/2019 is 11,280 rubles.

Is sick leave provided for child care during maternity leave?

Not in all cases such leave will be granted while caring for a child. The main condition is the illness not of the newborn child, but of other minor children.

In the first case, payment for disability and registration of a sick leave certificate are not provided, since the employee is already on paid leave. The exception in this case is the illness of the baby shortly before the end of the leave to care for him (Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 624n, paragraph 41).

In the second case, sick leave will be issued provided that the employee goes part-time before the end of nursing leave (clause 23 of Order No. 624n). This rule also includes working from home.