Filling out a sick leave certificate: the main nuances and which pen can be used to fill it out

Should we be afraid of claims from inspectors from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia if a ballpoint pen was used when filling out a sick leave certificate? Yes, it's worth it. This is confirmed by judicial practice, namely the resolution of the Court of Justice of the West Siberian District dated October 30, 2014 No. A27-5730/2014. The auditors, having discovered such a flaw, remove from the companies the costs of paying temporary disability benefits. But you can defend the costs in court.

In practice, the following situation is common. Often patients do not know the exact name of their place of work. As a result, when issuing sick leave, medical institutions use inaccurate information received from the patient and make mistakes. The employer does not accept such forms for payment, and employees have to contact the place of their treatment with a request to correct the inaccuracy.

Medical institutions have found a way out - they prefer to leave this field empty, so that the employer can then enter the necessary information. However, companies, having independently indicated their name, often violate the rules for issuing a certificate of temporary incapacity for work (using the wrong types of pens or ink), which during inspections leads to claims from inspectors.

The arguments presented in the court ruling under consideration will help organizations defend the legality of accepting expenses for the payment of temporary disability benefits if individual fields of the sick leave sheet are filled in with a ballpoint pen.

Is it possible to fill out a sick leave sheet with a black gel pen?

Question about sick leave certificates, everything was filled out correctly, but it was filled out with a black gel “write-erase” pen, the property of this pen is that the ink disappears over time, do we have the right not to accept it.
There was a check by the Social Insurance Fund and the ink disappeared on the sick leave sheets that were filled out with such a pen. The clinic refuses to redo the sick leave because... it is filled correctly, but if you rub the eraser lightly, the ink will be erased as if it had been filled in with a pencil.

Employer's actions. Thank you.

The use of a ballpoint pen is not allowed. Therefore, having considered your question, we can say that you are absolutely right and the legislation does not contain rules regarding your situation. At the same time, this situation is an exception rather than a practice and there is absolutely no fault of the employer in this case.

Thus, in our opinion, you need to make copies of all sick leave sheets, as confirmation, and try writing a letter to the Social Insurance Fund with a request to check the data of medical institutions, and also write a letter of complaint to the medical institution itself. Details in the System materials:

Answer: How to fill out a sick leave certificate when assigning sick leave benefits

General filling rules Fill out only the “To be completed by the employer” section.

Fill out the sick leave form in printed capital letters using a gel, capillary or fountain pen with black ink or using a printing device. You cannot write on a sick leave certificate with a ballpoint pen. All entries must not extend beyond the cell boundaries or touch them.

All lines of the certificate of incapacity for work are filled in starting from the first cell.

Spaces between words are required. When putting the employer's stamp on the certificate of incapacity for work, make sure that it does not fall on the data cells and is clear and easy to read.

Such rules are provided for in the Procedure approved. Nina Kovyazina Deputy Director of the Department of Wages, Labor Safety and Social Partnership of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia

Filling rules

Basic Rules.

Due to the fact that processes are being optimized in all industries, and this, accordingly, makes it easier to record documentation, innovations have been introduced in healthcare that will help eliminate filling out errors.

For this purpose, a special form of sick leave form was developed. It should contain:

binary pin code;
12-digit barcode;
as well as background grids and, of course, watermarks.

According to the form for filling out a sick leave certificate, its correctness is of particular importance, since the presence of errors can lead to the fact that it simply will not be paid. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the basic rules, they are that:

The certificate of incapacity for work is filled out exclusively in block letters, which must be as clear and legible as possible;
The letters fit into the corresponding cells, and you cannot go beyond them;
The pen should be gel or capillary, but fountain pens can also be used (ballpoint pens cannot be used). In addition, it should only be black;
This form is two-sided, both sides are required to be completed.

The strictness of filling out is due to the fact that the data is scanned and transmitted to the Social Insurance Fund, which pays sick leave.

New sick leave: mistakes that are correctable and not

And if the sick leave suddenly turns out to be fake, and you didn’t notice, it’s scary to even think about what could happen.

In order to at least a little dispel these fears, we turned to the Social Insurance Fund. Tatyana Mitrofanovna, why did you need to change sick leave forms?

T.M. Ilyukhina: The main reason is that the previous form did not technically meet modern requirements. After all, it could only be filled and processed manually. But now medical institutions will fill sick leave with the help of a special program, it has already been developed and is on the FSS website.

Another significant drawback of the old sick leave is that, given the small size of the sheet, a significant amount of information was entered into it, and on both sides. It was inconvenient to both fill and process. In addition, cases of falsification and sale of fake sick leave have recently become more frequent.

Therefore, it was necessary to introduce additional means of protecting forms.

VS: sick leave can be filled out with a ballpoint pen

This does not affect the receipt of temporary disability benefits from the Social Insurance Fund, but only indicates a violation by the doctor of the rules for filling out sick leave.

Content

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in its ruling dated February 17, 2015 No. 304-KG14-6897

came to the conclusion that a sick leave sheet filled out by hand using a ballpoint pen should be accepted by the Social Insurance Fund for payment of temporary disability benefits if the occurrence of the insured event itself is not disputed.

Formally, filling out a sick leave certificate is allowed only in accordance with the norms of paragraph 56 of the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n:

Entries on the certificate of incapacity for work are made in Russian in printed capital letters in black ink or using printing devices. You can use a gel, capillary or fountain pen. The use of a ballpoint pen is not allowed. Entries on the certificate of incapacity for work should not go beyond the boundaries of the cells provided for making the corresponding entries.

Rules for filling out sick leave: questions and answers in 2021

This happens in the following cases:

beyond this period - by a medical commission.
up to 15 calendar days issued by the responsible medical officer;
Outpatient treatment of employee illnesses (injuries, poisonings, other painful conditions):

up to 15 calendar days issued by the responsible medical officer;
beyond this period - by a medical commission.

for a period of up to 7 days - according to the decision of the VKK, depending on the severity of the disease.
obstetrician-gynecologist;
Maternity leave is received by an employee during the thirty-week period of pregnancy - the duration is 140 calendar days (70 before childbirth and 70 after it), given:
obstetrician-gynecologist;
family doctor or general practitioner;
paramedic
family doctor or general practitioner;
for a period of up to 3 days – under outpatient treatment conditions;
paramedic
Caring for a sick family member - sick leave is issued by the sick person’s attending physician:
for a period of up to 3 days – under outpatient treatment conditions;
for a period of up to 7 days - according to the decision of the VKK, depending on the severity of the disease.

Since this document is issued mainly by a medical institution or its employee, the first part of it is filled out there, and the remaining parts of the form are already filled out either by the employer himself or by the person responsible for issuing sick leave.

Concept of sick leave

What is sick leave?

A certificate of incapacity for work is a very important document that allows employees to be sure that the time they are absent from work will not be considered absenteeism. In addition, monetary compensation is due for this period, but only when such a document is issued by a doctor.

Although sick leave is issued not only in case of illness or injury, but also in other circumstances.

These are such as:

pregnancy and, accordingly, childbirth;
if care is needed for a sick child or close relative;
In addition, the certificate of incapacity for work also includes follow-up treatment in sanatoriums or special resorts after inpatient treatment.

As for the duration, it is set relative to the period of the disease, as well as the time required for recovery after injury. In addition, the employee’s physical health and how quickly he can recover and return to work are taken into account.

Often, sick leave can be issued for 5 days, but the attending physician can also extend it to a maximum of 30 days. If after one month the employee is still unable to cope with his direct responsibilities, then in this case a commission of doctors is appointed.

New in tax administration

If there are two prints on the sheet with a slight offset, but all the details can be read in the print, the sheet does not need to be redone. Also check that the names of the medical institution match in the seal and the “header” of the sick leave sheet. The courts have not previously considered double or unclear printing an error. This is confirmed by the decisions and.

The ink must be black (clause 56 of the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved.

, hereinafter referred to as the Procedure). But the color of the ink and the type of pen do not negate the fact that the employee is ill.

They also do not affect the benefit amount.

This means that such sick leave does not need to be replaced.

Taboo on ballpoint pens

Specialists from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia conducted a desk audit of the correctness of the company's expenses for paying temporary disability benefits to employees. Based on its results, the organization was denied credit for expenses for payment of benefits in the amount of more than 300,000 rubles. According to the inspectors, the company paid for sick leave issued in violation of the requirements of the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure). Namely: the name of the patient’s place of work was filled in with a ballpoint pen.

Let us recall that clause 56 of the Procedure states that entries on the temporary disability certificate are made in black ink or using printing devices. In this case, it is allowed to use a gel, capillary or fountain pen. But you can’t use a ballpoint pen.

The company did not agree with the Fund’s decision and went to court.

The director signed the sick note with a ballpoint pen in blue pen

It says that the presence of technical deficiencies in the certificate of incapacity for work, filled out in handwriting, is not a basis for the employer to demand re-issuance of the certificate of incapacity for work and refuse to assign and pay benefits, if all entries in the certificate of incapacity for work are read. The court included the note made with a ballpoint pen as one of these shortcomings.

Ultimately, the court came to the conclusion that the Fund’s decision to refuse to offset the costs of paying insurance coverage for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability was unfounded. After all, the company confirmed the facts of loss of ability to work by employees and payment according to the issued certificates of incapacity for work, but the Fund did not dispute this.

Entries on the certificate of incapacity for work are made in Russian in printed capital letters in black ink or using printing devices.

What is the threat to the organization if part of the sick leave is filled in with a blue ballpoint pen?

Question: What threatens the organization if the lines 'signature of the manager' and 'signature of the chief accountant' on the sick leave sheet are filled in with a blue ballpoint pen?

Answer:

Entries on the certificate of incapacity for work are made in Russian in printed capital letters in black ink or using printing devices. In this case, it is allowed to use a gel, capillary or fountain pen. And filling out a sick leave certificate with a ballpoint pen, as well as with any pen with blue ink, is unacceptable (paragraph 1, clause 65 of the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure), clause 1 of the FSS letter Russia dated October 28, 2011 No. 14-03-18/15-12956). This is due to the fact that new sick leave must be processed by machine, and the features of such processing do not allow reading information filled out with a ballpoint pen.

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for any liability for the organization for making entries on a sick leave sheet with a ballpoint pen. But if the certificate of incapacity for work is issued in violation of the Procedure, there may be problems with reimbursement of benefits from the budget of the Social Insurance Fund of Russia.

Note that some regional branches of the fund indicate that before automated processing begins, sick leave with similar technical errors is accepted (see letter from the Moscow regional branch of the FSS of Russia dated April 29, 2013 No. 14-15/10/5851). However, not all regional branches of the FSS of Russia may adhere to this position, and therefore it will be safer to make corrections to an incorrectly completed certificate of incapacity for work. To correct violations, the employer should be guided by the provisions of paragraph. 4 clause 65 of the Procedure, namely:

erroneous entries must be carefully crossed out;
make the correct entry on the back of the form of the certificate of incapacity for work;
Confirm the amendments made with the entry “Corrected to believe”, the signature and seal of the organization.

If it was not possible to correct the entry made with a ballpoint pen in a timely manner, the sick leave was submitted to the FSS of Russia, which refused to offset the benefit, then such a refusal can be challenged in court. Thus, arbitration courts recognize the violation in question as insignificant. According to the judges, such deficiencies in the design do not affect the data that is essential for accepting compulsory social insurance expenses for offset. In addition, they do not interfere with establishing whether compulsory insurance funds were accrued and spent correctly or incorrectly. Therefore, even if the organization filled out part of the lines in the sick leave with a ballpoint pen, the FSS of Russia should not refuse to credit the benefits (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District dated January 21, 2014 No. A-27-8345/2013).

Source: https://its.1c.ru

What technical errors are acceptable on sick leave certificates:

The fund does not refuse to credit benefits if there are minor technical errors in the sick leave certificate. The main thing is that these shortcomings do not interfere with reading the notes on the sick leave. The FSS of the Russian Federation issued such recommendations back in 2011 (clause 17 of letter No. 14-03-18/15-12956 dated October 28, 2011 and letter No. 14-03-11/15-8605 dated September 14, 2011).

Read more: Entry of the child’s parents in the birth register

There is no need to send the employee to a medical institution for a duplicate if the certificate of incapacity for work includes:

- written letters are mixed with printed ones; - numbers or letters overlap the cell boundaries; — there are extra spaces, dashes, quotes or periods; — the seal of the medical institution appears on the completed information fields; - instead of the title of a medical worker (for example, therapist), the words “doctor”, “attending physician” or “attending physician” are indicated; — there is a space between the doctor’s initials; - there are no initials of the doctor or the chairman of the medical commission, if there are not enough cells for them (letter of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation dated 05.08.11 No. 14-03-11/05-8545); - in the address of the medical institution, the street and house number appear first, and the city is indicated at the end (clause 8 of the letter of the Federal Insurance Service of the Russian Federation dated October 28, 2011 No. 14-03-18/15-12956)

Double imprint of the seal of the medical institution

It’s not scary if a medical worker’s hand trembled when he put the stamp of a medical institution on a hospital document. If there are two prints on the sheet with a slight offset, but all the details can be read in the print, the sheet does not need to be redone. Also check that the names of the medical institution match in the seal and in the header of the sick leave sheet.

Courts have not previously considered double or unclear printing to be an error. This is confirmed by the decisions of the Seventh Arbitration Court of Appeal dated 03/09/17 in case No. A27-16536/2016 and the Arbitration Court of the West Siberian District dated 10/27/14 in case No. A27-7186/2014. But now the funds will no longer find fault with such a technical oversight.

Sick leave sheet filled with blue ballpoint pen

The fund will reimburse or credit the benefit even if the doctor filled out the sick leave in blue rather than black ink. The inspectors have already come to terms with the type of pen. The main thing is that all records are clear and readable.

The sick note must be filled out with a fountain, gel or capillary pen or on a printer. The ink must be black (clause 56 of the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n, hereinafter referred to as the Procedure).

But the color of the ink and the type of pen do not negate the fact that the employee is ill. They also do not affect the benefit amount. This means that such sick leave does not need to be replaced. Previously, this had to be proven only in court (rulings of the Tenth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated 02.16.17 in case No. A41-53267/16 and the Arbitration Court of the West Siberian District dated 10.30.14 in case No. A27-5730/2014).

Several cells are filled with blue ink

Do not change the sick leave sheet if the health worker used different colored pens on it. For example, a doctor wrote the first few letters in the last name of a sick person in blue ink, and then he remembered and then began to use black ink.

The Fund considers this defect to be technical. The courts come to the same conclusions (resolution of the Seventh Arbitration Court of Appeal dated January 16, 2017 in case No. A27-17018/2016).

The doctor signed with a blue pen

There is no need to send an employee to get a duplicate if the health worker signed the sick leave certificate in blue ink. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a capillary pen or a ballpoint pen. The main thing is that his signature does not go beyond the boundaries of the designated field.

The color confusion is a technical error.

Signature on sick leave with blue pen

Question

Please tell me, is it necessary to make corrections on the sick leave certificate on the reverse side if the chief accountant signed it with a BLUE gel pen? If corrections need to be made, how verbatim should it sound? Thank you in advance

Answer

The FSS recognizes significant errors during inspections as:

filling out a sick note with a ballpoint pen and (or) blue ink;
incorrect full name sick employee or date of issue of the certificate;
indication in the column “Position of a doctor” the name of the position without the specialty of a doctor;
violations in the procedure for extending sick leave (for example, a doctor issued sick leave for a period exceeding 15 days, or single-handedly extended sick leave for a period exceeding 15 days from the date of its opening);
availability of corrections in the certificate of incapacity for work.

If the errors made on the certificate of incapacity for work are significant, the Social Insurance Fund may refuse to reimburse the employer for temporary disability benefits. By the way, in court it is sometimes possible to prove that errors that are significant in the opinion of the FSS are in fact insignificant, and to obtain compensation for benefits.

In one LLC, the manager and chief accountant signed a certificate of incapacity for work in blue ink. The FSS responded to this by stating that a sick leave certificate is not only a document certifying a citizen’s incapacity for work and confirming his temporary release from work, but also the main financial document that serves as the basis for the appointment and payment of benefits. And financial documents filled out in violation of the order of their completion will not be accepted for payment.

LLC responded to this by stating that the signature of the head of the organization and the chief accountant is not an entry made when filling out a certificate of incapacity for work, and that the place for the signature of the head of the organization and the chief accountant is not one of the cells for him in the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work (approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development Russia dated June 29, 2011 N 624n (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure)) the word “field” is used. Representatives of the FSS objected that the sheet is uniform and the Procedure does not establish a distinction between cells and fields.

FAS ZSO, in Resolution dated January 21, 2014 N A27-8345/2013, agreed with the arguments of the LLC and decided that the signatures of the head and chief accountant of the relevant legal entity only certify the information included in the certificate of incapacity for work and can be done with a blue ballpoint pen.

If you made a mistake when filling out the sick leave, you must cross it out. On the back of the sick leave, indicate the correct entry, confirming it with the entry “corrected”, the signature of the head of the organization and its seal (if you use it) (clause 65 of the Procedure for issuing sick leave).

Or you can try to get a duplicate from a medical institution.

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Can an employer accept and pay for a certificate of incapacity for work filled out with a ballpoint pen?

The employer has the right to accept for payment a certificate of incapacity for work filled out with a ballpoint pen.

In clause 56 of the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 N 624n (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure), in particular, it is determined that entries in the certificate of incapacity for work are made in Russian in printed capital letters in black ink or using printing devices . You can use a gel, capillary or fountain pen. The use of a ballpoint pen is not permitted .

Clause 1 of the Letter of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation dated October 28, 2011 N 14-03-18/15-12956 (hereinafter referred to as Letter N 14-03-18/15-12956) also states that entries in the certificate of incapacity for work are made in Russian in printed capitals letters in black ink (it is also possible to use a gel, capillary or fountain pen) or using printing devices. It is acceptable to fill out the certificate of incapacity using printing devices, or to fill it out manually in block letters.

Thus, taking into account the provisions of clause 56 of the Procedure, as well as the norm of clause 1 of Letter N 14-03-18/15-12956, it can be assumed that a sick leave sheet filled out with a ballpoint pen is considered damaged and the FSS of the Russian Federation will not accept the amount for offset. paid on a certificate of incapacity for work filled out with a ballpoint pen. At the same time, there are clarifications from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, set out in Letter dated September 30, 2011 N 14-03-11/15-11575, according to which the presence of technical defects in a hand-filled certificate of incapacity for work is not a basis for the employer to demand re-issuance of a certificate of incapacity for work and refuse to appoint and payment of benefits, if all entries on the certificate of incapacity for work are read.

There is also judicial practice that has developed in favor of policyholders.

The Resolution of the Arbitration Court of the North Caucasus District dated March 28, 2017 N F08-1657/2017 states that filling out a certificate of incapacity for work with a ballpoint pen only confirms the unlawfulness of the actions of the attending physician, but does not refute the fact of the occurrence of an insured event. Therefore, if such a technical defect in the sick leave certificate does not affect the payment of benefits, the territorial bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation do not have the right to refuse to accept expenses for offset.

The Ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated February 17, 2015 N 304-KG14-6897 notes that if filling out a temporary disability certificate with a ballpoint pen does not affect the data necessary to accept expenses for offset, and the very fact of the occurrence of an insured event is not disputed, territorial The bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation do not have the right to refuse to accept expenses for the payment of benefits for offset.

From the Ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated April 7, 2017 N 310-KG17-4016, it also follows that the presence of incorrectly executed certificates of incapacity for work in itself is not a basis for not accepting for offset the amounts of insurance coverage paid by the policyholder to the insured persons.

Thus, if, in the event of an inspection, the territorial bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation do not accept for offset the amounts paid on certificates of incapacity for work filled out even partially with a ballpoint pen, the policyholders have every reason to defend their position in court.

Prepared based on material by L.B. Chernysheva IC U-Soft LLC Regional information center of the ConsultantPlus Network

An accountant filled out a sick leave certificate with a blue pen.

Tell me, should the average earnings and benefit amounts be written from the first cells intended for this, or can we start from the second, third, etc.? Now, in more detail about other rules that specifically relate to entering the employer’s information into the form of a disability certificate: In case of a typo or entering incorrect information, the employer must carefully cross out the erroneously made entry, after which the correct data is written on the back of the form.

According to the judges, such deficiencies in the design do not affect the data that is essential for accepting compulsory social insurance expenses for offset. The Fund does not have the right to refuse compensation for benefits because of this, since an unlimited number of corrections are allowed in the part of the sick leave filled out by the employer. The procedure for correcting multiple errors is the same as in the general case.

The employer must indicate its name on the sick leave certificate in accordance with the constituent documents. You can indicate both the full and abbreviated name of the organization (clause 66 of Order No. 624n). If an error has crept in, then the procedure is the same: cross out the incorrect version of the name with black ink, and on the back of the form write the line name and the correct name of the organization. We seal everything with a seal and signature. How to correct a sick leave certificate for an employer, sample 3, see below.

Courts oblige specialists from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation to reimburse expenses for benefits, even if there are shortcomings in the sick leave certificate. This determination is confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 04/07/17 No. 310-KG17-4016.

Taking into account the above, if the seal of a medical organization (medical and social examination institution) falls on the cells of the information field of the form of a certificate of incapacity for work, this certificate is invalid and in its place the employee in the medical organization must be issued a new certificate.

Example of correcting incorrect earnings on sick leave Front side Back side Incorrect information on sick leave must be carefully crossed out, and the correct information must be indicated on the back side of the sheet (clause 65 of Procedure No. 624n). Corrective tools cannot be used to correct errors.

What is the threat to the organization if part of the sick leave is filled in with a blue ballpoint pen?

Is it possible to fill out a sick leave sheet with a black gel pen?

Filling rules

New sick leave: mistakes that are correctable and not

VS: sick leave can be filled out with a ballpoint pen

Rules for filling out sick leave: questions and answers in 2021

Concept of sick leave

New in tax administration

Taboo on ballpoint pens

The director signed the sick note with a ballpoint pen in blue pen

What is the threat to the organization if part of the sick leave is filled in with a blue ballpoint pen?

What technical errors are acceptable on sick leave certificates:

Double imprint of the seal of the medical institution

Sick leave sheet filled with blue ballpoint pen

Several cells are filled with blue ink

The doctor signed with a blue pen

Signature on sick leave with blue pen

Applications

Related questions:

Related:

Can an employer accept and pay for a certificate of incapacity for work filled out with a ballpoint pen?

An accountant filled out a sick leave certificate with a blue pen.