Maximum duration of sick leave: continuous and annual

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Published: March 12, 2016

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For common illnesses and injuries, both domestic and professional, the minimum time off sick leave is 3 days.

The maximum period of a certificate of incapacity for work issued by a doctor independently is 30 days. Dentists and paramedics are authorized to issue sick leave only for a period of 3 to 10 days.

If there is a favorable labor prognosis, the medical commission can extend sick leave for up to 12 months, and in special cases longer.

Terms of sick leave Outpatient treatment
Treatment after surgery
Treatment in hospital
Spa treatment
Pregnancy and childbirth
Child's illness
Adopting a child
Artificial insemination
Abortion
Quarantine

The procedure for extending sick leave by a medical commission

In what cases is sick leave issued?

The grounds for drawing up this document, the period for issuing a sick leave certificate and its consideration - all this is determined by Law No. 255-FZ. The reasons for receiving it are:

illness, domestic or work injury;
all types of poisoning;
staying in quarantine;
additional treatment in a sanatorium;
caring for a child or sick family member;
other situations related to temporary disability (for example, prosthetics).

Regulatory documents also determine how long you can legally be on sick leave. Moreover, the ballot is issued to both full-time employees and self-employed persons who work under an employment contract. Moreover, in the latter case, there are restrictions.

Deadlines for payment of certificates of incapacity for work

While a person is disabled, the management of the organization is responsible for paying him benefits in cash. In this case, you need to take into account certain rules that are aimed at regulating payments. They are as follows:

If a citizen has a work-related injury or is sick, the management of the organization makes payment for three days. The remaining time of stay is subject to calculation at the expense of the Social Insurance Fund. When the cause of the illness is different, then payment is also realized using the Fund’s money.

A prerequisite for receiving funds is that an appropriate agreement has been drawn up with the citizen. At the same time, the transfers made by the person to the Social Insurance Fund are taken into account. This organization makes payments in full in a situation where an employee is caring for a child.

Payment must be made for all days when the citizen could not work. Only the period reflected in the act in question is taken into account.

Loss of ability to work is paid when certain situations occur that require a social insurance agreement. For example, this is an injury, the introduction of quarantine, installation of prostheses, or medical treatment in a sanatorium or resort. These situations are reflected in federal legislation.

The legislator also determines the deadlines for issuing and paying for this act. In particular, if the reason for receiving it is to carry a baby, then the document is issued on the closing day; if a person is sent for treatment to another institution, then this date is the day of application. Subsequently, the validity of the act is extended or closed by an employee of the organization where the person is sent.

Minimum and maximum duration of sick leave

It is important to know how many days a person can be issued a sick leave certificate. The minimum period for this document is not established by law. The doctor makes the decision himself. Theoretically, he can issue a document even for one day, but usually this is impractical, and the therapist issues a bulletin for at least 3 calendar days.

But the law has a clear answer as to what is the maximum period for issuing sick leave at a clinic that can be used in a given case. It all depends on the conditions under which the treatment takes place. If we are talking about outpatient conditions (that is, the patient is treated at home), then the maximum duration is 15 days. Only the medical commission has the right to extend it. Dentists and paramedics can only issue a newsletter for 10 calendar days.

Is a sick leave certificate required for a patient if he is being treated in a hospital? This is another important question. In any case, the document is proof of treatment; no certificates for the employer can replace it. And the treatment period in this case is longer - the document is issued for the entire period of the patient’s stay in the hospital. If we are talking about a serious illness or surgical operation, it is impossible to predict them in advance. There are no maximum periods for inpatient treatment. In this case, for how long a sick leave certificate is issued to the patient depends on the specific disease. For example:

concussion - up to 28 calendar days;
removal of the appendix - up to 21 calendar days, depending on the presence of complications and the form of inflammation;
removal of the gallbladder - up to 55 calendar days, and the doctor has the right to extend the notice for another 10 days for the patient’s rehabilitation;
fracture of the limbs (depending on the severity and consequences) - from 30 to 60 calendar days;
oncological diseases - up to 180 days.

Spinal injuries are considered the most serious. In this case, the answer to the question of how long sick leave is issued depends on the severity of the injury and the degree of displacement. Sometimes the total duration is up to 240 days, and after that the ballot can still be extended for a recovery period.

Since the legislation everywhere indicates the duration in calendar days, we can conclude whether weekends are included in the sick leave. This also applies to holidays. That is, benefits are accrued for this period.

Is it possible to extend sick leave?

How long to issue a certificate of incapacity for work at the first stage is determined by the attending physician himself. To do this, he uses developed tables of permissible postoperative limits and focuses on the condition of the patient himself.

If the patient’s health does not recover within the prescribed time frame, or he becomes ill with infectious diseases that complicate his treatment, then the duration of the b/l is increased.

However, the doctor will not be able to do this on his own. In this case, a medical examination is carried out and a conclave of doctors gives a conclusion on the need to extend the maximum limits of disability. The commission immediately determines the final duration of additional treatment and the order of stay - inpatient or outpatient. If this time does not help the patient recover, then the question arises of establishing his disability.

You can extend sick leave in another case, namely after discharge from the hospital. The operated patient turns to his local doctor, who conducts an examination and determines the need to issue a bulletin for outpatient recovery and treatment. In this case, a certificate of incapacity for work can be issued for no more than 10 days.

How many times a year can you take sick leave?

It’s not enough to understand the duration of sick leave; you also need to know its annual limit. It depends on the specific disease.

Reason for issuing the document	Total annual limits
Infectious and chronic diseases	up to 10 months
Tuberculosis, trauma, recovery after surgery	Up to 12 months
Illness or injury causing disability	Up to 5 months
Child care up to 7 years old	Up to 60 days a year, for certain categories - up to 90 days a year
Child care 7-15 years old	Up to 45 days
Caring for an HIV-positive minor	No restrictions set
Caring for a minor with cancer	No restrictions set

Benefit calculation

The calculation rules indicate that the average amount of a citizen’s earnings must be taken into account. It is established over the previous couple of years. Also, the amount of the benefit is influenced by the amount of production of a particular person. The following rules are provided:

if the length of service is less than six months, then the minimum wage is taken into account;
with output from 6 to 60 months – 3/5 of earnings;
from 5 to 8 years – 80%;
more than the specified value – 100%.

It is worth clarifying that the law specifies limits on earnings for an annual period. For 2021, this value is 865 thousand rubles. When a person has a higher salary, the payment is calculated from the established limit.

Is it possible to extend sick leave?

You should also understand how sick leave is extended. This can be done by a doctor independently or by a medical commission, depending on the disease. In this case, you need to undergo examination every 15 days. If all permissible periods have been exceeded, and the treatment has not produced results, the patient will be sent for examination to obtain disability. If a patient refuses to go through the commission, his ballot will simply be closed.

The procedure for obtaining the document is quite complicated, and it is easier to buy a sick leave officially.

Closing and paying sick leave

If the person has recovered, the sheet can be closed during a routine examination by a doctor. If the decision on the appointment or extension was made by a state commission, then only it can close the sick leave.

After closing, a person is required to return to work the next working day. A closed sheet gives a person the right to receive monetary compensation for the entire period of incapacity for work.

The amount of compensation is from 60 to 100 percent depending on the salary (the more experience, the greater the benefit). The employer must calculate and pay compensation within 10 days after the employee provides the closed form.

However, please note that compensation is issued if the person provides a certificate within 6 months after completion of treatment; if this period is exceeded, the employee loses the right to receive compensation.

Duration of sick leave depending on the basis for receiving it

The duration of stay on the ballot depends on the basis on which it is issued:

For any disease - up to 15 days with the possibility of extension;
During quarantine - for its entire period. This also applies to cases where a bulletin is issued for the entire period of quarantine in a preschool institution attended by a child under 7 years of age;
With additional treatment in a sanatorium - for 24 days (but for tuberculosis - for the entire period of follow-up treatment);
When caring for a child under 7 years old - until recovery (but the above annual limits apply);

The timing of pregnancy and childbirth is calculated separately, depending on how the pregnancy proceeds and whether there are any complications.

Sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth

This type of act is regulated by the provisions of the law developed at the federal level, No. 255. This law reflects the fact that the right to receive sick leave is given to a female representative who is carrying a child and the period has reached 30 weeks. This rule applies to singleton pregnancies. For a multiple pregnancy, this period is 28 weeks. An important point is that for the type of leave under consideration, only one document should be obtained.

In a situation where the birth process was accompanied by complications, the doctor has the right to issue additional sick leave. This act is considered as a continuation of the first sheet. It is worth pointing out that payment is made in full and depends on the output of a particular employee.

Specific deadlines are provided, with the period in a certain part divided before childbirth and after the birth of the baby. When a woman is carrying one baby, then 70 days are added during these periods, which makes a total of 140. If there are several children, then the total value is 194, that is, 84 before birth and 110 after. If the process in question is complicated, the value is generally equal to 156 days.

Minimum duration of sick leave

Not a single regulatory document existing today in our country establishes clear restrictions regarding the minimum period of sick leave. However, it is secretly pleasant to give a patient with even the mildest cold at least three days to rest, otherwise the employee, forced to spend all his free time in the clinic, will not be able to rest, and perhaps, due to a weakened immune system, will catch among the queue of patients an additional infection.

After the specified minimum period has passed, the citizen is obliged to appear for a second consultation at the clinic. The doctor receiving him will conduct a re-examination and decide whether to extend the sick leave, and with it the therapy, or to close the leave and return the person to work.

Please note: according to the letter of the law, the attending physician can extend the period of sick leave by no more than 15 days ; a special commission will be responsible for further appointment of rest.

Doctors of private medical practices also do not have the right to issue sick leave for more than 15 days

A visit to a privately owned medical organization will not exempt you from this rule, since its doctors, after 15 days of illness, will also send you to obtain an extension from a commission at a government organization.

Let's sum it up

The more complex the operation, the longer the period of sick leave will be, for which you can deservedly retire

As you can see, the law does not specify a single period of sick leave issued to citizens after undergoing surgery, simply because the type of treatment sought may imply completely different invasiveness and, as a consequence, also a different recovery period. So, for example, you can have surgery to remove your appendix, and you will need a much longer recovery period than if, for example, you had surgery to remove a mole or wart. Simply put, the more difficult it is for your body to recover, the longer the period it will need. Accordingly, taking into account all the circumstances, the attending physician, and possibly subsequently the medical commission, will decide how long you will remain on sick leave.