When should sick leave be provided to the employer?

19.08.2019

2900

4 min.

An officially employed citizen has the right to issue a certificate of incapacity for work due to deterioration in health or caring for a sick child or family member. The employer must pay for the period of temporary suspension from work duties for health reasons. To receive compensation, the employee must provide the ballot within the strictly prescribed period of time.

General provisions

The employee must provide sick leave no later than 6 months after closure. This is stated in paragraph 1 of Art. 12 of the Law “On compulsory social insurance in case of disability or in connection with maternity” No. 255-FZ (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 255-FZ).

The expiration date of the certificate of temporary incapacity for work refers to:

• The date when the sick leave is closed and the employee is obliged to appear at the workplace (if he was on sick leave himself).
• A doctor’s note indicating the date on which the sick leave was valid. This occurs if the patient does not show up to the doctor at the appointed time, but on a subsequent visit turns out to be completely healthy. Then in the “Other” item the code “36” is indicated.
• The next day after the date specified in the “By what date” paragraph, if the employee was on sick leave in connection with caring for a child or other sick family member.

Expert commentary

Kamensky Yuri

Lawyer

If you miss taking sick leave, you should contact the social security service. A citizen submits an application for benefits. This can only be counted on if there was a valid reason for absence. The corresponding list was approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development in 2007.

Where there is a pilot project in which the Social Insurance Fund pays benefits on its own, a similar period for application applies (six months). The application is submitted in the same way as to the employer. At the same time, it should indicate the details of the bank account where the FSS money will be transferred.

When must an employee submit sick leave?

In order to control all transactions related to budget funds, each violation has its own legal consequences. First of all, the promptness of the compensation paid will depend on how quickly the employee submits the documents.

Violation of the deadlines for submitting certificates of incapacity for work is fraught with the following:

• refusal to make payments (deadlines missed without good reason);
• delay in monetary compensation.

As for the party making the payments, sanctions do not apply to them. Only in the event of untimely submission of documents from the FSS accounting department, which delays the date of payment of money, can a complaint be filed against the employer with the prosecutor's office from the employee. As you can see, the restrictions apply only to the employees themselves who violated the terms.

Allowance of violations It was not for nothing that the legislator provided for the maximum permissible period for submitting sick leave. This was done in order to streamline the work of social insurance authorities and avoid the need for mass applications for compensation.

If documents are submitted on time, all payments occur gradually and consistently. There are often cases when employees forget to provide sick leave at the place of work.

Registration of a certificate of incapacity for work

Sick leave may be opened in the following cases:

• When a citizen is officially employed, when the employer makes contributions for his employee.
• If you quit your job no more than a month ago.

Sick leave is an official document that allows an employee to legally not attend work, and at the same time receive compensation for the corresponding period. In order to receive money and not be fired, when illness occurs, a citizen should consult a doctor immediately.

After the examination, when the doctor is convinced of the presence of the disease, a certificate of incapacity for work is issued. This is a strict reporting document with a unique code. Each sick leave is filled in accordance with the provisions of the law. If violations are detected, unfortunately, you cannot count on payment.

When preparing a document, it is important to provide the information correctly. The company name must be written without errors. In general, nothing in this document can be corrected or crossed out.

When should the sheet be submitted?

The deadline for providing sick leave to the employer is established in Federal Law No. 255-FZ of 2006 “On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity.” Its countdown begins from the date the ballot is closed or the person receives disability. This procedure applies to sick leave issued for one’s own treatment or for caring for a sick family member.

According to the rules prescribed in 255-FZ, six months are given to provide a closed form of incapacity for work. It is during this period that employees are required to give it to work for the calculation of compensation amounts.

In most cases, the form does not remain on hand for that long, because when going to work, the employee is obliged to present it to the employer. The obligation to submit is determined not so much by the employer’s desire to quickly make financial transfers to the recovered employee, but by the need to obtain confirmation of illness. If there is no sick leave, a person may not even be allowed to work, since he must prove that the days of his absence were justified. If there is no sick leave, then absenteeism is added to the report card, which may lead to dismissal.

End of sick leave day

The Ministry has established a period for issuing sick leave. It depends on the severity of the illness or injury. If it is necessary to increase the period, a special medical commission is convened.

Payment for the sheet is made one-time after closing. In the document, the doctor notes that the citizen has undergone treatment, is healthy and can begin performing work duties.

To calculate money, the days between the beginning and end of sick leave are taken into account. The form has a column that specifically serves to indicate the relevant data. When closing the sheet, a stamp is placed on the document, and its number is written in the medical institution’s register.

Expert commentary

Leonov Victor

Lawyer

Sick leave is included in the accounting department only when it is closed - that is, it indicates the end date and also has a stamp. If the illness lasts for a long time, one sick leave may be closed and the other open. Thanks to this, payment is made partially.

Procedure for providing sick leave

The newsletter is opened on the day of the visit to the attending physician. The execution of the document is the responsibility of medical workers with a license for professional activities, paramedics, dentists, and specialists from tuberculosis dispensaries. Sick leave is not issued to students of educational institutions, citizens undergoing examination, examination during exacerbation of chronic pathology, or in custody. The bulletin is opened after examination and treatment. The procedure for providing certificates of incapacity for work:

1. Closing sick leave in a medical institution.
2. Placing the doctor's signature and stamp on the form.
3. Submitting a newsletter to the personnel department of the organization.
4. Registration of a document in the accounting journal.
5. Determination of compensation payment by an accountant.
6. Transfer of the prepared package of documents to the social insurance authorities for the calculation of funds.

To receive payment, a citizen must comply with the deadline for providing sick leave to the employer. When issuing the form, on the reverse side, the HR department employee indicates the name of the enterprise, position and tax identification number of the employee, personnel identification number, period of suspension from official duties, salary amount, date of resumption of work. The accountant establishes the insurance period, on the basis of which the average income necessary to determine the amount of monetary compensation is calculated.

Effective date

Receiving monetary compensation is only permissible upon closing the document. Work is possible after undergoing treatment and after the doctor has marked the patient’s complete recovery. The expiration date of the form is the specified date of return to work duties. When registering sick leave to care for a child or close relative, the withdrawal period is considered to be the day following the closing date of the ballot. The expiration date of the certificate of incapacity for work is the number indicated in the “Start work” column.

Submission deadline

Article 12 of Federal Law No. 255 regulates the period of contacting the head of the enterprise to pay for a bulletin issued for health reasons. In accordance with the law, the period for submitting sick leave to the employer is 6 months from the date of recovery. The established period is determined for persons who have issued a document due to deterioration in health, caring for a child or close relative, prosthetics, maternity leave, quarantine, or undergoing treatment in a sanatorium. After submitting the form, the director of the company sends the received data to the Social Insurance Fund for calculation of payments.

Where and to whom to give

To receive monetary compensation, you must close the ballot and provide it to the head of the organization. After filling out the form at a medical institution, employees must know who to give sick leave to at work. To confirm a valid reason for not fulfilling official duties for a certain period, you must provide a document to the HR department. In accordance with local regulations, the ballot is registered in the accounting journal. Employees must be informed where to submit sick leave to receive benefits. The calculation of compensation payments is carried out by the organization's accountant. Based on data on the average monthly income, the number of days away from work and the insurance period, the accrued amount of money is determined.

If the deadline is missed

It is not always possible for an employee to submit a certificate of incapacity for work to the accounting department within the prescribed period. Therefore, you need to know how to act in appropriate situations. After all, after missing the document, it will no longer be possible to submit it to the accounting department, since it simply will not be accepted. Accordingly, no calculation will be made. And this is not because the accountant does not want to take the document, but because this is prohibited by law. What action should be taken in this case depends on the reason for the omission. If there is a good reason, there will be no problems. Otherwise, payments will no longer be achieved.

Actions of an employee who missed the established period for submitting sick leave to the employer:

1. Submit an application for compensation for the period of incapacity to work to the Social Insurance Fund, indicating the reason why the form was not provided within the prescribed period.
2. Attach the original sick note.

These actions can be done personally or through an employer.

If the sick leave deadline has expired

What to do if the ballot was not submitted on time and the deadline for paying sick leave by the employer has passed?

If an employee brings sick leave after the above deadlines, the employer has the right not to accept it. After all deadlines have passed, only the FSS branch can decide whether to pay for such a document or not. There is an indication of this in Part 3 of Art. 12 .

Therefore, the employer can advise the employee to contact the Social Insurance Fund department that supervises the employer himself with a request to take his situation into consideration. The request is made in the form of a written application. It should indicate the reason for failure to submit the certificate of incapacity for work on time. You must also attach a certificate issued by your doctor. If the FSS considers the reason valid, compensation will be paid to the employee.

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Contacting the FSS

A certificate of incapacity for work that is not submitted within the required period can only be submitted to the Social Insurance Fund. All cases are individual. Therefore, decisions are made depending on specific circumstances. Thus, you cannot be 100% sure that the payment will be approved. The FSS may refuse.

To submit an application to the FSS you should:

1. Contact the employees with an application, which is filled out on a special form.
2. To determine whether the reason will be classified as valid, you can first read the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 74 of 2007.
3. Confirm the stated reason with relevant documents.

Expert commentary

Kolesnikova Anna

Lawyer

It is recommended to contact the FSS after collecting supporting documents. If, as a result of reviewing the documents, a positive decision is made, the money will be transferred to the applicant’s bank account. Otherwise, a written refusal is sent. If the employee considers that the refusal is unfounded, he can protest this decision by filing a claim in court.

Good reasons

The list of valid reasons contained in the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 74 includes:

• Force majeure, for example, natural disasters that prevented the employee from providing a certificate of incapacity for work within the prescribed period.
• The course of the illness exceeded the period indicated on the sheet, which became the reason for the obstacle to filing the application.
• Relocation of an employee.
• Removal of an employee from work, which is subsequently recognized as illegal or forced.
• Serious illness or death of a relative.

This list is not exhaustive. Other reasons may also be recognized as valid. However, for this you will need to contact a judicial authority.

Conditions for submitting a document late

A person who has recovered must transfer sick leave to the accounting department as quickly as possible!

In the first 10 days from the date of provision, the accounting employee must calculate the required benefit and transfer it to the employee. If a person submits sick leave in violation of the established deadline, that is, after six months have passed from the closure date, the employer will not be able to accrue due payments to him.

The decision to transfer compensation in this case is made exclusively by the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation. This is stated in Art. 12, Federal Law No. 255. An employee who did not bring the necessary documents to the accounting department in a timely manner must write a special application to the Social Insurance Fund. It must indicate the reason for the late transfer of sick leave.

If the reason for missing the due date turns out to be valid, the required benefit will be accrued without problems. Some of these valid reasons include:

• Serious illness of an employee that has lasted much longer than six months;
• Special emergencies or natural disasters that were impossible to predict and overcome;
• Moving to a different city;
• Absenteeism due to illegal dismissal. This is a situation in which an employee was fired illegally and reinstated after proceedings;
• Getting injured;
• Death of relatives;
• Other grounds that were found valid after legal proceedings.

Any reason must be documented!

This could be a court order or a sick leave, which states that the person has been ill for more than six months. Based on the arguments provided, FSS employees make a decision on the accrual of benefits.

If it is positive, the employee will receive the due amount. If a negative decision was made, the person can go to court again.

Expense compensation period

Funds are accrued on the basis of Law No. 255-FZ. The money is transferred no later than ten days after the documents are submitted to the Social Insurance Fund. The countdown begins from the moment it is accepted by specialists. Social Insurance Fund employees have the right to organize checks with the employer in order to obtain an explanation of the amount of payments.

During a desk audit, the period for transferring money can increase to 3 months, and during an on-site audit – up to 2 months. At the same time, FSS employees can request any documents, and the employer must provide them.

Expert commentary

Gorchakov Vladimir

Lawyer

The compensation amount is transferred within 3 days after the end of the verification. And if violations are detected, the employer will receive a written refusal. But he has the right to go to court to obtain compensation for paying a temporary disability certificate to his employee.

Sick leave payment deadline

After a document confirming the validity of absence from work for health reasons or when outside help was needed to care for a sick child or another relative has been submitted, a reasonable question arises - how long after sick leave must be paid.

In Part 1, Clause 1, Article 15 of Federal Law No. 255, as last amended on December 27, 2019, it is legally established that the employer must accrue the amount due for days of incapacity for work within 10 days from the date of application.

There are no specific terms for payment of sick leave. Labor legislation obliges workers to pay wages no less than every 15 days worked, that is, twice a month. The benefit is paid at the earliest possible date of payment to employees.

Let's look at an example:

The organization makes payments on the 15th and 29th. The employee submitted the certificate of incapacity for work on the 13th. The benefit must be accrued by the 23rd, but the employee will only receive the money on the 29th.

If we talk about how long it will take for sick leave to be paid after submitting the documents, it turns out that you will have to wait 29 – 13 = 16 days. However, if the certificate of incapacity for work is submitted on the 19th, it will also be paid on the 29th, that is, after 10 days.

We see that it is impossible to definitively answer how long sick leave is paid. The deadline for payment of a certificate of incapacity for work by the employer depends on when it was submitted and how much time remains before the next payment of wages.

The situation is somewhat different in the regions involved in the Direct Payments pilot project, the number of which is increasing every year.

Insured persons receive guaranteed social benefits directly to the settlement accounts of banking organizations specified in the application for transfer by the territorial bodies of the Social Insurance Fund, within 10 days from the date of application.

Similarly, the deadlines for paying sick leave are calculated for working women who are going on maternity leave, who have submitted documents to the employer or to the Social Insurance Fund at the end of the postpartum period of leave issued on the basis of a certificate of incapacity for work.

The deadline for payment of sick leave by the employer is tied to the deadline for issuing wages

Deadline for submitting the sheet to the Social Insurance Fund by the employer

The employer should pay the employee only for the first 3 days of temporary disability certificate. The rest of the time is compensated through the Social Insurance Fund. He has no right to withhold money, citing its receipt from this service. Delay in submitting documents to the FSS office is also not allowed. If the employee is given money untimely, he has the right to complain to the labor inspectorate.

To receive compensation from the Social Insurance Fund, the employer submits the following papers:

• Application in form 4-FSS, which indicates expenses for the payment of social benefits.
• Application with company registration number and other necessary information.
• Register of expenses for benefits with the amount of compensation paid.
• Copies of documents on the costs of paying for sick leave.

Documents must be sent no later than 5 days from the moment the employee submits a certificate of temporary incapacity for work.

Who pays the benefit: the employer or the Social Insurance Fund?

As a general rule, sick leave benefits are assigned and paid by the insurer, that is, an organization or individual entrepreneur - employers.

The Social Insurance Fund will pay benefits if:

• the employer did not fulfill its obligations and ceased operations;
• the policyholder does not have enough money in his current account;
• it is impossible to determine the location of the employer and his property (provided that the fact of non-payment of benefits is established by a court decision that has entered into legal force);
• on the day the insured person applies for benefits, the procedures applied in bankruptcy are carried out in relation to the policyholder.

However, in some regions, the FSS is conducting a pilot project to pay social benefits not through policyholders, but directly to insured people (Government Decree No. 294 of April 21, 2011). Also see “ New participants in the FSS pilot project from July 1, 2019. ”

Issuance of a duplicate

If for one reason or another the employee’s certificate of temporary incapacity for work was lost, he has the right to apply to receive it again at the same medical institution. Sometimes this may require a certificate stating that the benefit has not been paid.

If the loss is associated with the employer’s fault, then a duplicate will not be issued. Of course, the employer in this situation can contact the employee so that he receives a duplicate, allegedly due to the loss of the document by him. If the payment has already been made, then this will no longer be possible. Then only the employer can contact the medical institution to get a copy of the tear-off stub from the lost temporary disability certificate.

The copy is certified by the signature of the chief physician or other authorized person of the medical institution, as well as by a seal. Then the employer should expect the next FSS inspection and be ready to defend their interests in court, if necessary.