Step-by-step instructions for filling out a sick leave certificate by an employer

Also see:

• How to pay for electronic sick leave
• In which regions will sick leave be paid directly by the Social Insurance Fund in 2021?

What pen should I use to fill out a sick leave form?

Paragraph 65 of the order (Order No. 624n) states that only the following types of pens are allowed to be used to fill out sick leave:

• gel;
• feather;
• capillary.

It is important to note the following point: correctly filling out a sick leave certificate in 2021 does not imply the use of a ballpoint pen for these purposes.

The FSS Letter No. 17-03-09/06-3841P dated October 23, 2014 states that combined filling is also possible. That is, some of the data is entered by hand, and the other on the computer. Using only the capabilities of computer technology for these purposes is another option that does not contradict existing rules.

Differences in issuing a certificate of incapacity for caring for a sick family member.

1. The provision that indicated the number of days for which a certificate of incapacity for work is issued to care for a child aged 7 to 15 years has been excluded.

According to the current rules, a certificate of incapacity for work for each case of a child’s illness is issued for a period of up to 15 days (unless a longer period of treatment was established by the medical commission) (clause 35 of Order No. 624n).

However, clause 41 of Order No. 925n adjusted this period, now in the case of illness of a child 7-15 years old, sick leave will be issued without any time limits.

But with all this, payment for this sick leave will occur for a limited number of days, no more than 15 calendar days for each case of treatment of a child and no more than 45 calendar days per year. This is stated in paragraph 2 of Art. 5 of Law No. 255-FZ. No changes were made to this law, perhaps they forgot, or maybe not.

2. The number of calendar days for which a certificate of incapacity for work is issued to care for a sick family member over 15 years of age has been increased.

At the moment, sick leave for each case of illness during outpatient treatment is issued for three days, and if the medical commission approves - for 7 days (clause 35 of Order No. 624n).

In the new Order No. 925n, the number of days has been increased to 7, and the conclusion of a medical commission is not required (clause 41 of Order No. 925n).

3. New rules for issuing certificates of incapacity for work in case of simultaneous illness of several children.

Currently, if two children fall ill at the same time, one sick leave certificate is issued to care for them. If cases of illness in more than two children are recorded at the same time, a second sick leave is issued (clause 38 of Order No. 624n).

These rules will continue to apply, but only with regard to paper-based sick leave certificates. But if an electronic sick leave certificate is issued to an individual, then there will be one, regardless of the number of sick children (clause 44 of Order No. 925n).

4. A provision has been added that when one of the family members is on parental leave to care for a child under 3 years old (when he cannot take sick leave), another family member has the right to receive a certificate of incapacity for work if another child falls ill (clause 47 of Order No. 925n ).

Sick leave: filling out by employer and sample 2021

What data does the employer’s employee to whom this authority is delegated write down on the temporary disability certificate?

In the upper left corner is the name of the company, and to the right is the person’s only place of work or does he hold a part-time position here.

Next, indicate the subordination code and registration number. Below is information about the employee: TIN and SNILS. Then they indicate the length of service the subordinate has developed, as well as the dates during which he was unwell.

The sample for an employer to fill out a continuation of sick leave also involves indicating the amount of average earnings - for calculating benefits, as well as the daily amount. Below is the amount to be paid. They indicate how much money goes to the employee from the employer, and how much from the Social Insurance Fund. Then the final amount to be paid is given. The example of filling out a sick leave form given below clearly reflects everything that has been said.

Finally, indicate the surnames and initials of the head of the company and the employee who is delegated to fill out the form (accountant or HR employee). These specialists also sign the document. The place for printing is located on the right.

Conditions for issuing a certificate of incapacity for work during quarantine

Due to the spread of coronavirus, the procedure for registering sick leave during quarantine has undergone significant changes. Order No. 925n establishes that a certificate of incapacity for work is issued to citizens who must be temporarily suspended from work or be in self-isolation in the event of the introduction of restrictive measures (quarantine) (clause 48 of Order No. 925n). It can be obtained without a personal visit to a doctor, at a remote appointment.

In this case, an electronic sick leave certificate will be issued. It has the right to be issued by a doctor (paramedic), whose information is included in the Federal Register of Medical Workers. At the same time, a medical organization must be registered in the Federal Register of Medical Organizations (clause 50 of Order No. 925n).

To apply for an electronic sick leave, a citizen must provide an identification document and, of course, SNILS. I draw your attention to the fact that the initial sick leave can be paper, and its continuation is issued electronically, or vice versa (clause 14 of Order 925n).

A rather important change affected the period of self-isolation. Now, an employee who is in self-isolation during quarantine will be given sick leave for the entire period of self-isolation. Such a certificate of incapacity for work is issued by an infectious disease specialist, and in his absence, by the attending physician (paramedic). Finally, measures were taken to prevent the doctor from having contact with patients again.

It should also be noted that one of the parents or a legal representative is now issued a certificate of incapacity for caring for a child under 7 years old if he does not attend a kindergarten, which is closed due to quarantine. Such sick leave must be issued for the entire period of restrictive measures. Which is also important, since not all parents have working conditions that allow them to work remotely.

FSS pilot project: filling out sick leave

The question of filling out a temporary disability certificate under the Social Insurance Fund pilot project adopted in some regions worries many personnel specialists and accountants. However, it should be noted that the pilot project does not affect the rules for registering sick leave at all.

Its essence is that the amount of money due to the employee from the fourth day of his period of incapacity for work is paid by the Social Insurance Fund. The sample for filling out sick leave by the employer remains the same.

Also see “FSS pilot project and filling out sick leave”.

How to properly issue a certificate of incapacity for work, who should do it - a personnel officer or an accountant?

Imposing the obligation to fill out the sheet on the employees of the organization is the right of the employer, however, the current regulations do not provide strict explanations regarding the division of powers to fill out. In this case, management has the right to independently coordinate the actions of organizational departments, guided by its own corporate policies, and assign the responsibility for filling to the personnel department or accounting department.

Attention! Based on the experience of entrepreneurial practice, organizations often practice partial assignment of authority. In this case, the personnel officer enters the organization’s details on the sick leave sheet without affecting the calculation data, which is subsequently entered by the chief accountant.

The obligation to fill it out can also be legally assigned to a specific department, provided that this is reflected in the job description of the filler. Authority is confirmed by an organizational order.

Correction of errors and inaccuracies

Paragraph 65 of the rules approved by Order No. 624n states that the use of corrective agents to cover up errors made when issuing a certificate of temporary incapacity for work for an employee is strictly prohibited. Instead, you need to turn the document over and write the correct information on the back.

In addition, the employer must review the records made at the medical facility. To do this, you should know how a doctor’s sick leave form should be filled out. Thus, the employer determines the degree of criticality of the mistakes made.

If the information in the document is written in capital letters, it is not necessary to reissue it. If the name or initials of the employee to whom the sick leave was issued are indicated with an error, then you will need to request a duplicate with the correct spelling. Otherwise, the Social Insurance Fund receives grounds not to pay monetary compensation to the company employee for long-term illness.

Also see “100% sick leave: when paid in full.”

It is almost impossible to find a photo of a correctly filled out sick leave certificate, for example, on the Internet. After all, it contains a lot of personal information about a specific person. But if you follow the rules for filling out sick leave, which are discussed in this article, this will guarantee the employee payment of the monetary compensation due to him and will save the company from problems with the Social Insurance Fund. This is why it is so important not to make mistakes.

Read also

01.09.2016

Changes in the issuance of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth

From December 14, 2021, it will be possible to obtain such a sick leave without a personal visit to a doctor.

Order No. 925n has increased the list of cases when pregnant women are issued a certificate of incapacity for work. Currently, if childbirth occurs between 22 and 30 weeks of pregnancy, sick leave will be issued for 156 calendar days (clause 49 of Order No. 624n). In the new Procedure, this provision has not lost force, but more cases have been added that provide for the issuance of certificates of incapacity for work (clause 56 of Procedure No. 925n):

• Multiple births occurring between 22 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. In this case, sick leave will be given for 194 calendar days.
• Childbirth occurring during the period from 22 to 27 weeks of pregnancy will be given sick leave for 194 calendar days, and for a multiple pregnancy - for 200 calendar days. But this applies only to women living (working) in populated areas exposed to radiation due to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (in a residence zone with the right to resettle), as well as in populated areas exposed to radiation contamination due to an accident at a production association "Mayak" and the discharge of radioactive waste into the Techa River (clause 59 of Order No. 925n).

Clause 58 of Order No. 925n additionally provides for the registration of sick leave for the entire period of incapacity for work at birth:

• dead fetus;
• a living fetus that did not survive the first 6 full days (168 hours).

Now for the good stuff. The new procedure provided for the issuance of a sick leave certificate for the birth of a live child at a gestational age of less than 22 weeks, if the baby survived the most difficult first 6 days (168 hours). Sick leave will be given for 156 calendar days.

Results

The column “Date of return to work” in the sick leave certificate is filled in only if by the time the employee returns from sick leave, his contract with the employer is canceled, for example, due to the person’s failure to show up for work due to illness. If the corresponding column in the sick leave is filled in, then the employer generally pays the person up to 75 days of sick leave. The benefit is calculated in the usual way from the date on which the employee should have started work.

You can learn more about the features of registering sick leave within various legal relationships in the articles:

• “How to extend vacation for the duration of sick leave during vacation?”
• “Is sick leave included in the pay off upon dismissal?”

You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

Special rules for registering sick leave by an employer

Let us repeat that filling out the certificate of incapacity for work is allowed only with black paste, gel, fountain or capillary pen. If you fill out a document with a ballpoint pen, then problems with controllers are likely. But even if you fill out the information with blue ink and a ballpoint pen, the FSS does not have the right to refuse payment for such a document. This opinion was expressed by the Supreme Court (ruling No. 304-KG14-6897 dated February 17, 2015): if the form was filled out with a ballpoint pen or a blue pen, then such a violation is regarded as a technical defect, and the refusal to pay funds from the Social Insurance Fund is unlawful.

Paper form and electronic document

An official document confirming that a working citizen was absent from his workplace due to illness, injury or other reasons (pregnancy, childbirth) is called a certificate of incapacity for work (sick leave - in the colloquial version). Such a document can only be issued by the medical institution to which the sick person applied.

Officials approved a unified form for a certificate of incapacity for work back in 2011. Initially, the legislation provided for the issuance of certificates of incapacity for work exclusively in paper form, but in July 2021, legislators made changes to the current legislation. It has been determined that the unified form can now be issued not only in paper form, but also in electronic format.

IMPORTANT!

The paper form is planned to be completely abolished in 2021. The Ministry of Labor posted the bill with amendments on the single portal regulation.gov.ru. When the changes come into force, the employer’s lack of technical ability to process an electronic document will no longer be considered a valid reason. The rules for registration and processing of electronic sick leave and the deadlines for transmitting information to the Social Insurance Fund will remain the same.

The paper form of certificates of incapacity for work is classified as a form of strict reporting. Each document has several levels of protection to avoid forgery, since it is the basis for the assignment and payment of temporary disability benefits.

Each form is assigned a unique number and barcode, which is located in the upper right corner and duplicated below, under the tear line on the spine. The 12-digit code and barcode are generated in random order, which allows for maximum protection against fraudsters. On the reverse side of the document there is a watermark in the form of the Social Security Fund logo.

The LN form is blue in color and the fields for entering information are pale yellow. The front side is reserved for the data that is entered into the certificate of incapacity for work by the doctor and the employer, and the back contains important information on entering the data.