What are the deadlines for submitting sick leave to the employer according to law?

19.08.2019

2704

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.

Procedure for providing BC

To reimburse the manager for sick leave payments, he must submit a certain package of documents. There are several ways to do this.

How to send through the Social Security Fund portal?

Document flow with the Social Insurance Fund is not properly established. How can I transfer a document? You have to submit documents in person. To receive reimbursement for sick leave payments, you must provide the following documents:

• Application from the policyholder. It must indicate the name of the enterprise, registration number, legal and actual addresses, as well as the amount to be reimbursed.
• For sick leave paid from the beginning of 2021, a certificate is provided with a calculation of accrued and paid insurance premiums. The certificate must contain all the data required in accordance with Order of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated October 28, 2016 No. 585n. Additionally, a breakdown of insurance costs is provided.
• A document evidencing the occurrence of an insured event - a certificate of temporary incapacity for work.

Note. In the regions that participate in the Pilot Project, there is a Social Insurance Fund gateway for sending sick leave. Over time, it is possible to increase users through the introduction of electronic sick leave certificates.

Is it possible through State Services?

Through the State Services website, it is possible to submit an application for the appointment and payment of temporary disability benefits in cases where it is not possible to receive payments from the employer. The provision period is 10 days and is provided free of charge.

To receive services electronically you need:

1. Log in to the State Services website by logging in or registering as a new user. Services are provided only for verified accounts. Service page - https://www.gosuslugi.ru/26223.
2. Fill out the electronic form. To fill it out you will need:
   application for payment of benefits;
3. sick leave;
4. certificate of the amount of salary and other remuneration or payments;
5. application for sending a request to the pension fund;
6. document confirming insurance experience;
7. documents confirming the impossibility of establishing the location of the policyholder or his property;
8. documents that confirm the insured’s inability to pay compensation;
9. documents confirming the liquidation of the enterprise or a similar procedure;
10. information on entering the claims of the insured person in the register of claims.
11. Wait for registration and verification of the application. A notification will be sent to the user’s Personal Account as confirmation.
12. Waiting for the results of the review. When the application is reviewed, a notification will be sent to the applicant’s Personal Account.
13. Pick up a document confirming the assignment of benefits and another one confirming the transfer of funds from the Social Insurance Fund.

other methods

You can submit documents to the FSS:

• Through a legal representative.
• Via mail.
  When sending by mail, an inventory of the attachment is made, on which the post office employees put a stamp with a mark on the date of dispatch; it must be compiled in two copies (the second is placed in an envelope for the Social Insurance Fund). Attention! It is better to send documents by valuable letter.
• Through the Multifunctional Center (MFC). Documents are submitted to the administrative center by the applicant according to the “one window” principle, then interaction with government bodies occurs without the participation of the applicant.

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.

Are additional documents required?

To receive benefits, one certificate of incapacity for work may not be enough. The calculation for the entire current calendar year is based on the earnings of the previous two years.

That is, everything that you earned in the two previous calendar years is considered (all amounts from which contributions to the Social Security Fund were paid are added up). Earnings must be confirmed with documents.

Where can I get them?

• If you have worked for your current employer for the previous two calendar years, then you do not need to do anything. The accounting employee will make the calculation himself and send it to the Social Insurance Fund.
• If you worked in another organization, you must provide the accounting department with a certificate of the amount of wages from your previous place of work. This is a certificate in a special form approved by order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection dated April 30, 2019. No. 182n.

Please note that, depending on how many jobs you have changed during this period, you will need to provide so many certificates to your current employer. If this is not done, then the calculation will be made on the basis of the data that the employer has at the time of provision of the sick leave.

If sick leave certificates were not issued upon dismissal from your previous job, you can still submit a certificate of incapacity for work. The calculation will be made from the minimum wage (minimum wage). By law, you have another six months to provide all the figures. A recalculation will be made and additional funds will be paid based on new data if the information is provided within six months.

When dismissing, always ask to provide you with certificates for sick leave (preferably in several copies).

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.

Table of estimated time of incapacity for work

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.

Results

The employee submits sick leave directly to the employer - the terms for its provision are strictly limited and cannot exceed six months from the end of the period of incapacity for work.
A ballot overdue for a valid reason can be submitted directly to the FSS, but the list of valid reasons is strictly regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

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.

How to register and to whom to give it

The sick leave certificate is opened and closed at the medical institution where the employee is undergoing treatment. It is needed in two cases to receive disability payments:

• A citizen works officially, with an employment contract, and social contributions are paid for him.
• The citizen was fired from his official place of work, but no more than a month has passed since the dismissal. In this case (if there is no other employment), you can also receive payments from your former employer.

A sick leave certificate is an important official document and must be treated very responsibly . What does such a document provide?

1. It confirms a serious, legal reason for absence from work.
2. If available, compensation for temporary disability is paid.

If an employee is not at work, he is not paid for days of absence. Along with it, he will receive sick leave payments. Therefore, it is so important to ensure that the doctor opens the sheet on time, formats it correctly, and correctly indicates the date of return to work.

If illness prevents you from going to work, you must immediately consult a doctor and demand that you open a sick leave. You can be fired for absenteeism at work:

• A sick leave certificate is a document of strict accountability.
• It has a unique code, its own number.
• Filling out the certificate of incapacity for work is carried out taking into account the norms of the law.
• If the form is filled out incorrectly, payments will not be accrued.
• The medical institution must correctly indicate the name of the organization where the employee is registered.
• The patient's full name must also be indicated correctly.
• No crossing out, erasing, or corrections.
• A special journal records the opening and closing dates of the sheet. After all, this document refers to strict reporting forms.

After closing, the doctor gives the sheet to the person who was treated. It is necessary for the employee to bring the sheet to the manager, sign it, then the document is sent to the personnel department, to the accounting department.

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.

Waiting time

Payment for sick leave is made when it is provided to the employer. The appearance of this document was approved by order of the Ministry of Health No. 347n dated April 26, 2011. In this case, the period for providing sick leave to the employer is six months from the date of its closure (Article 12 of the Federal Law No. 255 of December 29, 2006).

The closing day of the sick leave is the date written on the sick leave in the “Start working from” field.

Also, the closing date can be considered the entry in the “By what date” field. This option is possible if the employee himself was sick, but missed a doctor’s appointment. Thus, due to failure to appear, the employee is recognized as recovered and ready to begin work. In this case, code 36 is entered in the “Other” field. It means a violation of the treatment regimen.

Expert opinion

Novikov Oleg Tarasovich

Legal consultant with 7 years of experience. Specializes in criminal law. Member of the Bar Association.

And as a general rule, “By what date” is the column that is used to determine the end date of sick leave when it is issued to care for family members of an employee.

Keep in mind: in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where there is a trial project of the Social Insurance Fund for payment of sick leave, special conditions for determining the deadline for submitting sick leave to the employer do not exist. The same time frame is set for them as for the others - six months from the date the sheet is closed. Also see “How sick leave is paid in 2021.”

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.

Basic Concepts

According to Art. 183 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to pay compensation during the period of incapacity for work of the employee. According to the law, persons who have entered into official agreements, government officials, lawyers, private entrepreneurs, and farmers have the right to issue sick leave. The procedure for providing a document is carried out on the basis of Federal Law No. 323, Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Order of the Ministry of Health No. 624. It is permissible to issue a ballot during a period of temporary incapacity for work:

• deterioration of the employee’s well-being;
• caring for a sick minor child or adult close relative;
• pregnancy, childbirth;
• Occupational Illness;
• days of quarantine;
• stationary prosthetics;
• treatment in a sanatorium.

The law does not establish a minimum period of suspension from official duties. Based on Order No. 624, the permitted time on paid leave if health deteriorates is 15 days for outpatient treatment without staying in a health facility. By decision of the commission, the period may be extended. The duration of the sick leave depends on the form of the pathology. The maximum permissible period of suspension from official duties is 12 months from the date of application to the clinic.

Attention! The amount of the benefit is determined by the average income, insurance experience, and the length of the citizen’s forced rest. Depending on the region, the head of the organization may take into account the minimum wage in a particular entity.

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.

How long does it take to send to the Social Security Fund?

When do you need to submit a certificate of incapacity for work to the Social Insurance Fund? The deadline for submitting a certificate of incapacity for work depends on the form of submission of documents - paper or electronic version:

• The paper version must be submitted before the 20th day of the first month of the quarter;
• Electronic documents must be submitted by the 25th day of the initial month of the quarter.

Reference! If the last day falls on a weekend, then you are allowed to submit documents on the first working day following this date.

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.

Electronic sick leave

Not only paper sheets have legal force, but also electronic and digital ones. This is defined in law 255-FZ. Electronic document of incapacity for work, according to Art. 13 of the law, is posted in the information system of the FSS of the Russian Federation. It does not matter when the sick leave is provided to the employer in paper form, if the employee has an electronic form generated and he has informed the employer about it.

If the employee has not provided a paper version of the sick leave, the electronic version remains available in the policyholder’s personal account. Login to the account occurs through an account on State Services. To obtain information, the employer will only need the employee’s SNILS.

If an employee wants to receive a sheet himself, then this can be done in the personal account of the insured after registering with State Services. There, in the FSS personal account, information is also contained on the amount of the assigned disability benefit.

When must an employee bring sick leave to work?

A sick leave certificate is a document certifying an employee’s temporary incapacity for work and confirming his temporary release from work. Upon presentation of this document by the employee, the employer assigns and pays him temporary disability benefits.

When must an employee bring sick leave to work?

So, a sick leave certificate (sick leave certificate) is a document certifying the employee’s temporary disability and confirming his temporary release from work. Only after it is presented to the HR department or the employer’s accounting department will the employee receive temporary disability benefits.

When must an employee submit a certificate of incapacity for work?

The employee must bring the certificate of incapacity for work to the HR department or accounting department of the employer no later than six months from the date:

• recovery (establishment of disability);
• the end of the period of release from work in cases of caring for a sick family member, quarantine, prosthetics and after-care.

This period is determined by paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ “On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity”, effective as amended from December 3, 2011.

For example. Sick leave closed on February 17th. The date in the “Start work” column is February 18. Sick leave must be brought to work between February 18 and August 17.

However, we advise employees to bring their sick leave certificate immediately upon reporting to work. The employee himself is primarily interested in this, since temporary disability benefits can only be accrued to him on the basis of sick leave. In addition, this document confirms that the employee was absent from work for a valid reason.

The employer accrues benefits within ten days after presentation of the certificate of incapacity for work, and pays them on the next day of payment of wages (clause 1 of Article 15 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ “On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity” ).

Can an employee count on benefits if he missed the six-month deadline for applying for it?

If an employee missed the six-month deadline for applying for temporary disability benefits, then the decision on its appointment and payment will be made by the territorial branch of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia (clause 3 of Article 12 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ “On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability”). disability and in connection with maternity").

In this case, the employee will have to prove that this deadline was missed for a good reason. The Ministry of Health and Social Development in its order dated January 31, 2007. No. 74 approved the list of valid reasons. According to this list, valid reasons are:

• Force majeure, that is, extraordinary, unpreventable circumstances (earthquake, hurricane, flood, fire, etc.).
• Long-term temporary disability of the insured person due to illness or injury lasting more than six months.
• Moving to a place of residence in another locality, change of location.
• Forced absenteeism due to illegal dismissal or suspension from work.
• Damage to health or death of a close relative.
• Other reasons recognized as valid in court when insured persons apply to court.

How to prove that the six-month period was missed for a good reason?

To prove the existence of a valid reason, the employee must collect supporting documents. For example, in case of forced absence due to illegal dismissal or suspension from work, an order from the employer will be required; in case of temporary disability due to illness or injury lasting more than six months, a certificate of incapacity for work will be required.

Who will pay the employee temporary disability benefits if the six-month period is missed?

To obtain permission from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia to assign and pay maternity benefits when missing a six-month period for a good reason, the employer should submit a corresponding application to the territorial body of the Social Insurance Fund of Russia. The application can also be submitted by the employee himself. If the decision is positive, the employee’s benefit is paid by the employer or the territorial body of the Social Insurance Fund of Russia.