Instructions for filling out sick leave in 2021. Sample filling

New rules for issuing and processing sick leave in 2021

The Russian Ministry of Health published order No. 925n dated September 1, 2020 “On approval of the procedure for issuing and processing certificates of incapacity for work, including the procedure for generating certificates of incapacity for work in the form of an electronic document” (registered with the Ministry of Justice of Russia on September 14, 2020 No. 59812). The document came into force on December 14, 2020.

Officials have simplified the issuance of sick leave in the face of the threat of the spread of dangerous diseases, in particular the flu epidemic or COVID-19. They legalized the remote issuance of electronic certificates of temporary disability using telemedicine technologies. This means that the doctor and the patient will be able to chat via messenger or by phone or conduct a video conference to establish the diagnosis and disability of the patient. When applying remotely, it is allowed to issue even long-term maternity leave for pregnancy and childbirth.

Almost all doctors’ sick leave certificates were required to be filed as an electronic file. If necessary, they are allowed to be duplicated on paper. In the future, the Russian Ministry of Labor plans to completely abandon paper sick leave. But as an exception, they will be saved for:

• unemployed people who need to confirm a valid reason for their next failure to appear at the employment service at the appointed time;
• pregnant women who have lost the status of individual entrepreneur, lawyer or notary, as well as those dismissed due to the liquidation of the employing organization.

It has become possible to issue sick leave to parents of children attending kindergarten for the entire period of the declared quarantine, without the need for intermediate visits to the doctor. This opportunity is not provided for parents of schoolchildren.

Dates do not match

What to do if the date of issue of the sick leave does not coincide with the date of onset of the illness? It all depends on how it is framed. The sheet can be issued retroactively:

• by decision of the chairman of the VC, if the employee was in the hospital;
• if there was a doctor visiting the patient at home. In any case, this should be mentioned.

An example of correcting an error by a medical institution - the date of issue of the sick leave does not coincide with the date of onset of the illness:

This error is often found in an illegal document on incapacity for work; in order to avoid getting into trouble when you decide to skip work pretending to be sick, read the article “How to go on sick leave if you are not sick?”

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.

general information

In 2011, a single form of incapacity for work was officially adopted, which is valid throughout the Russian Federation and the algorithm for filling out sick leave is specified in the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 624n dated June 29, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work).

Like any official document, it has several degrees of protection against fakes and copies.

The established form of the form implies that filling out is carried out by two organizations:

• medical institution;
• employer organization.

Basic filling rules

For each company, the certificate of incapacity for work has its own fields for entering data. The employee in whose name the form is drawn up does not enter any information into it . The main task of an employee who has lost his ability to work is to obtain a completed form from a medical institution and submit it to the employer.

The HR department or accounting department enters the necessary information into its columns. After this, the sheet is transferred to the Social Insurance Fund, which transfers temporary disability benefits to the account of the employing organization.

The employer, in turn, transfers these funds to the employee.

Each date of visiting a doctor with an extension of the period of loss of working capacity is entered on the form. This is a mandatory requirement. In cases where there is no space left in the columns and the employee cannot yet begin his duties, the doctor is obliged to issue an additional form.

In this case, the person is given one sick leave sheet - the last one . It contains all the important dates: when the sick leave was opened, and when the employee can start work.

The main part of the information on the sick leave is entered using codes. All data is read automatically. Therefore, if there are errors in the form, incorrectly or carelessly filled in data, the electronic device will not be able to process the data.

The code includes 2-3 digits. Their decoding is indicated on the back of the document.

The front side of the sheet is divided into three parts:

1. Filled out by the attending physician of a medical institution or receptionists at a hospital (clinic).
2. Prepared by the employer.
3. A tear-off form that is filled out by medical staff for internal reporting of a medical institution.

There are certain rules for filling out sick leave. If they are violated, the form may be invalidated by the FSS. As a result, the employee loses benefits from the Fund, which the employer is obliged to compensate.

Rules for filling out electronic sick leave certificates

Paper certificates of incapacity for work are issued less and less often, since now the patient has the right to choose an electronic document. This is convenient if the employee is in quarantine, working remotely, gets sick on a business trip, or is undergoing treatment in another city.

Data on all electronic certificates of incapacity for work are entered into a special register. To work with it, a unified information system was developed, the operator of which is the FSS. The employer can obtain information at any time; to do this, you will need to log into your personal account. This requires a qualified electronic signature. The FSS register stores information about all sick leave issued to employees of this company.

To gain access to the system, you need computer equipment that meets the minimum requirements. If the employer does not have such equipment (there is no technical ability to obtain data), then the sick leave is duplicated on paper.

How to fill out the register for an electronic sick leave for the Social Insurance Fund if there is no 2-personal income tax for the employee for previous years? In this case, the employer requests a certificate from the employee in format 182n. This document is the basis for calculating benefits if the employee worked elsewhere in the previous two years. The 2-NDFL certificate is not needed, since it does not contain the information necessary for the calculation and assignment of VNiM benefits.

Practical recommendations for HR employees and accountants

To work with electronic sick leave, you need to register in the Social Insurance information system. To ensure that filling out the ENL does not cause difficulties, it is better to appoint someone responsible for working in this system. This could be an accountant or personnel officer.

To calculate benefits, you can use a free program, which is available on the official website of the Social Insurance Fund. Before starting work with electronic sick leave, you need to tell employees about the changes that have taken place and about the opportunities that they have thanks to the transition to electronic sick leave.

The main advantage for employees is that the Social Insurance Fund pays for electronic sick leave within three working days . Electronic sick leave simplifies the work of accounting and saves time, because there is no need to transfer paper certificates of incapacity for work to the Social Insurance Fund department, check their authenticity, or store them in archives.

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General procedure for filling out a paper sick leave

The document must be drawn up correctly; how to correctly fill out a sick leave certificate for an employer in 2021 is established in the regulations of the Ministry of Labor and the Social Insurance Fund of Russia. Correct completion of the form is important for its processing: the electronic scanner that reads the information from the certificate of incapacity for work must recognize all the entered data. Inaccuracies will interfere with scanning, and a minor blot or typo will cause a denial of benefits.

Let's define the key rules for issuing a paper sick leave:

1. Information can be entered into the form by hand or using printing devices.
2. If data is logged manually, use black ink only. You cannot use a ballpoint pen! Enter information with a gel, fountain or capillary pen.
3. One cell is intended for only one character - a letter, a number, a sign.
4. The inscribed character does not touch the edges of the cell and does not extend beyond its boundaries.
5. Enter information in capital block letters.
6. To indicate a space between words, one empty cell is left.

IMPORTANT!

The names of organizations are indicated in abbreviated form if it is provided for in the constituent documents. Otherwise, write the name in full, and if there is not enough space, do not add it. You cannot squeeze words into the designated field; the scanner will not be able to recognize the information.

Decoding codes

The certificate of incapacity for work is filled out on a special form and is strictly regulated. According to the 2011 FSS reform, instead of the reasons for issuing and the full names of diseases, an individual code is indicated on the form. For example, cause of disability 01 on a sick leave certificate means “illness”.

The full list of codes is presented in the table:

01 is the most popular code indicating various diseases. For example, ARVI, flu, etc. Medical institutions also use three-digit codes, which are necessary to detail the treatment process. For example, during treatment in a hospital or sanatorium.

How a doctor fills out a certificate of temporary incapacity for work

The first section of the form is filled out by the attending physician or other responsible employee of the medical organization. We will indicate special points on how a medical worker fills out a sick leave form.

The first stage: the doctor makes a note about which document is being issued - the primary or duplicate. Let us remind you that if the doctor made a mistake and violated the procedure for filling out the sick leave, then instead of the form with the error, a new document should be issued, that is, a duplicate.

After this, the health worker enters the following information:

1. Information about the initial certificate of incapacity for work if the LN is extended.
2. Name of the medical institution (short if available), location address and OGRN.
3. Date of issue of the document to the patient.
4. FULL NAME. the patient and his date of birth. Middle name is indicated if available.
5. The name of the organization in which the patient works (written in his words).
6. Type of employment: at the main place of work or part-time.
7. Special information about the disability case (if any).
8. Information about the duration of the illness, full name. and the position of the doctor, his signature.
9. The date from which the patient must begin performing his work duties.

A correctly executed sick leave certificate is certified by the seal of the medical institution and only then issued to the patient. The paper document is handed over to the employer through the employee. This is what a sick leave certificate looks like in 2021 with stamps, photo from the Internet:

Consequences of submitting a document with inaccuracies

What happens if the certificate of incapacity for work ends up in the Social Insurance Fund with errors? Everything will depend on the loyalty of the inspectors and the seriousness of the mistakes. Insurers will turn a blind eye to some inaccuracies, such as, for example, an extra space between the initials of the attending physician. However, it should be remembered that an incorrectly drawn up sheet is not a basis for failure to issue compensation to an employee for his temporary disability.

At the same time, this applies only to clear violations, and not to nit-picking. So, if insurers have no doubt about the fact that a person is ill or is in the hospital, and the quibbles relate only to how it is formatted, this cannot be considered a reason for non-payment (Determination of the RF Armed Forces No. 304-KG15-14859 of November 25, 2015).

This may also happen - the Social Insurance Fund may bring a claim against such an unreasonably generous clinic at public expense for unjustifiably issued sick leave (Federal Law No. 255 - Federal Law, Art. 4.2.)

Step-by-step instructions: how to apply for sick leave in 2021

If the employer makes a mistake when drawing up a document, then the inaccuracies will have to be corrected according to the established rules. To avoid mistakes, we fill out the sick leave certificate correctly in the section for the employer.

Step No. 1. Indicate the name of the employer

In the provided cells, in capital block letters, enter the abbreviated name of the organization. If there is no abbreviated name, enter the full name. Abort when the field cells run out. There is no need to put quotation marks. The space between words is one empty cell.

Step No. 2. Specify the type of employment

We determine what place of work the employee is employed in: primary or part-time. Check the appropriate box on the completed sick leave form.

Specialists who work part-time in several companies at once have the right to provide a certificate of incapacity for work to each of their employers. In this case, the medical institution issues several certificates of incapacity for work at once - one for each organization.

Step No. 3. Specify the registration code in the Social Insurance Fund and the code of subordination

In this field you must indicate the code assigned to the company upon registration with the territorial branch of the Social Insurance Fund. Let us remind you that FSS representatives register policyholders independently. The procedure for entering an organization into the Social Insurance information database is carried out on the basis of information sent by the Federal Tax Service when registering a taxpayer.

The subordination code identifies the FSS branch to which the employer is attached. We indicate the four-digit branch code. If the company is attached to the fund's head office (not to a branch), then the code consists of 5 characters.

Step No. 4. Specify the employee’s INN and SNILS

We indicate the number of the sick employee’s insurance certificate issued by the Pension Fund of Russia. The TIN is indicated only if it is available. If the employee does not have a TIN or there is no information about the code, then leave the field blank.

Step No. 5. Determine special conditions for calculating benefits

In some cases, the calculation of sickness benefits differs from generally accepted norms. Each exception has a unique code. All types of special calculation conditions are listed on the back of the form (codes 43 to 51).

Step No. 6. Provide information about the work injury

If a certificate of incapacity for work is issued due to the fact that the employee was injured at work, then it is necessary to fill out a special field in the form. This is the date when the act was drawn up in form N-1. If the employee’s illness is not related to work-related injuries (see example of an employer’s sick leave form), this field is not filled out.

Step No. 7. Specify the start date of work

In most cases, the employer leaves this field on the sick leave blank. It will have to be filled out if the employee violated the deadlines within which he was supposed to start work. Such a violation becomes grounds for cancellation of the employment contract. If the contract was terminated, then what should I put in the “Date of start of work” column on the sick leave certificate for 2021? In this field, indicate the start date of work under the employment agreement.

Step No. 8. Determine insurance and non-insurance periods

The insurance period is all periods of an employee’s work activity during which he was insured, and the employer paid VNiM insurance premiums for him. Usually these are periods of work under employment contracts, but the total insurance period will also have to include periods of service in internal affairs bodies, periods of military and civil service.

In non-insurance periods, include periods of military service starting from 01/01/2007. If the service began before the specified date, then indicate in the column the period from 01/01/2007 to the actual end date.

IMPORTANT!

The employer enters the duration of the periods in years and full months on the certificate of incapacity for work. Non-insurance periods are necessarily included in the total insurance period.

Step No. 9. Specify the periods for calculating benefits

These columns of the certificate of incapacity for work are filled in with the dates of the beginning and end of the illness. Format for entering information: DD.MM.YYYY.

IMPORTANT!

Important information about the duration of illnesses: “Maximum duration of sick leave in 2021.”

Step No. 10. Calculate average earnings

To calculate sickness benefits, you will need to calculate several calculations. Average earnings for calculating benefits is one of them. It is determined in total for the two calendar years preceding the year of illness. Include only those amounts from which VNIM contributions were calculated.

Step No. 11. Calculate earnings per day

To calculate the average daily earnings, the amount of average earnings is divided by the number of days worked. We divide two fully worked years into 730 days. Please note that this algorithm is not applicable to the calculation of maternity benefits. The procedure for calculating and registering sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth in 2021 is in the article “How to calculate sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth.”

Step No. 12. Calculate benefit amounts

As a general rule, sickness benefits are paid from two sources:

1. The first three days are paid by the employer.
2. Remaining sick days - Social Insurance Fund.

The calculation is made taking into account the length of service coefficient. For work experience from 6 months to 5 years, pay a benefit in the amount of 60% of average earnings, from 5 to 8 years - 80%, over 8 years - 100%.

If the total insurance period is less than six months, the benefit is calculated based on the minimum wage.

For more information on how to fill out a sick leave from the minimum wage in 2021, see the article “Why do you need a minimum wage for a sick leave?”

Enter the information on the sick leave form in the following order: in the columns, fill in the appropriate amounts at the expense of the employer and at the expense of the Social Insurance Fund. Then add up the total (the total amount of payments from both sources).

Step No. 13. Indicate the responsible persons

The rules for issuing sick leave by an employer in 2021 stipulate that the form is signed by the employer and the chief accountant of the enterprise. Please note that the initials of the manager and chief accountant are indicated without dots.

IMPORTANT!

If the organization does not have a chief accountant position, the manager signs the calculation twice. That is, full name. and the signature of the boss on the sick leave form filled out by the employer are duplicated.

IMPORTANT!

The completed calculation on the sick leave certificate should be certified with a round seal, but only if the employer has one. Make sure that the print does not fall on the filled cells. Otherwise, reading problems will occur.

Current example of filling out sick leave by an employer in 2021

What is indicated in the line “Start date of work” on a sick leave certificate

The line in question on the certificate of incapacity for work records the date on which the employee who provided sick leave began performing work duties in accordance with the employment contract previously signed, but canceled by the time the certificate of temporary incapacity was presented to the employer.
How can such a legal relationship arise when a person receives the right to sick leave after a canceled employment contract?

To answer this question, let's look at examples.

Example 1

Stepanov V.S. On 02/01/20XX entered into an agreement with the employer Salyut LLC, according to which he must begin work on 03/01/20XX.

It so happened that Stepanov fell ill on 02/25/20XX and therefore could not go to work on March 1. In this case, the employer has the right to cancel the employment contract in accordance with Art. 61 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

However, according to the same Art. 61 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employee does not lose the right to receive sick leave benefits from the moment the contract is signed, despite the fact that it has been cancelled.

ConsultantPlus experts spoke about the rules for filling out sick leave by an employer. Get free demo access to K+ and go to the Ready Solution to find out all the details of this procedure.

Example 2

Antonov A.S., a friend of Stepanov V.S., got a job at Salyut LLC together with him. They signed employment contracts at the same time, and they also had to go to work together.

It so happened that Antonov also fell ill after signing the contract, but recovered quite quickly - by 03/10/20XX. But, since Stepanov was unable to go to work, Antonov also decided not to start working at Salyut LLC.

Even in this scenario, Antonov has the right to take out sick leave for the period of incapacity, despite the fact that his contract was canceled at his own request.

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.

Limitation on the duration of sick leave in case of a canceled contract

The duration of paid sick leave upon cancellation of the contract is limited to 75 days (Clause 4, Article 6 of the Law “On Compulsory Social Insurance” dated December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ). But if the cause of temporary disability is tuberculosis, then this restriction does not apply.

For comparison: if sick leave is issued by a full-time employee, then its duration for which benefits are paid can be (clause 11 of the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n):

• 15 days, if a certificate of incapacity for work is issued by the attending physician, as a rule, for a common disease, for example, an acute respiratory infection;
• 10 months, if sick leave (several sick leaves in a row) is issued by a medical commission, subject to a favorable work and clinical prognosis.

In case of tuberculosis, the duration of sick leave can be 12 months.

Correcting errors

Let us list the features of correcting errors in the finished document.

Recommendations for an accountant on how to correctly fill out corrections on a sick leave certificate or make adjustments to calculations:

1. Corrective agents cannot be used.
2. Carefully cross out the error with one thin line.
3. Fill in the correct information on the back of the form.
4. Certify the corrections by putting your full name, position and signature of the head of the organization.
5. Place a round seal of the organization (if available) next to it.

An example of a record of correction of errors on sick leave made by the employer

List of acceptable errors

There are few cases when one can consider “it will do”:

• the doctor or the head of the company made inaccuracies, but they are not significant, for example, a minor blot (Determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 7056/13 dated June 27, 2013 and Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District of the Russian Federation No. A27-1437/2013 dated September 10, 2013);
• there is extra space between the health worker’s initials (not all inspectors turn a blind eye to this);
• one document uses computer and handwritten text (FSS Letter No. 17-03-09/06-3841p);
• the name of the organization on the sick leave was entered inaccurately - for example, instead of “Petrov and Son Company LLC” there is “Petrov and Son LLC” (FSS Letter No. 10-09/10/7103 dated 03.26.13);
• the sign or letter has gone beyond the border;
• The sheet is written in pen and not on a computer, but all entries are clear and readable.

A sample of a new sick leave sheet highlighting acceptable errors:

Personnel officer or accountant - who fills out the document

To ensure that sick leave forms are filled out in your organization without errors, identify the responsible employee. Set these responsibilities in the specialist’s job description and familiarize him with them under his signature.

The manager decides who to appoint to this position. It is permissible to entrust the preparation to a personnel officer. An employee of the HR department will only be able to enter the name of the company, OGRN, registration data of the company (OGNR) and employee (TIN, SNILS), dates. Only an accountant who knows how to fill out a sick leave certificate for an employer can calculate the amount of benefits, taking into account the latest requirements of the legislation on calculating benefits for temporary disability. Please take this into account when assigning someone in charge.

IMPORTANT!

Regardless of which specialist was assigned the responsibilities for filling, the responsibility still lies with the head of the company.

Checking the medical part of the form

After the employee has submitted the sick leave, it is necessary to immediately check the part that the doctor filled out, and if there are errors, return the document to the employee to replace it at the medical institution.

What you need to pay attention to in the medical part of the form:

• Only an institution that has a license to engage in medical activities has the right to issue a certificate of incapacity for work.
• The medical part of the sick leave must be drawn up in accordance with all the rules for writing letters and filling out the cells specified in the relevant instructions.
• Corrections are not allowed. If there are any, then you must return to the medical facility to get a new sheet without corrections.
• The lines must be correctly filled in indicating the sick leave number, the name of the medical institution, its address, the patient’s place of work, his full name, which must correspond to that indicated on the identity card. There are 28 cells allocated for the surname; if it does not fit into them, then the first 28 letters of the surname are indicated.
• A disease code and a regime violation code (if available) are required.
• The signature and seal of the attending physician is required, as well as the seal of the medical organization, which is clearly readable and does not go into the information cells.

Normative base

Federal Law No. 323-FZ of November 21, 2011 “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation”
Supreme Court Ruling No. 304-KG14-6897 of February 17, 2015 in case No. A27-5730/2014

Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated September 1, 2020 No. 925n “On approval of the procedure for issuing and processing certificates of incapacity for work, including the procedure for generating certificates of incapacity for work in the form of an electronic document”

Order of the Ministry of Labor No. 182n dated April 30, 2013