Electronic sick leave is not accepted: what to do in 2021

Author of the article: Yulia Kaisina Last modified: January 2021 20650

The state continues the policy of transition to electronic document management. The result of this was the opportunity to issue a sick leave certificate not in paper, but in virtual form. However, not all employers are ready to work with this form of document. What to do if electronic sick leave is not accepted at work and is the medical institution required to issue a paper version instead?

Electronic or paper sick leave: what does the state think?

With the introduction of computer technologies, the transfer of paper document flow to electronic is being implemented in many organizations, including budget ones. State medical organizations are no exception.

Sick leave certificates issued electronically are an innovation that not every employer is yet ready to work with, but their use is optimal, as it reduces the likelihood of errors when filling out and forgery of documents. In addition, there is no need for dusty archives, because sick leave must be kept by the employer for at least five years. The state does not yet require a mandatory transition to electronic sick leave. From Letter No. 2-09-11/22-05-13462 dated 08/11/2017:

“... the employer’s obligation to participate in the formation of an electronic certificate of incapacity for work has not been established...”

But this measure is desirable:

“... since it is a promising direction for modernizing both the compulsory social insurance system and the development of information technology in the Russian Federation”

Goals of introducing electronic sick leave into circulation:

simplify and speed up the interaction between the Social Insurance Fund, medical organization, employer and employee;
strengthen control over falsification of sick leave;
minimize paperwork.

What determines the size of payments?

In accordance with the standards established by the law of December 29, 2006, number 255-FZ, the percentage of payment for sick leave depends largely on the length of insurance. To calculate, you need to know the important points that are listed below.

In case of illness, receipt of various injuries (with the exception of industrial injuries), being under quarantine, prosthetics prescribed for medical necessity, or undergoing treatment in a sanatorium, an employee has the right to the following benefit, which is proportional to the existing insurance period:

for eight years or more, the benefit amount will be one hundred percent of the employee’s average earnings;
from five to eight years - the payment amount will be reduced to eighty percent;
less than five years - a certain minimum of sixty percent.

If an employee is diagnosed with an occupational disease or is injured as a result of an accident that occurred at work, he is paid a benefit in the amount of one hundred percent, regardless of his length of insurance (the amount is calculated based on average earnings).

In the case of caring for a sick child undergoing outpatient treatment, the amount of the benefit depends on the length of insurance as follows, as in the situations specified in paragraph 1, but with a slight adjustment:

eight years or more - one hundred percent in the first ten days, then fifty percent for each day of incapacity;
from five to eight years - also eighty percent for the first ten days, then fifty percent each;
up to five years - payment is already sixty percent for the first ten days, then fifty percent.

If it is necessary to care for a child or an adult family member who is in a hospital, the benefit received by the employee will depend on the length of insurance according to the usual procedure (clause 1):

up to five years - sixty percent;
from five to eight years - eighty percent;
eight years or more - one hundred percent.

In the event of illness or injury of a resigned employee, only on the condition that thirty calendar days have not passed since the dismissal, he is entitled to a benefit in the amount of sixty percent of the average earnings for any insurance period.

In all of the above situations, the preparation of the necessary documentation for submission to the social insurance fund lies directly with the employer. But the employee needs to make sure that the data used is correct and the papers are submitted on time. This will greatly contribute to the timely receipt of payments. Employers often “forget” about their obligation to provide documents.

Advantages and disadvantages of electronic sick leave

Advantages:

control over falsification. The FSS electronic system is reliably protected from hacking;
easier to fill. There is no need to select the color of a fountain pen, check every letter, typos, blots, and make corrections easily;
no special archives are needed for storage. The document remains in the FSS system indefinitely. Plus, finding it by number is easy and quick;
availability. An employer or employee can easily track the amount and terms of accrual on the Social Insurance Fund website in their personal account;
saving time in registration, which will allow doctors to spend more time with patients.

Flaws:

it will be necessary to improve computer equipment and train employees to use the program, and this will entail additional expenses that are unreasonable for small businesses;
since the system has not yet been “tested”, malfunctions in the programs cannot be ruled out;
the low technical equipment of clinics in certain regions of Russia will slow down the implementation of information technologies.

However, the advantages of introducing an electronic newsletter outweigh the disadvantages.

In what cases does an employer not accept electronic sick leave?

Perhaps, for technical reasons, the organization does not yet work with electronic data. Letter No. 2-09-11/22-05-13462 dated 08/11/2017 says:

“... If the employer is technically unprepared to generate an electronic certificate of incapacity for work, the medical organization has the right to replace the generated electronic certificate of incapacity for work with a certificate of incapacity for work...”

For detailed information on filling out the EBL by a medical institution, see here.

The employer does not have an account with State Services

If the employer cannot accept electronic sick leave, the medical institution is obliged to replace the electronic sick leave with a written certificate certified by seals.
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Actions of the health worker and the employer when working with ELN

Let's consider what each participant in the document flow should do. And also what to do if the employer does not accept electronic sick leave and whether it is possible to replace the electronic sick leave with a paper one.

Employee actions

According to Letter No. 2-09-11/22-05-13462, payments for sick leave will be calculated regardless of the version in which the bulletin is presented to the employer. In addition, the patient himself chooses which option to present to the human resources department. But it is better to request the usual paper version, being sure that the employer does not accept electronic sick leave. Otherwise, it is more convenient and reliable to issue an ELB.

If the choice fell on the electronic option, then in this case written consent will be required from the employee.

Actions of the health worker

Registration starts when you first contact the doctor. In your personal account on the website cabinets.fss.ru or using a specialized program connected to the FSS, the latter enters the patient’s examination data and his diagnosis. The program itself assigns a sick leave number, which is communicated to the patient.

After recovery, when the ballot is closed, the EBL is certified with the electronic signatures of the doctor and medical institution and sent to the FSS through the program. This operation is free and considered highly secure.

On the first working day after the end of sick leave, the employee provides the electronic document number to the HR department.

Employer's actions

To process electronic sick leave, the employer needs computer equipment, access to a personal account on the State Services portal, and an approved electronic signature. You can work with a document by logging into your personal account on the Internet resource cabinets.fss.ru or through specialized programs.

Using the number provided by the employee, the personnel officer or accountant finds the sick leave in the system and enters the necessary information about the employee: length of service, salary, etc. Based on them, the program itself will calculate the amount of the benefit.

After processing the sick leave, the information is certified by the enterprise’s electronic signature and sent via the network to the Social Insurance Fund. Payments are made to the employee within 10 calendar days.

For detailed information on filling out the EBL for an employer, see here.

Who should be responsible for replacing the EBL with a paper version?

This should be done by an employee. But so far, few people know what to do if the employer does not accept electronic sick leave, so the enterprise is obliged to correctly explain its further actions.

Employer's liability for non-payment of sick leave

Due to the fact that non-payment of sick leave can be equated to a delay in salary payments, the same measures of responsibility are imposed on the employer. These include:

Disciplinary punishment for management personnel in accordance with Art. 192 Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
Material punishment in the form of a fine for each day of delay on the amount of debt;
Administrative penalties.

Theoretically possible, but, as a rule, criminal liability is rarely applied to payments for periods of incapacity.

Material liability

In case of delay in transferring sick pay, the employer will have to pay 1/150 of the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for each day of delay. The calculation formula will be as follows:
Amount of debt × 1/150 × interest × days of delay.

The time for which payment is made is calculated in days from the date following the due day of transfer of sick leave and ends with the moment of its actual payment.

Administrative punishment for non-payment of benefits

Involvement in fines under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation occurs on the basis of instructions from the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate or court decisions. If facts of non-transfer of disability benefits are discovered, the following measures may be taken by the company:

For an enterprise, a penalty deduction is from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles;
The entrepreneur will lose from 1,000 to 5,000 rubles;
To senior officials who committed such a violation from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles.

If the company commits a similar violation again , the amount of administrative penalties will increase significantly. In addition, in this case, the official may be subject to a restriction on the right to occupy leadership positions in companies for a period of 1 to 3 years.

How to replace an electronic sick leave with a paper version

The employee may not be aware of the company’s capabilities and automatically agrees to the electronic registration of sick leave, but the HR department says that sick leave will not be accepted in this form.

In this case, is it possible to change the electronic sick leave certificate to a paper one? Yes it is possible. To do this, the employee will again have to contact the medical institution with a written request to provide him with a paper version of the certificate of incapacity for work. The doctor will issue a paper document marked “Duplicate”, assign a number, indicate the date of issue and duration of illness. After this, the previous electronic version will be canceled, but a record of it will be saved in the program database.

If the doctor refuses to replace the patient with a paper version, then you can submit a complaint to the head physician in writing. The complaint is written on two sheets, the first is sent to the medical institution against signature, the second remains with the patient. If this measure does not help, you must contact the Ministry of Health.

Sample application for replacement of electronic sick leave

Will they refuse sick leave if there is no temperature?

In case of ARVI, a person seeking medical help is initially issued a sheet for seven days. If necessary, it can be extended, even if the patient does not have a fever. The doctor examines the patient and independently makes a conclusion whether the person is ready to begin his work duties.

In addition, some diseases are not accompanied by fever, for example, with back pain, the symptoms of the disease will be different from ARVI. Therefore, temperature is not a basis for refusing to issue a certificate of temporary incapacity for work.

If a person works part-time, then he is also issued a BC, which must be presented at work to pay for days missed for a valid reason.