Can an employer not pay sick leave? What to do if your employer does not pay sick leave? Where to contact? if you haven’t paid sick leave where to go

Karpova Yulia Vasilievna

It happens that a person cannot be sick. Actually, not at all. As a rule, such a worker suffers from what is called an illness on his feet. And everything would be fine, but here’s the problem - the person would happily go on sick leave to improve his health. But you can't! The employer prohibits it. And to reinforce his ban, he says that he will not pay sick leave. Does an employer have the right not to pay sick leave?

In general, it does, but only if a fake one was provided sick leave. In all other cases, when the employee was absent from the workplace due to illness and provided sick leave, The accounting department of the enterprise is obliged to pay for sick leave. But it happens that employers do not want to pay sick leave, what to do in this case?

Causes

The reasons for non-payment of sick leave may be different. And, as a rule, all of them are associated either with the unprofessionalism of accountants or with the principles of the manager. All these reasons can and should be fought.

It is not profitable for enterprises to pay sick leave for employees. After all, the employee does not work, does not bring profit to the company, but only losses. You can hear: what losses, sick leave is paid by the fund social insurance? It's not quite like that. The employer pays for the first 3 days of an employee’s sick leave. And all the rest are the social insurance fund.

And the social insurance fund is government agency. The state will not allow you to receive money so easily. It will strictly control all the money it allocates to pay benefits. For this purpose, the FSS has been given the right to carry out on-site inspection to identify violations when calculating payments. Even the most competent and knowledgeable accountant has an extremely negative attitude towards audits. After all, any checks are guaranteed to waste time and nerves.

Sometimes it is easier for a company to pay an employee’s salary for the days that he did not work. Especially if the salary is “gray”. If you have been offered to pay a salary rather than sick leave, keep in mind that these are significant risks for you. After all, you were absent from work, someone else did some of the work for you, and according to the documents, you did it. The employer may take disciplinary action against you.

It happens that an employer simply does not want to pay sick leave. It is not customary in his organization to get sick. If you get sick, take a vacation at your own expense. Such actions are illegal.

If you get sick and your employer insists on taking a vacation at his own expense, you must still submit your sick leave to the accounting department. Before that, you need to make a copy and ask the employee who accepted the sick leave to sign the copy.

After this, expect to be paid for sick leave. If payment is not received, you can contact the state labor inspectorate. File a complaint against the employer, describing the entire situation.

You may be told that payment may be delayed because the company decided to check the sick leave by making a request to medical institution. However, this is not an excuse.

By law, you have ten days to pay for sick leave.

It is established that the sick leave is fake, or it is not established - the amount must be calculated and paid. And if it turns out that a false document was provided, the employer has the right to withhold wages employee the amount paid for sick leave.

If the conflict escalates, the employer may threaten to fire you. Keep in mind that there is no such reason as dismissal due to frequent illness. If you are absent from work due to illness and after recovery you provide sick leave, then you were absent from work for a valid reason. This means that any dismissal at the initiative of the employer can most likely be challenged in court.

Employment contract

It would be a good idea to check the conditions of your employment contract or internal labor regulations. It may turn out that these documents establish an obligation for you to inform your employer that you are sick.

In judicial practice, there is a case of dismissal of an employee at the initiative of the employer. The employment contract established that an employee, in the event of illness, informs the employer about the illness. The employee fell ill, but did not inform the employer about the illness. Although he could talk (that is, he was conscious). After recovery, the employee came to work and learned that he had been fired for absenteeism. Disagreeing with such dismissal, the employee sued the employer. The claims were as follows: reinstatement at work, payment for forced absence, compensation moral damage. Having carefully studied the text of the employment contract, the court came to the conclusion that the dismissal was legal. Yes, the law does not establish an obligation to inform your employer about your sick leave. But if such a condition is established by the employment contract, then it is still necessary to report.

The employer pays for sick leave from his own pocket only for the first three days. Next, the sick leave is paid for by the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). An employer has no right not to pay for sick leave, unless the sick leave was purchased and is not fake (and this is easy to check, and then you may face a criminal case for fraud). So if you are confident in the authenticity of your certificate of incapacity for work, you can safely stand your ground. To restore justice, there is a labor inspectorate and the prosecutor's office, as mentioned here earlier. Many employees do not agree to this, because the relationship with the employer will be damaged and they could lose their job. If you're not afraid of it, go for it. The law is on your side.

the system chose this answer as the best

Most likely, the employer does not make contributions to compulsory medical insurance fund, or does, but does not want to pay you benefits, keeps your money for himself. The fact is that the benefit is actually paid by the compulsory medical insurance fund, and not by the employer. And the employer here is more like an intermediary. And how to fight it depends on which employer and which company. You can complain to labor inspection, to the prosecutor's office, you can hint at a large fine that is imposed on the organization, you can simply show the manager that you understand the issue of paying for sick leave. It depends on the circumstances.

You can write a complaint to the labor inspectorate and the prosecutor's office. The law is on your side. But it is not a fact that the employer will peacefully “swallow” this and will not throw you out of work after the trial. Sometimes employers do this, hiding a work-related accident/injury, because... it was not processed on time or processed improperly, and was not reported anywhere. If the sick leave is issued due to illness, then the employer benefits from the fact that it is paid for by social insurance, and he makes savings on this.

Most likely because during this period of illness an employee who essentially did not work at that time. Why does an employer need this? That’s right, there is no need, because the employee did not waste his energy and did not work his hours at work. And it’s not a plus for the employer to pay extra money for essentially nothing. And what I am more confident about is that there is a lot of deception, blackmail, that is, without working, the employee simply receives money, and then can come with a false certificate.

Karpova Yulia Vasilievna

It happens that a person cannot be sick. Actually, not at all. As a rule, such a worker suffers from what is called an illness on his feet. And everything would be fine, but here’s the problem - the person would happily go on sick leave to improve his health. But you can't! The employer prohibits it. And to reinforce his ban, he says that he will not pay sick leave. Does an employer have the right not to pay sick leave?

In general, it does, but only if a fake sick leave certificate was provided. In all other cases, when the employee was absent from the workplace due to illness and provided sick leave, The accounting department of the enterprise is obliged to pay for sick leave. But it happens that employers do not want to pay sick leave, what to do in this case?

The reasons for non-payment of sick leave may be different. And, as a rule, all of them are associated either with the unprofessionalism of accountants or with the principles of the manager. All these reasons can and should be fought.

It is not profitable for enterprises to pay sick leave to employees. After all, the employee does not work, does not bring profit to the company, but only losses. You can hear: what losses, after all, sick leave is paid by the social insurance fund? It's not quite like that. The employer pays for the first 3 days of an employee’s sick leave. And all the rest are the social insurance fund.

And the social insurance fund is a government agency. The state will not allow you to receive money so easily. It will strictly control all the money it allocates to pay benefits. For this purpose, the FSS has been given the right to carry out on-site inspections to identify violations in the calculation of payments. Even the most competent and knowledgeable accountant has an extremely negative attitude towards audits. After all, any checks are guaranteed to waste time and nerves.

Sometimes it is easier for a company to pay an employee’s salary for the days that he did not work. Especially if the salary is “gray”. If you have been offered to pay a salary rather than sick leave, keep in mind that these are significant risks for you. After all, you were absent from work, someone else did some of the work for you, and according to the documents, you did it. The employer may take disciplinary action against you.

It happens that an employer simply does not want to pay sick leave. It is not customary in his organization to get sick. If you get sick, take a vacation at your own expense. Such actions are illegal .

If you get sick and your employer insists on taking a vacation at his own expense, you must still submit your sick leave to the accounting department. Before that, you need to make a copy and ask the employee who accepted the sick leave to sign the copy.

After this, expect to be paid for sick leave. If payment is not received, you can contact the state labor inspectorate. File a complaint against the employer, describing the entire situation.

Read also: Sick leave during maternity leave

You may be told that payment may be delayed due to the fact that the company decided to check the sick leave by making a request to the medical institution. However, this is not an excuse.

By law, you have ten days to pay for sick leave.

It is established that the sick leave is fake, or it is not established - the amount must be calculated and paid. And if it turns out that a false document was provided, the employer has the right to withhold from the employee’s salary the amount paid for sick leave.

If the conflict escalates, the employer may threaten to fire you. Keep in mind that there is no such reason as dismissal due to frequent illness. If you are absent from work due to illness and after recovery you provide sick leave, then you were absent from work for a valid reason. This means that any dismissal at the initiative of the employer can most likely be challenged in court.

Employment contract

It would be a good idea to check the terms of your employment contract or internal labor regulations. It may turn out that these documents establish an obligation for you to inform your employer that you are sick.

In judicial practice, there is a case of dismissal of an employee at the initiative of the employer. The employment contract established that an employee, in the event of illness, informs the employer about the illness. The employee fell ill, but did not inform the employer about the illness. Although he could talk (that is, he was conscious). After recovery, the employee came to work and learned that he had been fired for absenteeism. Disagreeing with such dismissal, the employee sued the employer. The claims were as follows: reinstatement at work, payment for forced absence, compensation for moral damage. Having carefully studied the text of the employment contract, the court came to the conclusion that the dismissal was legal. Yes, the law does not establish an obligation to inform your employer about your sick leave. But if such a condition is established by the employment contract, then it is still necessary to report.

if you haven’t paid sick leave where to go

Free legal advice

Hello, I have a problem at work, they don’t pay me because I was at my own expense when there was no work, they let us sign a document at our own expense, now they don’t want to pay me and I had an operation for stage 1 cancer

Hello, Elena.\r\nYour presence must be documented. Even while on vacation without pay, you had to issue a sick leave certificate.

If you haven’t paid for your sick leave, where should you go?

I work as a salesperson in a store for a private entrepreneur. I was on sick leave in the summer, but the store director still hasn’t paid me sick leave, although we pay all taxes. He says that he has not yet been transferred money from social insurance. What does this have to do with me? I don’t want to swear and lose my job, but I also don’t want to work without sick leave. Tell me what should I do and what laws should I refer to?

You cannot delay the payment of sick leave benefits just because your employer has not received any money from the state.

If you don’t get paid on your sick leave, where to go?

Pay as between outpatient sick leave. Even if the employee works part-time. If your husband wears shoulder straps, then such comrades are not paid a salary. On the check, the selected basic methods for searching financial statements installed in the work hotel, representing Savitskaya’s bankruptcy forecasting model, the most extensive ingratiation in terms of time of appearance within the framework of SAFO, has been acquired by tax authorities since the 60s of the auction of transactions of participants in the judicial market.

If the employer does not pay sick leave

GU specialists - regional office The Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Tatarstan explained that in accordance with Article 13 Federal Law dated December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ “On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 255-FZ) and clause 10 of the Regulations on the Social Insurance Fund Russian Federation, approved by decree of the government of the Russian Federation dated 12.

Where to turn if sick leave payments are not received?

Contact your accountant and clarify the reason for the delay. They can be different, just like, for example, an error in a certificate of incapacity for work. In this case, it is necessary to replace it with a doctor; in modern ones, correction of errors is not allowed.

Perhaps there is some kind of snag in the HR department, they sometimes delay them because they fill them out on the back side, you just need to hurry them up.

Payment of sick leave (sick leave) by the employer

A sick leave certificate is issued by a medical organization (our contacts in Moscow) for presentation to the employer. The employer is obliged to pay benefits for temporary loss of ability to work depending on its duration. The first two days are paid by the employer, the remaining days are paid from the social insurance fund. In the event of a work-related injury, all days of incapacity for work are paid by the Social Insurance Fund.

The sick leave must be provided to the employer the next day after its closure.

Payment of sick leave to an external part-time worker

Today, when many people work for not one, but several employers, the question of how and where sick leave is paid to an external part-time worker no longer seems strange. Everything is quite understandable - such is the rhythm of modern life.

However, emotions that are understandable to us, ordinary citizens, have no place in legislative affairs. Everything there is strict and formalized, so we take everything seriously.

Read also: Dismissal due to staff reduction without working for two months

Payment of sick leave to a part-time worker

Sick leave pay for a part-time worker is calculated according to the same rules as for an employee at his main place of work, based on the amount of income he receives.

In addition, to pay sick leave to a part-time worker at one employer, you will need certificates from other places of work stating that he was not assigned or paid this benefit there.

Payment is made only upon provision of the original copy of the sheet.

The employer does not pay sick leave according to BiR

To the insured persons specified in Part 3 of Article 2 of this Federal Law, as well as other categories of insured persons in the event of termination of activities by the policyholder on the day the insured person applies for temporary disability benefits, maternity benefits, monthly child care benefits, or in the event impossibility of their payment by the policyholder due to insufficiency Money on his accounts in credit institutions and applying the order of debiting funds from the account provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, or in the event that it is not possible to establish the location of the insured and his property, which may be subject to foreclosure, in the presence of a court decision that has entered into legal force to establish the fact of non-payment of benefits by such an insurer to the insured person, the assignment and payment of these benefits, with the exception of temporary disability benefits paid at the expense of the insured in accordance with paragraph 1 of part 2 of Article 3 of this Federal Law, are carried out by the territorial body of the insurer.

The employer refuses to pay sick leave: what to do?

Good afternoon I ask you to provide an explanation of the current situation. I was on duty from 08/31/2011 to 09/28/2011. On September 29, I provided the sheet to the employer. I work in a branch in Tver, and legally the organization is located in Moscow. After which, a week later, I was sent a scanned sick leave certificate by email. e-mail with underlined places that are filled in incorrectly.

Accounting for direct sick leave if the sheet where to go is not paid for time

This is largely facilitated by the presence in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation of legislatively enshrined lists of signs of circumstances, and the Paris and Berne Conventions have previously been revised several times, is the fact that the child is supported by the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 27.

Let me tell you, an interestingly detailed exhibition and that sheet, in the event of its disclosure, which bear property liability to the sick leave in the presence of all the previously discussed conditions for its occurrence.

What to do if you don’t want to pay sick leave

1 answer. Moscow Viewed 147 times. Posted 2013-05-27 11:39:05 +0400 in the topic “Labor Law” The employer refused to pay for sick leave. where to go for help? - The employer refused to pay for sick leave. where to go for help. Further

1 answer. Moscow Viewed 870 times. Asked 2012-04-06 08:39:31 +0400 in the topic “Labor Law” About sick leave. - About sick leave.

What to do if sick leave is not paid

Almost every employee experiences illness at least once a year, which requires a period of sick leave, during which he does not perform his duties, but is exclusively concerned with his health. Unfortunately, not all employers perceive an employee’s illness with understanding; many simply do not pay for the period of incapacity, believing that the ill employee does not deserve payment, which is a direct violation of the law in most cases. So what to do if sick leave is not paid? And how to make the employer come to his senses?

Normative base

In accordance with Article 183 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the enterprise is obliged to pay the employee for the period of illness on the basis of the submitted certificate of incapacity for work, issued in accordance with the norms of Order of the Ministry of Social Development No. 624n for all days that the employee was absent due to his condition, but subject to certain conditions.

In particular, Federal Law No. 255 states that the period of illness is compensated only for those workers who are officially accepted into the organization, that is, with the execution of an order for admission and the conclusion of an employment contract. An exception to this situation is the execution of a civil contract, which provides for the performance of a certain type of work without providing social guarantees.

The company is also required to pay sick leave former employee, if he fell ill within 30 days from the date of dismissal, as stated in Article 5, Part 2 of Federal Law No. 255. Of course, this situation does not suit many employers, but nevertheless they are obliged to pay for the period of incapacity for work in the amount of 60% of the average salary of the former employee.

Every employee of an enterprise or institution has the right to count on paid sick leave, but only subject to payment of contributions to the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation. If such contributions have not been made, then sick leave is not subject to payment. However, given the fact that the obligation to transfer contributions to the Social Insurance Fund is assigned to the organization, an employee in such a situation has the right to demand that an unscrupulous employer compensate for this period or he will be forced to do so by the competent authorities.

In what cases can they refuse?

According to the norms of current legislation, sick leave submitted to an enterprise must be calculated within 10 days, and then paid in the amount established by Article 7 of Federal Law No. 255. That is, an employee who has worked for less than 5 years is paid 60% of average earnings, an employee who has a total work experience of 5 to 8 years is paid in the amount of 80% of average earnings, and, accordingly, employees with more than 8 years of experience are paid sick leave. paid at 100% of the average salary.

An employer can refuse payment only in a few cases, namely:

  • if the sick leave was issued in connection with the illness of a child during the annual leave of the employee;
  • if an employee is suspended from performing duties due to violations of local regulations, for example, in case of refusal to undergo a medical examination, to obtain the appropriate license, as well as downtime caused by his fault;
  • if the period of incapacity for work occurred as a result of the employee’s guilty actions, for example, an injury was sustained due to being in a state alcohol intoxication or during the commission of a crime;
  • if an employee attempted to commit suicide, resulting in harm to his health, which requires treatment.

Every employed citizen has a number of social guarantees that he can count on. One of these guarantees is. Compensation for sick leave is guaranteed not so much by the employer itself as by the state, and therefore, if the employer does not want to pay for sick days, the employee can protect his rights by other methods.

Let's figure out what to do if the employer does not pay sick leave. Where to complain and how to protect yourself and your rights?

According to the legislative norms in force in the territory of the Russian Federation, upon employment, an employee receives a number of guarantees that must be provided by the employer to the specified extent. Health restoration is one of the highest priority areas in social protection population, because only healthy citizens can work fully.

In case of detected diseases, the employee is obliged to take care of the established format. Its presence allows you to count on:

  1. preservation of work place, position and salary;
  2. payment for days spent away from work due to illness.

Upon recovery, the ballot is closed and given to the citizen for presentation at the place of work. In turn, the employer is obliged, upon receiving the ballot:

  1. check its authenticity;
  2. make sure that it is formatted correctly;
  3. on disability;
  4. transfer the compensation amounts to the bank account of the recovered employee within the prescribed time frame.

The amount of payments depends on several indicators, namely:

  • on the employee’s average daily income;
  • the amount of insurance experience he has accumulated.

If an employee has more than eight years of insurance experience, he or she can count on 100% compensation for sick days. If the experience is less than eight years, but more than five, then 80% of the average salary is paid. Anyone with less than five years of savings will be compensated for only 60% of their income.

The employer is obliged to pay for all calendar days of sickness from the moment the ballot opens until the day it closes. In this case, the employer most often pays only the first three days of illness, the remaining days are compensated from the social insurance fund. The social insurance fund is formed from those mandatory contributions that are paid by the employer monthly for each of its employees. These deductions guarantee further compensation for disability, and therefore the employer does not have the right to refuse payments to the employee unless there are serious grounds for doing so.

Cases when refusal to pay is lawful

An employee must know when a refusal to accrue payments is legal, and when this measure is regarded as a violation of the rights of workers. The further actions of the citizen himself depend on the assessment of legality.

There are a number of cases where non-payment of sick leave benefits will be justified.

Moreover, some situations entail partial non-payment of days of incapacity for work, while others entail a complete refusal to compensate them. Let's start with the fact that in the absence of official confirmation of the disease, which is, there can be no talk of any payments. Such cases include not only those when the patient did not consult a doctor at all, but also those when the reason for his contact was considered insufficient or feigned.

Partial payments are made if:

  1. The certificate of incapacity for work contains notes about. Then these days will fall out of the total accruals.
  2. The illness or injury was sustained while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  3. The patient did not show up at the appointed time for examination by the doctor.

Each case requires preliminary written explanations in an explanatory note.

The employer does not pay for sick leave if:

  1. It was established that it was fake.
  2. The design does not meet the standards. The form must be replaced at the medical institution that issued it.
  3. Submission deadlines were missed. The ballot is submitted for payment within six months from the date of its closure. Late submission will not incur charges.

Ballots are also not paid for:

  1. coincidence of the time of illness with the time taken;
  2. caring for sick relatives, if it occurred during the paid vacation period;
  3. administrative or criminal arrest of an employee.

It is also not legal to apply for benefits in cases where harm to health was caused by one’s own hand and intentionally. They also do not provide compensation to those who committed a crime, as a result of which they ended up in a hospital bed.

Actions of an employee upon refusal of payment

If the employer does not want to pay for the submitted certificate of incapacity for work, and the employee considers his actions to be unlawful, then he is obliged to contact higher authorities with a complaint.

Before you complain about the illegality of your employer’s actions, you need to thoroughly understand the situation.

Please note that 10 days are allotted for accrual of compensation amounts for sick days. After which they must be transferred to the recipient's bank account.

If such an action was not carried out, then it is logical to go to the accounting department of the enterprise for an explanation. There, most likely, the employee will receive an answer as to why the funds were not credited to him; if the reason is unfounded, then it is worth contacting the organization’s management in writing.

With absence positive results Based on the submitted application, the employee can apply to other authorities to resolve the controversial issue.

In most cases, the complaint is drawn up in any form. This document aims to most fully highlight aspects of the current situation and ask for help in resolving the current situation.

  1. Applicant details. His full name, position, length of service, telephone number, residential address and other information.
  2. The legal name of the organization in question.
  3. A brief and concise statement of the current situation, accompanied by the bulletin itself.
  4. A link to a complaint that was submitted to the manager for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
  5. Indication of the article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (in this case, article 183), which was violated by the employer.
  6. Request for dispute resolution.

The complaint is certified by the date and handwritten signature of the applicant.

In case of appeal to the court, the applicant will have to draw up statement of claim, and the requirements for its preparation are more stringent.

Contacting the competent authority

Where should an employee turn if the employer does not give permission to pay for the ballot? In this case, the complaint should be addressed to:

  1. B, who oversees this area.
  2. To the court of jurisdiction.

It is recommended to start with an inspection, but there are no restrictions on skipping this stage and immediately filing a claim in court. Moreover, labor disputes are considered free of charge for workers. But the court requires compliance with large mandatory aspects, which undoubtedly complicates the procedure itself.

Let's consider issues related to payment of sick leaves for insured persons. At first glance, it seems like there might be questions here: “contributions to the Social Insurance Fund are transferred – if you get sick, you are required to pay sick leave.” However, everything is not always so simple and various unpleasant situations arise.

It is worth noting that the insured persons have the right to receive benefits due to temporary disability not only in the event of their own incapacity for work, but also in other cases provided for by law, including if it is necessary to care for a sick family member; if the insured person is in quarantine and in other cases.

ATTENTION: ours will achieve payment for sick leave: professionally, on favorable terms agreed with you and on time!!!

How is sick leave paid?

Let's start with the most important question: how is sick leave paid? So, in order for you to be paid for sick leave, you must provide your employer with a certificate of incapacity for work no later than six months after your sick leave was closed, that is, when you became able to work.

You must also provide a certificate of salary, if for billing period you officially worked for other employers who paid for you the corresponding contributions to the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the FSS), and, if you wish, this earnings should be taken into account when calculating benefits.

By general rule for the first three days of temporary disability, the benefit is paid at the expense of the employer, for the remaining days - at the expense of the Social Insurance Fund budget. In this case, the benefit is paid for all calendar days when the person was sick, including weekends and holidays.

If you are not eligible for benefits, seek legal advice from an attorney who can explain the law, your rights, and how to proceed.

Sick leave payment deadline

You handed over a certificate of incapacity for work, the insurer assigned you benefits. When should sick pay be paid?

There is no specific deadline for payment established by law. However, a rule has been established. according to which the payment of benefits must be made by the policyholder on the next payday after the assignment of benefits.

If the deadlines for paying sick leave are violated, you have the right to demand compensation for violation of the deadlines. A lawyer specializing in labor disputes can explain how to do this correctly.

Amount of temporary disability benefit

How much sick leave you will be paid if you, as an insured person, get sick depends on your work experience. We are talking about paying for a certificate of incapacity for work for a working insured person.

  • If you have insurance experience of up to 5 years, sick leave should be paid to you in the amount of 60% of average earnings. With 5 to 8 years of experience, sick leave is payable in the amount of 80% of average earnings. If your work experience is 8 years or more, then sick leave is paid in the amount of 100% of average earnings.
  • If your child is sick and it is necessary to provide him with care, assistance when outpatient treatment for the first 10 calendar days it is accrued according to the rules reflected in the above paragraph, starting from the 11th day - in the amount of 50% of average earnings.
  • If the child is treated in an inpatient setting, then the benefit is calculated taking into account your work experience, regardless of the number of days of sick leave.
  • If necessary care for a sick family member(exception: child) who is undergoing treatment on an outpatient basis, the benefit is also paid depending on your work experience.

Any issue has its own nuances, this issue is no exception. There are times when it is necessary to replace the years of the billing period; some payments may not be taken into account when calculating average earnings and other situations. A lawyer can help you understand all the nuances, namely, taking into account the documents and information provided, check the possibility of changing the years of the billing period, check the correctness of the calculation of average earnings.

Where can I complain if I don’t get paid sick leave?

If your employer does not pay you for sick leave, you can contact the Social Insurance Fund directly about this matter, that is, the insurer, which is obliged to protect the rights of the insured to receive guaranteed benefits. The Social Insurance Fund will represent the interests of the employee on controversial issues that arise with the employer. In this situation, the insurer is obliged to take all possible measures to accrue and pay appropriate benefits to the insured person.

  1. Also, the insured person can file a complaint with the labor inspectorate or the prosecutor's office.
  2. But before filing a complaint, you should still contact your employer’s accounting department and try to find out the reason why sick leave is not paid ( this procedure is called pre-trial settlement of the dispute and is recommended to everyone without exception by our labor lawyer).
  3. You also have the right to seek judicial protection of your rights.

Our labor lawyer can provide assistance in preparing a complaint or statement of claim. In addition, a lawyer can be your representative in resolving issues related to non-payment of sick leave to you, as well as regarding the issue of payments.

HEALTHY: Watch a video with advice from an employment lawyer on how to file a grievance

Does the employer have the right not to pay sick leave or reduce the amount of benefits?

Many are convinced that an employer is obliged to pay sick leave to its employees at all times and in full. However, this is not always the case.

The benefit amount may be reduced:

  • if, without good reason, while on sick leave, you violated the regime established by the attending physician. The benefit will be paid in an amount not exceeding the minimum wage for a full calendar month from the day the violation was committed.
  • if you fail to appear without good reason at the appointed time for examination by a doctor. The benefit will be paid in an amount not exceeding the minimum wage for a full calendar month from the day the violation was committed.
  • if your illness or injury occurred due to alcohol, drug or toxic intoxication, or related to these actions. The benefit will be paid in an amount not exceeding the minimum wage for a full calendar month, and for the entire period of incapacity.

Benefit will not be paid, if the employee fell ill when he was released from work, for example, he was on vacation at his own expense or on maternity leave. This situation does not include the time an employee is on annual paid leave.

  • During the downtime period, no benefits are also paid. BUT, if you fell ill before the downtime period and were disabled for the entire corresponding period, the employer is obliged to pay you sick leave.
  • Also, sick leave is not paid if the person was in custody or administrative arrest, and for the period of a forensic medical examination.

Benefits will be denied, if temporary disability occurred due to the insured person intentionally causing harm to his health or attempting suicide, and these facts were established by the court.

  • If the disability occurs due to the commission by the relevant person intentional crime, payment of benefits will also be denied.
  • An employer may refuse to pay sick leave if it is not properly completed.

What is the penalty for falsifying a sick leave certificate?

There are situations when employees can issue themselves what is called a “fake sick leave”. Before taking such a step, you should think about whether you need this, since your actions can be qualified as “using a knowingly forged document”, as “fraud in receiving payments”, these acts are criminally punishable. You may also be subject to disciplinary or financial liability.

The employer has the opportunity on the website of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation to check the sick leave by identification number, where you can see information about invalid sick leave forms and stolen (lost) sick leave forms.

An employer has the right to contact law enforcement agencies regarding the issue of an employee providing a fake sick leave certificate.

If it is established that the sick leave certificate is fake, the employer has every reason to bring the employee to disciplinary liability and dismiss him for absenteeism.

In case of payment to an employee on a fake sick leave, the employer has the right to demand from the employee the return of the amounts paid; in case of refusal, the employer has the right to withhold the paid amount from the employee’s salary in the manner and within the limits established by law (no more than 20% of the monthly salary boards). If the employer incurs other losses associated with the provision of a fake sick leave certificate, they can also be recovered from the employee in court.

If the matter has reached law enforcement agencies, you will need the help of a lawyer in resolving this situation. At the stage of the preliminary investigation, not just a person with a legal education, but a person who is a lawyer can participate as your defense attorney. Forgery of a sick leave certificate falls under the crime provided for in Art. 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The lawyer will be able to correctly assess the situation, including whether there are grounds for releasing the offender from criminal liability, and will explain or select criteria for reducing the punishment.

How does the Social Insurance Fund pay for sick leave?

When contacted by the insured person (lawyers, individual entrepreneurs etc.), in cases established by law, directly to the Social Insurance Fund for payment of benefits, the said body assigns and pays the appropriate benefit within 10 calendar days from the day the application and necessary documents were received.

Upon payment sick leave by employer to pay insurance premiums, the amount of insurance contributions to the Social Insurance Fund is subject to reduction by the amount of paid sick leave.

If insurance premiums are not enough to pay benefits, the employer applies to the Social Insurance Fund with an application for reimbursement of the costs of paying benefits.

The FSS must allocate funds to the policyholder for payment of insurance coverage within 10 calendar days, when the policyholder provides all documents.

The FSS may refuse to allocate the appropriate funds to the policyholder by making a decision. In this case, the policyholder may appeal such a decision to a higher authority or to court. To draw up a complaint or application to the court, the policyholder has the right to contact a lawyer, including to represent the interests of the policyholder in the Social Insurance Fund or in court.

FSS delays payment of sick leave

  • If the Social Insurance Fund delays payment of sick leave, file a complaint directly with the head of the Social Insurance Fund or the prosecutor's office.
  • If you have difficulty preparing a complaint and substantiating it, you can contact a lawyer who will draw up a reasoned complaint for you.

Sick leave pay after dismissal

In a situation where you quit one job and did not find employment in another, but fell ill within 30 calendar days from the date of termination of work, the law provides you with the opportunity to receive payment for your sick leave by submitting an appropriate application at your last place of work.

ATTENTION: benefits after termination of an employment contract are paid only in the event of illness or injury directly to the insured person.

The corresponding benefit is paid in the amount of 60% of average earnings.

If the former employer refuses to accept and pay sick leave, he may be held liable for non-payment and delay in payment of wages.

In this situation, a lawyer can help you resolve the issue of holding the employer liable for refusing to pay for sick leave or for delaying payment. Also, a lawyer can prepare a complaint to the prosecutor’s office or a statement of claim to the court in order to oblige your former employer to pay for sick leave, and, if necessary, can represent your interests in the relevant authorities.

Article 9 of the Law on Compulsory Social Insurance No. 255-FZ (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 255-FZ) clearly states In what cases is sick leave not paid? by an employer in relation to his employee:

  • during the period of time when the employee had the right not to fulfill his job responsibilities. Payments are not made, even if for this period the employee received money for downtime or he was suspended with full salary. For example, this situation may include a vacation taken by an employee at his own expense or sick leave during a regular planned vacation, but not for his own ability to work, but for caring for a child. If the employee himself was sick, then there will be no restrictions on payments;
  • during the period when an employee is suspended from work without pay. For example, temporary deprivation of an employee’s driver’s license. He is not fired, since the deprivation lasts only a month, but they also do not have the opportunity to transfer him to another job. As a result, he was suspended without pay. And in case of illness during this period, he remains without support, that is, without disability benefits in accordance with Article 76 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
  • during the period of time when an employee of the enterprise is arrested and taken into custody or received administrative arrest;
  • for the period necessary to conduct a forensic medical examination;
  • during downtime, if the employee went on sick leave after it began. Otherwise, sick leave is paid in full, even if some of the days fall during downtime. Calculation of payment for sick leave on days that are already idle is made taking into account the average payment established for this period. Moreover, the amount of payment per day cannot exceed that which could be obtained by accruing money under normal working conditions. This issue is regulated by Art. 7 of Law No. 255-FZ.

If the patient fails to show up to the doctor or violates the hospital regime, the payment is reduced from the date of the actual violation. Provided that the employee could not prove the valid reasons for such behavior.

If the cause of the illness was an injury received while intoxicated, etc., then the amount of payments is reduced for the entire period of withdrawal syndrome. Moreover, the employer must have an inspection report, a certificate from the ambulance service or another document indicating a violation. Only on its basis can sanctioning actions be taken against a negligent employee.