The legislation on social insurance is designed to provide material support to the employee when he is temporarily deprived of the opportunity to fully continue to work. How many days do employees have to pay in case of illness? How many sick days are paid per year for childcare? In what cases should the number of days paid by law be increased and does the duration of sick leave affect the amount of benefits? Comprehensive answers to these questions are provided by the Act No. 255 FZ, currently in force, on compulsory social insurance for temporary incapacity for work and in connection with motherhood 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the Law).
Basic principles of sick leave payment
To begin with, it is worth highlighting the basic rules by which disability benefits are paid in Russia, that is, payments for the period the duration of which is indicated on the sick leave.
1. The scheme by which the size of the allowance is calculated has been around for quite some time and is probably known to most working citizens. Payment is made depending on the official length of service. In this way:
• 60% of the amount of average earnings when the length of service of an employee is less than five years.
• 80% - with five to eight years experience.
• 100% is paid to the employee when his insurance experience is more than eight years.
2. Another rule concerns the period of work for which the same “average earnings” is calculated, which affects the size of the allowance. A few years ago, the law on social insurance was amended, according to which the "average earnings" should be calculated over the past 2 years. At the same time, the size and principles of calculations are not affected by whether the length of service was continuous or if the employee worked occasionally during this period.
3. The amount of disability benefits that can be obtained in one calendar year is limited to the maximum amount. For 2016, the maximum allowable payment on sick leave may be no more than 718,000 rubles. This amount is established by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation and is subject to annual indexation.
4. In some cases established by the current legislation on social insurance, the amount of disability certificate payment may be reduced. Last but not least, it depends on how many days a year sick leave is paid in certain circumstances.
Of course, such a common process as paying sick leave is a serious guarantee that a working person will not be left without support. First of all, this type of support can be provided by the employer, conscientiously observing all social rights of employees, including in the field of social contributions. But the employee himself, in order to avoid unpleasant situations when calculating the allowance laid down during the period of illness, needs to have information on the procedure for calculating the sick leave. Including, on the norms of the Law, giving the employer all reasons to reduce the amount of the benefit or not to pay it at all.
How many times a year can I get a disability certificate?
The maximum number of sick leave certificates that one employee can provide for a calendar year is not specified by law. The restrictions relate to the number of days that can be issued for one certificate of incapacity for work: the attending physician can take leave for incapacity for work up to fifteen days. If more time is required before full recovery, this period can be extended by the medical commission (VK) to 10 months. At the same time, every month the employee will have to extend the disability sheet . For frequently sick people or workers who are on long sick leave, the Law indicates how many sick days per year are paid according to the certificate of incapacity for work.
How many days of illness should an employee pay for a year?
How many sick days are paid per year per adult? In accordance with Art. 6 of the Law, disability benefits based on the average earnings are paid to the employee until full recovery for each day of sick leave. There are no restrictions on the payment of sickness benefit in this case.
Spa treatment
Separately, it is worth considering a situation where, for the full recovery of an employee, there is a need for a special sanatorium-resort regime. How many sick days are paid per employee per year? A sick leave certificate is issued to the employee for the entire course of spa procedures, but this type of treatment is paid per year for up to 24 calendar days. An exception to this principle are only tuberculosis diseases.
Important! The organization in which the employee receives sanatorium treatment on sick leave must be located in the Russian Federation.
Fixed-term contract work
Another exception for the number of paid days on the certificate of incapacity for work applies to employees with whom a temporary labor contract has been concluded for six months or less. According to the sick leave received during the term of the contract (contract), can be paid up to 75 days. However, if the “temporary” employee went on sick leave due to tuberculosis, he will receive the benefit until his full recovery or until the official recognition of the status of a disabled person.
Similarly, the Law’s instructions on how many sick days per year are paid apply to an employee whose illness occurred from the date of conclusion of the employment relationship until the termination of the employment contract (contract), the allowance will be assigned for him from the day he should start work.
Disabled Hospital Worker
For people with disabilities, the Law provides additional guarantees for the payment of disability benefits. How many days a year sick leave is paid to a disabled person, in accordance with applicable law?
For an employee with a disability, disability benefits are paid up to five months a year. In addition, in order to pay sick leave benefits to persons with disabilities, the Law establishes how many days a year sick leave is paid to a disabled person for long periods of incapacity for work: no matter how extended the sick leave, in one case the benefit is paid for not more than four months.
These conditions of sick leave payment are valid for the entire period of recognition of the employee as disabled. In practice, this means that, according to the current rules for recognizing disability, disability benefits for a disabled person are assigned until the first day of the month that follows the month of the re-examination and is extended subject to confirmation of the status of the disabled person.
The disability group does not depend on how many days a year a sick leave is paid. Disabled 3 groups and 2 groups disability benefits are paid on equal terms.
Special conditions are established for persons with tuberculosis. An employee suffering from this disease is paid a full disability allowance until the moment of full recovery of health or until re-examination of the disability group.
Care for an adult (elderly) family member
The law also explains how many sick days a year is paid to an employee who is forced to take a disability certificate because of the need to care for an adult relative, for example, one of his elderly parents.
Each sick leave in this case is issued for a period of up to seven days. Such disability leave may be paid for not more than thirty days in a calendar year.
Features of payment for caring for a sick preschool child (age less than 7 years)
How many sick days are paid per year for child care, in the first place, depends on how old the sick child is. So, if disability leave is given to a parent or other relative to care for a very young child under the age of seven, a sick leave is issued until complete recovery. In total, the benefit is paid up to 60 days for each child per year.
The exception is hospital days for caring for a small child who has one of the serious illnesses from the list approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of 02.20.2008. No. 84. To care for this category of children, the parent is paid up to 90 days a year on a disability sheet.
One of the parents can issue a certificate of incapacity for work if the quarantine regime is officially in force in the kindergarten the child is attending. Over these days, an allowance will also be accrued to the extent of how many sick days paid per year per child.
But do not forget that the length of the sick leave period affects the amount of benefits. The first ten days of the disability sheet, the employee will be paid benefits, depending on the length of service, but all the remaining days until the sick leave date is only half of the amount paid.
If the maximum limit of how many sick days are paid per year is exceeded, but the VC has decided to extend the disability sheet, then the remaining days the employee only retains his workplace, but no benefit is paid.
Child care: children from seven to fifteen years old
In a situation where a parent takes care of a sick school-age child, the number of paid days is significantly reduced. How many sick days are paid per year for a child older than seven but under fifteen? In case of illness of a child of this age category, a sick leave can be opened up to 15 days (this period can be extended in accordance with the decision of the VK). Up to 45 days are paid per year for a disability certificate opened to care for a child of this age.
Sick children over 15 years of age - will they give "sick leave"?
Often you can come across the question of whether it is possible to open a sick leave on a general basis if the child has turned 15 years old? How many days a year are paid sick leave? It is believed that a person over the age of fifteen is already quite independent. But, nevertheless, the disability certificate for caring for a child with an outpatient treatment regimen can be opened for up to three days and extended up to a week upon conclusion of the VC.
The law also establishes how many sick days a year is paid to a parent caring for a child over the age of fifteen: as for an ill adult family member, the allowance will be paid only up to 30 days per year.
Disabled child, children with severe illnesses: special conditions for payment of sick leave
The law establishes special conditions and terms for the payment of disability benefits for workers caring for children with serious illnesses or disabilities. How many days a year is paid sick leave with a child legally recognized as an invalid? Parents of children with disabilities not older than 18 years can open a sick leave to care for their “special” child for the entire period of the illness, however, no more than 120 days can be paid per year for disability sheets.
Similar conditions apply if the child has a disease due to complications after vaccination or for children with cancer. To care for a child with a disability (a disabled person), a sick leave is opened regardless of whether the child is being treated at home or the parent and the child are hospitalized.
Special conditions are set for sick leave for children under the age of 18:
• infected with HIV;
• children who have become ill as a result of radiation exposure (parental exposure).
In these cases, a sick leave is issued for the entire course of treatment, however, the parents of an HIV-infected child are entitled to disability leave only if they take care of the child in a hospital. As for the total amount of days, the entire period of child care is paid in full.
Additional guarantees are set forth in the Act for parents whose children need a medical certificate for prosthetics. The disability certificate in this case is opened for the entire period necessary for the procedure, including, if necessary, travel time to the medical institution.
When can I pay sick leave to a former employee?
The law continues to protect the rights of employees even after dismissal. Few people know that an employee can receive disability benefits from a former employer within six months. This requires a number of prerequisites:
• For payment, the employee has the right to provide only his own disability certificate. This law does not apply to sick leave for the care of children, dependents, as well as for pregnancy and childbirth.
• The employer is required to pay only the sick leave, the start date from the date of dismissal of which no later than 30 days.
• During the time preceding the illness, the employee did not get a new job.
• Within six months from the date of termination of the labor contract (contract), the employee provided a sick leave and a photocopy of the work book for payment, confirming that during the illness the former employee did not work anywhere.
If the organization in which the employee previously worked was completely liquidated within six months, then you can apply for payment of the disability certificate to the local FSS branch.
It is possible to apply for a disability certificate not only to a former employer: if an employee is registered for unemployment immediately after leaving, the sickness benefit is paid by the Employment Center.
A hospital employee will not be paid if ...
• Ill on vacation (including child care, pregnancy). The exception is only situations when the employee uses the days of annual leave - in this case, the certificate of incapacity for work, according to Art. 124 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, gives the vacationer the right not only to pay benefits, but also to extend the vacation days. Note that the sick leave does not provide for such a right to care for a child.
• An employee was arrested for this period or underwent a forensic examination.
• If it is established by the court that the disease occurred due to the fact that the employee intentionally caused harm to his health (the Law includes even suicide attempts in this category).
• The employee received harm to health by committing a deliberate offense (crime).