The Ministry of Labor proposed an experiment from 2026 on issuing sick leave to the self-employed

The Russian Ministry of Labor proposes to launch in 2026 a three-year experiment to provide the self-employed with paid sick leave. This was reported to journalists on December 27 in the press service of the Ministry.

"The experiment, under which payers of tax on professional income - the self-employed - will be able to receive temporary disability allowance in case of illness, injury or the need to provide care for a sick family member, is proposed to start in January 2026. The experiment is designed for three years - until the end of 2028," TASS reports the content of the message.

Participation in the experiment will require the self-employed to pay insurance premiums. It is assumed that they will be able to receive a paid sick leave six months after the start of these payments.

According to the proposed scheme, the choice of the amount of insurance coverage will be available - 35 thousand or 50 thousand rubles, and the monthly insurance premium will be 1344 rubles or 1920 rubles. After six months, the citizen will acquire the right to receive temporary disability benefits in the amount of 70% of the sum insured, and after 12 months - in the amount of 100%.

At the same time, discounts and surcharges to the monthly payment of insurance premiums are envisaged. Thus, for those who have been paying premiums for more than 18 and 24 months and have not received temporary disability benefits during this time, the discounts will be 10 and 30% respectively.

In turn, if the amount paid for 12 months exceeds the sum insured, the amount of contributions will be increased by 10% for six months.

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Earlier, December 6, it became known that the Ministry of Health plans to change the order of formation of sick leave from September 1, 2025. The draft of the updated regulations assumes the accounting of certificates of incapacity for work issued to an individual citizen for the detection and prevention of serious diseases.

The amount of payment can be calculated in the "Sick Leave Calculator" on the Izvestia website.