The lawyer told about the reasons for the delay in payments on sick leave

The delay in disability benefits may be due to technical problems, for example, errors in the details when changing the last name or bank card. Svetlana Makhanta, a lawyer at the Oncologica Charitable Foundation, told Izvestia about this on February 17.

Since 2021, a direct payment system has been operating in Russia, in which the Social Fund of Russia (SFR) administers benefits. The employer only covers the expenses for the first three days of the employee's illness, and these funds are usually transferred along with the next salary or advance payment.

According to the expert, starting from the fourth day of disability, payments are made directly by the SFR. In cases where the form is issued for the care of a child or other family member, the fund pays for the entire period from the first day, and the employer does not participate in the financing process.

"We often come across the fact that people make claims to the employer, although the delay is not due to his unwillingness to pay, but to the fact that the information simply did not reach the fund," explains Mahanta.

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As the lawyer noted, it is unprofitable for companies to deliberately delay the payment of sick leave, since the main amount is not paid from their budget, accrual usually occurs automatically.

According to the expert, most of the problems are of a technical nature: the electronic document may not be closed by the doctor yet, or the accounting department has not transmitted the data on time. There may also be errors in the details when changing your last name or bank card.

"If the hospital is closed and you can see that the document has been sent for payment, most often you just have to wait a few days. But if the status does not change, you should contact the accounting department and clarify exactly when the information was transferred," notes Mahanta.

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If it is not possible to solve this problem verbally, it is necessary to make a written appeal to the employer with a request to clarify the reasons for non-payment and transfer the amount due. If payments are delayed, the employer is obliged to charge compensation for each day of delay, Mahanta added.

In addition, the employee has the right to apply to the labor inspectorate. With long delays, it is possible to resolve the dispute in court — the employee has one year to do this, and it is not required to pay state duty on such claims.

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On February 7, Andrey Chiruk, head of the legal department and GR of the Oncologica Charitable Foundation, said that the key protection for a sick employee is fixed in Part 6 of Article 81 of the Labor Code. According to him, an employee cannot be dismissed on the initiative of an employer during a period of temporary disability. As long as the sick leave is open, it cannot be reduced, dismissed for absenteeism or non-compliance with the position.

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