Homework: in Russia it was proposed to introduce remote work instead of sick leave
Lawmakers have proposed that sick employees should be given a legal choice: to go on sick leave with loss of money or to work at home while retaining their full salary. The State Duma has asked the Ministry of Health to consider this possibility. Experts also talk about the need to gradually increase compensation for sick time. However, employers believe that such a practice can lead to unlimited abuse by employees. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Why an employee to replace the sick leave remote
The State Duma proposed to the Ministry of Health to take mandatory written consent in the design of sick leave (a letter addressed to Minister Murashko is at the disposal of "Izvestia", the Ministry itself has not yet commented on the initiative).
Yaroslav Nilov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, explained to Izvestia that by doing so, the employee will be able to determine whether he is ready to work remotely and whether the work will not interfere with recovery.
In fact, it is unprofitable for employers to lose employees for certain periods, the expert believes.
- For example, a person has broken his leg, but can work from home with a computer. And he is ready to work. It turns out to be convenient and profitable for everyone, but because the sick leave is issued electronically, it is impossible to reach an official agreement," explains Yaroslav Nilov.
In addition, recently employers have problems with digital sick leave, which can hang in the database for a long time unopened.
The deputy proposes that this clause should be stipulated in the collective agreement or in the labor contract.
- It is clear that this does not apply to all cases, not all diseases. The same kovid: one has it with a high fever, and another - asymptomatic. It is clear that nothing can be done to the detriment of health. But some diseases, the same fracture or a mild acute respiratory infection, work does not interfere, and in these cases it is reasonable to ask for remote work, - says the expert. It is important and the sphere in which a person works, he adds. If it is necessary to be physically present in the office or in production, then, of course, remote work will not work.
Alexander Safonov, professor of economics at the Financial University under the Government, former Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, notes that when choosing between full pay and sick leave, an employee will certainly prefer to go to work, even if he or she is unwell, in order not to lose earnings.
In doing so, the person will not be able to independently assess the threat or harm to his or her body. Therefore, it is important that it is the medical professional who determines whether an employee needs a sick leave or not.
- However, it is quite possible to consider mechanisms that would allow to work remotely after consultation with a doctor," explains Alexander Safonov. According to him, it is also necessary to consider a gradual increase in compensation for the time of incapacity for work.
The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) believes that employers, and especially trade unions, will not support the idea in this form. The very fact that a person is in a state of incapacity for work means that employers are unlikely to want to take responsibility for an employee's health.
- In practice, it would also be difficult to implement it," the RSPP argues. - For example, how would the employee confirm the illness and its duration? Separate certificates from a doctor? In addition, the terms of sick leave are generally regulated, implying stages, commission for extension, etc.
sick leave
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry reminds that the practice of working from home in case of mild illness already exists, and it is justified from the point of view of non-proliferation of the disease in the collective, but not in case a person refuses to go to a medical worker.
- We are talking primarily about office workers, who by their job duties are able to work at home," says Ilya Zubkov, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
Business Russia points out that today there is already an informal practice when the employer and the employee, in fact, agree that the latter is temporarily transferred to a remote format of work in case of poor health, indisposition or a mild illness, so it is not clear what will change when such a norm is enshrined in labor law.
Risks of letting sicknesses run their course
Obviously, a sick leave is needed to heal, not to perform work duties in a home infirmary, but the digitalization of many areas of life has led to the expansion of telemedicine. Doctors regularly consult the patient without contact, electronic sick leave is also issued not in the presence of the sick worker and, as a rule, for at least three days, notes the rector of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations (ATiSO) Nina Kuzmina. In addition, going on sick leave may result in a loss of wages.
Telemedicine Center in Moscow
- But the practice that is suitable for certain categories of workers should not be turned into a general norm," says Nina Kuzmina. - How will a cook, metallurgist or driver work from home?
The proposal to allow employees to choose between taking sick leave and working remotely is an interesting step. But the implementation of such an innovation requires the elaboration of many aspects, notes Alexander Zelinko, a member of the Russian Bar Association, an expert in civil disputes. According to him, clear criteria are needed to determine when an employee can work remotely and when he really needs a sick leave. Separately it will be necessary to establish a mechanism for coordination with the employer to avoid misunderstandings, says the lawyer.
- The problem may lie in the fact that not all employers are ready to agree to such a form. Many rightly fear that employees will request remote working even if they have non-serious symptoms. In terms of risk management and controlling the presence of subordinates, this can be frustrating for managers. The issue of abuse will indeed be relevant," Alexander Zelinko points out.
Why such a norm should not be introduced
Oksana Dmitrieva, a State Duma deputy and former Russian Labor Minister, believes that introduction of such a norm into the Labor Code makes no sense. If an employee works remotely and (or) can agree with the employer on remote work when he feels unwell, it is done without any changes in the legislation. If the medical condition is such that sick leave is needed, then it should be taken, not substituted for remote work. Doctors already complain that citizens do not take sick leave and work until the last minute, aggravating the state of their health, emphasizes the interviewee.
Pavel Svistunov, the first deputy general director of the National Agency for the Development of Qualifications (NARC under the Ministry of Labor), agrees with this point of view.
- The situation here is like an old joke. When mobile devices appeared, someone said that now you can work from anywhere. And someone wise replied: now you have to work from anywhere. And time has confirmed the rightness of the wise man: in many companies an employee is obliged to be in touch at any time, assignments come in on weekends, and meetings take place even on vacation," he explains.
With this initiative, a similar situation is possible: sick leave instead of a right becomes an employee's choice, and some employers will turn this into a matter of corporate culture, the NARC expert is sure.
Such a legislative initiative does not seem to be fully considered, believes Olga Vlasova, Counselor of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers, lawyer. She argues as follows: a certificate of incapacity for work is a document confirming a citizen's temporary inability to work. In other words, if a doctor issues a sick leave, it means that for health reasons a person cannot work at home or at work for a certain period of time - anywhere.
As for remote workers, Vlasova adds that today the norms stipulating their labor are regulated by Chapter 49.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with it, the parties sign an employment contract. This means that all other issues can be resolved individually between employer and employee and do not require any special regulation, the expert concluded.
