From a clean slate: Russians began to take sick leave more often in 2025
Russians began to apply for sick leave more often — in the first nine months of 2025, the number of payments on them increased by 11%, to 26 million, according to the Accounting Chamber (Izvestia studied them). One of the reasons is that it has officially become more profitable to get sick: in 2025, the maximum amount of compensation increased to 5.7 thousand per day, and in 2026 it will increase to 6.8 thousand. In addition, the labor market has become more "white" and has begun to cool down, which is why employers are more willing to release employees for recovery. At the same time, there is also a problem of abuse, when sick days are used as a substitute for vacation or for part-time work. Against this background, the Ministry of Health is discussing changing the procedure for issuing disability certificates: for four or more sick days in six months, a new document is planned to be issued for a maximum of three days, and the decision on the extension is referred to the medical commission. Why only a few Russians prefer to be treated at home is in the Izvestia article.
How profitable is it to take sick leave?
In the first nine months of 2025, almost 522 billion rubles were allocated from the Social Fund's budget for temporary disability payments, which is 20% more than a year earlier. The main contribution to the cost increase was made by an increase in the maximum amount of sick leave: in 2025, it increased almost one and a half times, to 5.7 thousand per day. An additional factor was the expansion of the number of insurance claims. So, by October, more than 26 million such leaflets had been issued, which is 11% higher than in 2024. This follows from the latest report of the Accounts Chamber on the execution of the budget of the SFR, which was reviewed by Izvestia.
The increase in sick leave payments in 2025 is due to several factors, the Social Fund's press service told Izvestia. In particular, from January 1, 2023, a new category of insured persons, employees under civil law contracts, received the right to receive benefits, which expanded the range of recipients. In addition, the number of cases of caring for sick family members, especially children, has increased, the foundation noted.
In turn, the key driver of the growth in benefit costs was the increase in the cost of the payments themselves, the SFR continued. This was influenced by the indexation of the marginal base for calculating insurance premiums by 24%, an increase in the minimum wage by 16.6%, as well as an overall increase in salaries. As a result, the average cost of one day of disability increased from 1.5 thousand rubles in 2024 to 1.8 thousand in 2025.
The increase in the number of sick days is due to the fact that their registration has become more profitable. In 2025, the minimum wage was raised to 22.4 thousand, which directly affects the amount of compensation. In addition, since 2023, the Social Fund has introduced a single insurance premium rate for employers, on the basis of which benefits are calculated. As a result, the amount of such payments has almost doubled in two years, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, recalled.
Earlier, Izvestia reported that in 2026, the maximum amount of sick leave will increase by 20% to 6.8 thousand per day. In 2027, it will reach 7.9 thousand, and by 2028 it will grow to 8.5 thousand.
The amount of sick leave depends on your insurance record and earnings. With an experience of up to five years, an employee is paid 60% of the average income for the previous two years, from five to eight years — 80%, over eight years — 100%, but within the established limit (5.7 thousand per day in 2025). So, if the leaflet is issued in 2025, income for 2023 and 2024 is taken into account when calculating the allowance.
In addition, Russians began to apply for sick leave more often due to the growth of official employment. More and more citizens are coming out of the shadows and getting a job under the Labor Code, which requires mandatory registration of a disability certificate in case of illness, Natalia Milchakova added.
— The high level of employment, as well as the increasing workload in a number of industries, lead to the fact that workers are more likely to seek medical help and officially record periods of disability. Previously, some of these cases might not have been registered," said Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing Partner of the VMT Consult agency.
Another factor is the simplification of the sick leave procedure. Switching to electronic flyers allows you to open, extend, and sometimes close them through "Public Services" without leaving your home. From a technical point of view, receiving benefits has become much easier for millions of citizens, Natalia Milchakova noted.
In addition, the increase in the number of insurance claims may be due to an increase in morbidity due to chronic stress in conditions of economic uncertainty, as well as the aging of the workforce, added Yulia Dolzhenkova, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
— The increase in the number of registered sick leave in 2025 is of a restorative nature. In 2023-2024, their number decreased by about 10%. This dynamic was probably due to a shortage of personnel in a number of industries: it became more difficult to coordinate absence from work due to illness than before 2022. In 2025, against the background of a weakening personnel shortage, employees were able to recover more often at home, even with mild ailments," explained Viktor Lyashok, senior researcher at the INSAP Center of the IPEI Presidential Academy.
Why do people take sick days
In general, Russians rarely issue disability certificates, according to the "Work.<url>", when ill, only 8% of employees take sick leave and stay at home. One of the reasons is the financial disadvantage of such payments for some employees, said Yulia Dolzhenkova from the Financial University.
In addition, employers often do not welcome sick leave, as they have to find a replacement for an absent employee, which is especially difficult in conditions of staff shortages and leads to additional costs, the professor added. She recalled that it is the company that pays for the first three days of disability, and then the Social Fund.
"When there is a choice between sick leave and paid leave, it is often more profitable for employees to take a vacation," said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global.
So, in 2026, to receive a maximum sick leave of 6.8 thousand rubles per day (before personal income tax), you need at least eight years of insurance experience, as well as a high level of earnings. According to Izvestia calculations, the income should be at least 183 thousand per month in 2024 and 233 thousand in 2025. Thus, the registration of a leaflet is financially justified for employees with more than eight years of experience and an income not higher than the maximum base for calculating insurance premiums (almost 3 million rubles per year in 2026).
In some cases, a sick employee, if his condition allows and he does not need to be hospitalized, may be allowed not to take sick leave or leave, but to temporarily transfer to a remote location, Natalia Milchakova noted. With the consent of the supervisor and the availability of technical capabilities, the employee retains full income, and the company and colleagues do not need to look for a replacement during his absence.
At the same time, abuse by employees is possible, Yulia Dolzhenkova noted. These include taking sick leave as a substitute for vacation, working part—time during official disability, as well as using such leaflets to avoid work conflicts or to wait out a difficult time at work. This, in turn, "hits" the budget of the Social Fund. According to the professor, a draft order of the Ministry of Health has been developed to prevent such situations.
The document assumes that for four or more disability certificates in six months, a new sick leave will be issued for no more than three days, and its extension will be possible only by decision of the medical commission. The initiative is currently under discussion. Izvestia sent a request to the agency.
To curb abuse, the Social Fund promptly transmits identified suspicious cases to law enforcement agencies and, if necessary, conducts inspections of both medical organizations and employers, the press service of the SFR said.
The abuse of sick leave is regularly discussed, but the current system largely restrains such risks, noted Ekaterina Kosareva from VMT Consult. According to her, electronic flyers are automatically linked to data from medical organizations, information about seniority and earnings, as well as information from the Social Fund, which significantly complicates the registration of fictitious or unjustified payments compared to paper documents. In addition, according to the expert, the procedure for calculating benefits does not provide incentives to frequently apply for disability.
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