All labors with a runny nose: the State Duma offered to work on sick leave
A group of State Duma deputies has introduced a bill on the so-called adaptive work regime, which will allow working remotely instead of taking sick leave. The deputies emphasize that they do not force people to work, but make the tool for providing sick leave more flexible. The discussion about reforming legislation on temporary disability of an employee did not appear out of thin air — in fact, such a practice already exists in labor collectives, but it has not yet been legalized. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
What is the essence of adaptive work regime?
The bill appeared in the legislative support system on February 5. The document was signed by deputies from four factions: the Liberal Democratic Party, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Fair Russia and New People, including Yaroslav Nilov, Nina Ostanina, Dmitry Gusev and Vladislav Davankov.
They proposed introducing a new institution into the Labor Code — a "temporary adaptive work regime" that would allow an employee to continue working during illness without taking sick leave. We are talking about situations when a person is already ill, but still sees the strength to continue working in a gentle format — remotely or with facilitated conditions. To do this, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is supplemented by a new article 93.1. The law, according to the authors of the draft, should enter into force on January 1, 2027.
The bill stipulates that an employee can switch to a special mode of work for the period of temporary disability upon his own written application and if there is a medical report on the presence of a disease. He continues to perform his work function, but the employer is obliged to create conditions that are adapted to his state of health. Earnings are saved in the amount of average income, not sick leave benefits. A temporary disability certificate is not issued.
The authors of the bill explain the initiative in an explanatory note by saying that the current legislation uses an outdated "binary" approach: the employee is either fully able-bodied or completely disabled. In modern realities, this is often not the case: with not very serious illnesses, a person can and wants to work objectively, but in a different mode, often remotely, without losing income.
The voluntary nature of such a regime and the protection of the employee's interests are emphasized. The adaptive regime is established only with the consent of the employee and can be terminated at any time on his initiative, for example, if the health condition worsens. Then you will have to issue a regular disability certificate. According to the draft law, an employer also has the right to refuse an employee an adaptive work regime if he cannot provide the necessary conditions for this.
According to the deputies, such an adaptive regime will bring the greatest benefit to the IT, finance, consulting, etc. industries.
MP Dmitry Svishchev said that the authors of the initiative "do not seek to force people to work," but give "them and their employers a civilized, legal instrument for mutually beneficial cooperation, even in difficult times."
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Labor on this issue, as well as to a number of United Russia deputies, who did not comment on the draft law that has not yet been considered.
How did they react to the bill
Igor Shanin, adviser to the Deputy chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, said that the document definitely needs to be finalized. According to him, it is important that the possibility of a temporary adaptive regime is determined by a medical opinion, and it is also necessary to determine the list of diseases for which such a regime can be prescribed, and the responsibility of the doctor in case of a possible diagnostic error and deterioration of the patient's condition. It is also necessary to regulate the procedure for registration and payment of sick leave.
Yuri Zhulev, co-chairman of the All-Russian Union of Patients, believes that adaptive sick leave can be a useful tool in certain situations: temporary remote work with mild illness can save an employee's income, reduce losses for the employer and at the same time reduce the risk of infection of colleagues.
— But it is important to remember that the sick leave was originally created as a mechanism that provides a person with the opportunity to fully restore their health. If the new model is perceived as an alternative to seeking medical help, there is a risk that people will go to the doctor less often and suffer illnesses on their feet, which can lead to complications and more serious consequences, the Izvestia source warned.
Sergey Fedosov, the founder of the MedRoket medical technology platform and editor-in-chief of the ProDoktorov portal, called the initiative dangerous to health. According to him, it is an axiom for any doctor that if a person is ill, he should be treated. The adaptive format, he is sure, is fraught with complications, a later visit to the doctor and, consequently, an even longer period of disability of the employee.
Tatiana Chuyashova, a board member of the National Association of Healthcare Managers and founder of Pro Med, expressed "cautious optimism" about the proposed bill, primarily because the established practice is being legalized.
— Many employees with mild acute respiratory viral infections have worked remotely before, saving effort on the road and reducing risks for the team, but they did it informally. Now such an opportunity will receive a legal basis," she stressed in an interview with Izvestia.
According to Tatiana Chuyashova, in many companies after the pandemic, there is an unspoken rule not to come to the office with cold symptoms, but to work from home. But if this approach is to be formalized, it is extremely important that the decision to switch to an adaptive regime "is made by a doctor based on clear criteria, assessing the state of health," she said.
Rodion Stupin, General Director of the Be Healthy clinic network, said that in various companies this practice is fixed by local regulations, which give an employee the right to stay on sick leave for three days without a disability certificate and a certificate from the clinic.
But the process of applying for adaptive sick leave should be as simple and transparent as possible — otherwise, most employees will still prefer to resolve this issue directly with their employer, said Elena Belyaeva, HR Director of Medscan JSC.
Why the sick leave system needs to be changed
Lawyer Evgeny Kostromin emphasizes that for highly paid personnel, this initiative is "salvation from the benefit limit," but for the rest it is the risk of coercion from the employer.
— It should be borne in mind that the pressure of the employer can be mild through career prospects: It will be impossible to prove it without a mechanism for fixing proposals for choosing a sick leave format," he told Izvestia.
It should be noted that refusal of sick leave in case of illness is a common phenomenon, and it is often the employee who initiates it. For example, a SuperJob survey in 2025 showed that approximately 47% of Russians did not apply for a disability certificate during their illness, but went to work feeling unwell. Moreover, this indicator is only growing over the years.
The main reason for refusing sick leave is the fear of loss of income: up to 20-40%, according to lawyers. The fact is that state compensation for sick leave is often lower than wages, and only 11% of employers pay employees extra in excess of this amount.
The length of service also affects the amount of sick leave: only those who have been working for more than eight years receive 100% of the average income when applying for a disability certificate. Legislators also notice this problem: in November 2025, Natalia Koshikhina, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, proposed revising the formula for calculating sick leave, since many employees do not register disability precisely because of reduced payments.
We should add that in 2026, the maximum amount of temporary disability benefits was increased to 6827 rubles per day, and the minimum amount to 873 rubles. It is expected that in 2027 the maximum amount will reach 7860 rubles per day, in 2028 — 8489 rubles.
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