Payment of sick leave: the FSZN explained a new approach — calculation for all places of work and the role of seniority

On the air of the program “Skazhinemolchi” on the TV channel “Belarus 1” the first Deputy Manager of the Fund of social protection of the population of the Ministry of labor and social protection of the Republic of Belarus Ekaterina Likhacheva explained how payments on sick leave are calculated, writes sb.by.

- The calculation period for determining the average daily earnings when paying a sick leave has been increased from 6 to 18 months. At the same time, the very approach to forming the basis for calculation has changed. Previously, only wages were taken into account, and additional payments under the social package for which contributions were accrued were not taken into account. Now the database includes all payments for which insurance premiums are accrued from all employers, including former ones, the studio guest noted. The extension of the period to 18 months is due to the fact that not all payments are monthly or semi-annual in nature: some are accrued once a year or once every year and a half. Accounting for all employers and all payments for this period allows you to more accurately reflect the real income of the employee and fairly calculate the benefit.

Speaking about the role of insurance experience in paying for sick leave, Ekaterina Likhacheva said:

- The amount of the benefit now directly depends on the insurance experience of the employee. With experience of more than 10 years, each day of illness is paid in the amount of 100% from the first day, with experience of less than 10 years - 80% from the first day. Previously, another scheme operated: the first 12 calendar days were paid at the rate of 80%, and from the 13th day - 100%. The new system gives priority to citizens who have long participated in the state social insurance system. In the development of the changes, statistics were taken into account: the average duration of one case of disability is about 11 days. Therefore, it cannot be said that for someone the conditions have worsened: in most cases, the period of illness falls within this range.

She also explained how sick pays when working in several places:

- If the employee is employed by several employers (for example, has a main job and two part-time jobs), the sick leave is paid only through the main employer. The employee takes one sick leave and two certificates (or other supporting documents) from the workplace part-time. Certificates are transferred to employers part-timers, and the sick leave is transferred to the main employer. The main employer through the portal of the Social Protection Fund requests data on the employee. The fund, having data for the last 18 months for all employers, calculates a single average daily earnings. The accounting of the main employer multiplies the average daily earnings by 80% (if the experience is less than 10 years) or by 100% (if the experience is more than 10 years) and pays a benefit. Thus, the employee receives payment in one place, but income from all places of work is already included in the calculation. This simplifies the process and ensures that the calculation takes into account all payments for which insurance premiums were accrued.