How to fill out a sick leave certificate: step-by-step instructions with changes for 2021

Why does the HR manager need to follow the rules for filling out sick leave?

Issuing sick leave is a procedure strictly regulated by the legislator.
This follows from the fact that sick leave must be issued exclusively on a secure form. Its form was approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated April 26, 2011 No. 347n. In addition, it is important to follow the rules for filling out sick leave in 2021 by the employer, established for him by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated September 1, 2020 No. 925n. The document contains a list of general requirements for filling out sick leave, which are still relevant today.

The employer enters information only into some of the items on the sick leave form, which are combined into the “To be completed by the employer” block.

IMPORTANT! The sick leave certificate must correctly indicate the data filled in by both the doctor and the employer.

If the responsible person of the employer, before filling out the sick leave certificate, discovers errors in the block drawn up by the doctor, it makes no sense for the employer to fill out the part. Most likely, the FSS will not pay for it. It is necessary to request a new document from the medical organization.

Let us remind you! Since 2021, the FSS “direct payments” project has been operating throughout the Russian Federation. For more information, see our memo for accountants.

ConsultantPlus experts explained in detail what an employer participating in the pilot project of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation needs to do. To do everything correctly, get trial access to the system and go to the Ready solution. It's free.

The FSS sanction can be just as severe for mistakes made due to ignorance of how the employer fills out sick leave. Let's look at how they can be avoided.

Instructions for filling out sick leave in 2021 by an employer

Taking into account the requirements set out in regulatory documents, the instructions for filling out a sick leave certificate will look like this. The employer enters on the sick leave:

1. Information about the employee’s place of work by indicating:

• the name of the company (full or abbreviated) in accordance with the constituent documents, if the employer is a legal entity;
• Full name of the entrepreneur, if the employer is an individual entrepreneur.

1. A note indicating whether the work is primary for the employee or not by checking the appropriate box.
2. Employer registration number in the Social Insurance Fund.
3. Code of subordination of the FSS body that issued the registration number to the employer.
4. TIN of the employee for whom sick leave is issued (not indicated for women receiving maternity benefits for pregnancy and childbirth, as well as after registration with a medical institution in the early stages of pregnancy).
5. SNILS of the employee.
6. Code indicating the conditions for calculating sick leave (1 or more) - on the reverse side of the sheet:

• 43, if the employee has benefits as a victim of radiation exposure;
• 44, if the employee worked in the regions of the Far North or in territories equivalent to them before 2007;
• 45 if the employee has a disability;
• 46, if the term of the employee’s employment contract with the employer is less than 6 months (not recorded if the cause of disability is indicated on the sick leave as corresponding to code 11);
• 47, if the employee went on sick leave within 30 days after dismissal;
• 48, if going on sick leave was accompanied by a violation of the regime for a good reason (subject to marking this in the appropriate column of the form);
• 49, if the illness of an employee who has a disability at the time of going on sick leave lasts 4 consecutive months or more (not entered if code 11 is indicated in the column where the cause of disability is given);
• 50, if under the same conditions the sick leave lasts 5 or more months in a calendar year;
• 51 if the employee is employed part-time.

• Details of the report in form N-1 (about an accident during work), if it was drawn up.
• The start date of work of the employee whose contract was canceled, but he went on sick leave before the cancellation. If the employment contract with the employee is valid, the corresponding column does not need to be filled out.
• Length of insurance period in full years and months.

Read more about calculating length of service and its impact on the amount of disability benefits here.

1. The duration of non-insurance periods for a citizen to serve in the army, law enforcement agencies, and fire service.
2. The period for which benefits must be paid to the employee.
3. The employee’s average earnings on the basis of which sick leave is calculated.
4. The employee's average daily earnings.
5. The amount of compensation for sick leave, paid from the funds of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation.
6. The amount of compensation paid at the expense of the employer.
7. The total amount of sick leave.
8. Full name of the manager and chief accountant of the employer.

For more information about the procedure for calculating the total amount of sick leave, read the material “Maximum amount of sick leave in 2021 - 2021”.

If an employee has several jobs

An employee can receive sick leave on paper for each of his employers if, at the time of illness, he:

• works in several organizations;
• and did not change jobs with the same employers during the 2 calendar years preceding the year of the onset of temporary disability.

In this case, in addition to several certificates of incapacity for work for each place of work, the employee can receive one electronic sick leave, the number of which he can present to all employers.

The employee receives one sick leave certificate on paper (or generated electronically) and chooses which employer to submit it to, if he:

• works in several organizations;
• and was employed in other organizations (another organization) during the 2 calendar years preceding the year of the onset of temporary disability.

If at the time of illness the employee worked in several organizations and was employed both by these employers and in other organizations (in another organization) for 2 calendar years that preceded the year of the onset of temporary disability, then he:

• either several paper sick leave certificates are issued or one electronic certificate of incapacity for work is generated to represent its number for each place of work;
• either one certificate of incapacity for work is issued or one electronic sick leave is generated to present it at one of the last places of work of the employee’s choice.

Previously on the topic:

What changes are important to take into account when calculating sick leave and children's leave?

Certificate-calculation as a mandatory attachment to sick leave

It should be borne in mind that just knowing how to fill out a sick leave certificate correctly is not enough. In addition to the sick leave certificate itself, the employer must submit a certificate to the Social Insurance Fund indicating the calculation of benefits. It is needed to confirm the correctness of the numbers indicated on the sick leave.

The legislator did not approve a unified form of payment certificate. The employer will have to develop it independently.

The main thing is that the certificate includes:

The calculation certificate is usually signed by the manager and chief accountant of the employer.

What pen, what ink and what color to fill out a sick leave form

Entering data into sick leave forms created on paper is usually done manually using a pen - capillary, gel or black fountain pen. Entering data into a sick note with a ballpoint pen is not allowed.

In principle, you can fill out the form on a PC using a special program that can transfer data from a digital form to a paper one, transferring the data to the printer into which the official form is inserted. Moreover, it is permissible to fill out 1 part of the sick leave with a pen, and the other on a PC (letter of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation dated October 23, 2014 No. 17-03-09/06-3841P).

When and why do you issue a certificate of temporary incapacity for work?

If a citizen has lost his ability to work due to illness (injury) or illness of a family member, he has the right to count on benefits. To receive benefits and confirm a valid reason for failure to appear, the employee provides the employer with a form of a certificate of incapacity for work issued by a doctor, or the number of an electronic document in the register. The employer’s task is to fill out his part of the document, which is divided by a transverse line, or enter information into the electronic register. The first part is filled out by the doctor.

The sick leave form has not changed since 2011. In 2021, Russian medical institutions began issuing documents on temporary disability to citizens in electronic format. The employee has the right to choose in what form to receive the sheet: in the usual paper or electronic form.

The color of the paper form is blue. The fields to fill out consist of light yellow cells, each for one letter or number. There is a watermark on the paper to protect against counterfeiting. The reverse side of the certificate of incapacity for work is reserved for information: how to fill out the form correctly, what is the procedure for entering data. It bears a large logo of the FSS of the Russian Federation - this is a protective watermark. For greater protection against fraudsters, numbers are assigned to sheets in random order. They are located in the upper right corner, have a unique 12-digit combination and a barcode.

How to fill out the document

When filling out the sick leave sheet for 2021, it should be taken into account that the data must be entered into it in capital letters, starting from the first cell available on the left in the field being used. If the employer puts a stamp on the form, it should not go to the corresponding cells.

If errors are found in the sick leave columns, they can be corrected. To do this you need:

• cross out the incorrect entry;
• on the back of the document, enter the correct data in the format “form column name: correct information”;
• Make a note next to it: “Believe the corrected”;
• certify the record with the signatures of the director, chief accountant of the employer, as well as the seal (if used).

Regardless of the number of corrections on the sick leave, it is enough to make a note on the form: “Believe the corrected one”, affixing the signatures of the director, chief accountant, and a seal once.

Maternity leave is voluntary

Going on vacation, or formally on sick leave, 2.5 months before giving birth is the right, not the obligation, of a pregnant employee. The employer cannot force her to go on vacation if she does not want it, even despite her interesting position. The situation is exactly the same with maternity leave - a woman cannot be forced to take it or, conversely, insist on going to work early.

The voluntariness of these social guarantees for women requires confirmation in the form of a documentary statement. To begin the procedure for registering maternity leave and accruing the required payments, the employer needs a basis - a statement from the employee.

Where to fill out the new sample sick leave for 2021

The document is available at the link below. The calculation data in it are given based on the employee’s work experience, ranging from 5 to 8 years (i.e., 80% of average earnings are taken into account).

ConsultantPlus experts provided a line-by-line comment on how an employer fills out a sick leave sheet. If you don't have access to K+, sign up for free and follow the instructions.

Electronic sick leave

On July 1, 2017, the use of an electronic sick leave form began (law dated May 1, 2017 No. 86-FZ), which is used on a par with a regular paper document.

The following distinguishes an electronic sick leave from a regular one:

• creation in an automated electronic system that provides the ability to work with it for all interested parties;
• certification by enhanced qualified electronic signatures of persons drawing up the document;
• protection from counterfeiting.

The employer will also need to fill out an electronic sick leave. Find out how to do this correctly in ConsultantPlus. Get free demo access to K+ and go to the material to find out all the details of this procedure.

Read more about organizing the interaction of the parties when working with sick leave in the materials:

• “Electronic sick leave for transfer to the Social Insurance Fund online”;
• “Electronic sick leave: a new order”;
• “Step-by-step guide to working with electronic sick leave certificates.”

Results

The procedure for issuing sick leave in 2021 is still strictly regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation - both in terms of requirements for the appearance of the document and in terms of the algorithm for filling it out.
An employer, like a medical institution, must clearly understand how to fill out a sick leave sheet correctly, and mistakes must not be made when filling out a sick leave note, otherwise the Social Insurance Fund will not accept it as a basis for compensating the employer’s expenses for paying benefits. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

Is the form always stamped?

The fact is that not all employing organizations have stamps in their use, so this point is insignificant, which is confirmed by Federal legislation:

1. Federal Law, Law No. 208, Article No. 2, paragraph 7.
2. Federal Law, Law No. 14, Article No. 2, paragraph 5.

As for the seals and stamps of a medical organization, they are mandatory. But due to the observance of medical confidentiality, there are seals that do not indicate the profile of the medical institution:

• psychiatric;
• drug treatment;
• Center for Prevention and Control of AIDS.

But this absence of a medical institution’s profile on the seal, as indicated in the relevant documentation, is an exception to the generally accepted rules.