The minimum amount for calculating sick leave in 2024 is used in relation to the payment of disability benefits in certain situations. What kind of situations these are and by what rules the minimum wage is calculated will be discussed in the article.
In what cases is the minimum wage applied to pay for sick leave
According to paragraph 1 of Article 14 of the law “On Compulsory Social Insurance” dated 12/29/2006 No. 255-FZ, the sick leave allowance is paid based on the average salary calculated for 2 full calendar years preceding the illness.
But in some cases, an individual can expect to pay for sick leave only at a minimum. This applies to such persons who:
- had no earnings during the previous two years (clause 1.1 of Article 14 of Law No. 255-FZ);
- earned an insufficient amount in order for their average earnings to exceed the minimum wage (clause 1.1 of Article 14 of the law No. 255-FZ);
- have a work experience of less than six months (paragraph 6 of Article 7, paragraph 3 of Article 11 of Law No. 255-FZ);
- violated the regime (did not follow the doctor’s instructions, did not come for a scheduled examination or examination, subitem. 1 and 2 paragraphs 1 of Article 8 of Law No. 255-FZ);
- became ill or injured due to intoxication (sub-paragraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 8 of Law No. 255-FZ).
The minimum sick leave in 2024 for such employees must be calculated according to the norms of clause 1.1 of Article 14 of Law No. 255-FZ according to the formula:
Allowance = Minimum wage × 24/730 × duration of the period of illness.
Since 2021, the employer pays only for the first 3 days of illness. The rest of the days are paid by the SFR (until 2023 – FSS) directly to the employee.
The minimum wage value is taken in the current value at the time of the start of the sick leave.The number 730 in the denominator of the formula corresponds to the total number of days in 2 years.
About whether the number 730 is used in calculating the minimum maternity leave, read the article “When is a maternity leave given?».
Disability payment based on the minimum wage in 2024
From 01.01.2024&The minimum wage is 19,242 rubles.
There are certain nuances in the calculation of disability compensation for recent maternity patients. If a woman who recently came out of maternity leave gets sick, and in the previous 2 years she had no income, then she does not immediately belong to the category of persons who should be paid sick leave according to the minimum wage. According to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 14 of Law No. 255-FZ, taking into account the explanations from the letter of the Federal Tax Service dated 11/30/2015 No. 02-09-11/15-23247, it is possible to replace the years of the billing period for sick leave with the years preceding the leave in connection with the decree. If a woman, even when postponing the billing period, had only one year’s income, then such income still needs to be divided by 730 (the number of days in a 2-year period). If the average wage turns out to be less than the minimum wage, then the benefit is calculated according to the minimum wage.
Read more about this in the article «How to calculate sick leave after a decree?”.
Algorithm for calculating the minimum sick leave in 2024
Minimum sick leave in In 2024, it is calculated from the minimum wage, which has values of 19,242 rubles during this year. This means that the average daily earnings for the calculation should be taken in the amount of 632.61 rubles. (19,242 rubles x 24/730)
Otherwise, the principle of calculating the allowance is the same as usual. The average earnings should be multiplied by the number of sick days and by the percentage depending on the length of service.
The minimum wage is applied taking into account all the increasing coefficients provided for by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and the duration of the illness period is calculated in calendar days. If an employee works part-time, then according to clause 1.1 of Article 14 of Law No. 255-FZ, sick pay is calculated in proportion to his working time. If, on the date of the onset of illness, an employee works full-time, but in the years related to the billing period for the purpose of determining disability benefits, he had periods of part-time work, then in this case no reduction coefficients are applied, the benefit is calculated based on the full minimum wage.
Totals
In some cases, the minimum wage indicator is used to determine the sickness benefit. But there are some nuances in its application. Sometimes the sick leave is calculated immediately based on the minimum wage, and sometimes it is first necessary to calculate the average salary using the data of the employee’s actual income for the previous 2 years, and compare it with the minimum wage.