The calculation of sick leave after the decree may raise questions related to the young mother’s lack of income in the previous two years. The legislation provides for alternative options so that an employee can receive sick leave based on her earnings, which she had before going on maternity leave. Let’s look at them in more detail.
What regulations regulate the payment of sick leave in 2024
Chapter 2 of the law “On Compulsory Social Insurance” dated 12/29/2006 No. 255-FZ discloses information about cases when insured persons are entitled to benefit due to illness, as well as the conditions and procedure for paying sick leave.
We remind you! Since 2021, new rules for the payment of money on sick leave have begun to apply. Starting from this moment, maternity allowances were assigned and paid by the Federal Tax Service. Read more in our memo. Since January 1, 2023, this function has been transferred to the Social Fund of Russia, we wrote about the unification of the FSS and the FIU here. But you can help your employees calculate the amount they are owed in the form of maternity payments.
The calculation of sick leave after the decree in 2024 has certain features related to the lack of income in previous years. When calculating sickness benefits after maternity leave, in addition to the law of 12/29/2006 No. 255-FZ, letters from the Federal Tax Service dated 11/30/2015 No. 02-09-11/15-23247 and the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated 08/03/2015 No. 17-1/OOG-1105 should also be taken into account. The main idea of these clarifications is that insured persons should be compensated for their real earnings, but only the one that was before the insured event occurred, and not the one that was many years ago. This means that the billing period for calculating disability benefits cannot be any, but must be determined taking into account the established rules.
Read about the permissible amounts of disability benefits in the material “The maximum amount of sick leave in 2024 year”.
Billing period for sick leave after the decree
According to paragraph 1 of Article 14 of Law No. 255-FZ, the periods for calculating sick leave can be replaced if the employee had no income during the billing period due to maternity leave or parental leave. In a letter dated 11/30/2015 No. 02-09-11/15-23247, the Social Insurance Company explained that it is possible to replace the years for calculation only with the years immediately preceding maternity leave. This recommendation remains relevant.
It should be borne in mind that such a procedure for calculating sick leave is not an obligation, but the right of the insured person. Therefore, it is important to receive a statement from the employee, in which her will will be spelled out and an indication of those years that will relate to the new billing period. As a result, the sick leave allowance should increase in the current period, otherwise it is impossible to use such a calculation procedure.
There is also the right to choose the year that was not fully worked out (this may be the year of withdrawal from the decree or the year in which maternity leave began). Years that do not follow each other can also be used as a billing period, if, for example, an employee worked for a year between 2 decrees.
Example
The employee was on maternity leave from March 2021 to November 2023, after which she returned to work. In May 2024, she goes on sick leave. In previous years, her income was as follows:
- 2019 – 115,000 rubles (the year is fully worked out);
- 2020 – 379,000 rubles (the year is fully worked out);
- 2021 (from January to March – 55 days) — 84,000 rubles;
- 2022 — there was no income;
- 2023 (after leaving the decree – 42 days) — 34,000 rubles
Let’s compare the earnings of an employee in the years before going on maternity leave, combining them in different combinations.
|
Period |
Calculation of average earnings |
The amount of average earnings |
|
2019 and 2020 |
(115 000 + 379 000)/730 |
676.71 rubles |
|
2020 and 2021 |
(379 000 + 84 000)/730 |
634.24 rubles |
|
2022 and 2023 |
(0 + 34 000)/730 |
46.58 rubles |
|
2021 and 2023 |
(84 000 + 34 000)/730 |
161.64 rubles |
Having found out that the highest average earnings will be received if 2019 and 2020 are used as the billing period, the employee wrote a statement specifying this period.
About what nuances there are when applying average earnings in order to calculate sick leave, read the article “What are the charges for calculating sick leave?”
How is sick leave calculated and paid after maternity leave
According to the norms of sick leave payment, the average earnings indicator for the previous 2 years is used. But young mothers who have recently come out of maternity leave may not have earnings during these periods. As mentioned above, the period can be replaced. But if, for some reason, replacement is impossible or earnings are below the minimum wage, or even absent altogether, then payment must be made according to the minimum wage.
Check the current minimum wage in this material.
There are situations when, of all the possible periods that can be used to calculate before maternity leave, the employee’s income was only in one year. In this case, the average earnings indicator will be calculated anyway by dividing the amount of wages for one year worked by 730. And if the result turns out to be less than the average earnings calculated using the minimum wage, then you will have to pay the allowance based on the average earnings calculated according to the minimum wage.
The legislation does not provide for the replacement of one year with zero earnings for payment under the minimum wage.
Example
The employee got her first job in 2021 immediately after graduating from the institute. In 2021, her earnings amounted to 376,000 rubles. The employee worked for a full year and was not ill. On January 01, 2022, she went on maternity leave, after which she wrote an application for parental leave up to 3 years old. In March 2024, the employee went to work, prematurely interrupting her vacation. But in July 2024, she had to go on sick leave. Since there was no income in 2022 and 2023 due to the decree, 2020 and 2021 can be taken as the calculation period. In this case, the average earnings will be:
(0 + 376 000)/730 = 515.07 rubles.
It is necessary to compare this earnings with the minimum wage, which since 01.01.2024 is 19,242 rubles:
19,242 × 24/730 = 632.61 rubles
It can be seen that in the first case, the average earnings calculated from real income turn out to be somewhat less. It will be used to calculate temporary disability benefits, but taking into account the employee’s insurance record. Since it is less than 5 years old, you will have to apply a coefficient of 0.6 (60%).
Also, we must not forget that according to clause 6.1 of Article 14 of the Law of December 29, 2006 No.255-FZ, the amount of the allowance may not be less than calculated based on the minimum wage, therefore the allowance in this case will need to be taken into accountthe following amount: 19 242 / 31 × number of sick days.
If an employee does not exercise the right to postpone the billing period at the time of accrual of benefits, she can apply for recalculation later by writing an application.
Results
Sick leave after maternity leave in the absence of income in the previous 2 years is calculated according to special rules. At the request of the insured person, the earnings periods used to calculate the benefit can be replaced, but only for the years preceding the insured event. As a result of such a replacement, the employee should be in a better position. It must be remembered that the possibility of replacing the billing period is only the right of the insured person, therefore, it is unacceptable to change the period without a corresponding application.