If a girl very often sits on sick leave due to the illness of a young child, can she be fired? | Vologda

It just so happened in the post-Soviet space that accountants often have to be directly involved in the personal affairs of the work team. Either record checks in the rented 1C system, then accept sick leave, or request another explanatory note from a colleague who is chronically late for work. Yes, this is the reality of our brother - we have to deal not only with accounting, but also closely interact with personnel. As one colleague told us: “Any accountant must know the basics of personnel matters! But, excuse me, this is not what we studied at universities! In his own way, he is right when he says this. However, current realities are such that higher education institutions do not provide the future accountant with the complex of knowledge and skills that will be useful to him in his work, because you have to learn a lot from scratch, especially if in practice you encounter ambiguous and non-trivial situations. Today we will talk to you about one of the most vulnerable places of any employee - his children, and to be more precise, their health.

Interaction difficulties

It's no secret that the average employer, not only in Russia, but also in the world in general, is interested in the maximum productivity of his subordinates. It is not beneficial for them when employees skip work, are idle, cannot organize their work independently, when they have to “look for them somewhere” during working hours, and everything in the same spirit. The illness of the employee himself is not perceived as seriously as the illness of his children. It is believed that if an employee gets sick with the flu, he will try with all his might to go to work as early as possible, despite the fact that according to the Law he is guaranteed “sick leave” deductions during the period of his incapacity for work. This cannot be said about children - the majority of our citizens are quite responsible in this matter. If, God forbid, a rash appears on the skin of a young son or the temperature “exceeds” 38, then he or she will definitely contact a pediatrician. The Ministry of Health, apparently, does not care at all what time most citizens work - clinics receive the population in the morning, just when many of us go to work. There is only one way out - you have to ask for time off and put up with this vicious practice. In business, it is customary not to demand “too much” from the state; this is manifested even at the level of sales of goods and services. If the supplier company can afford to “harass” its customers, demanding payment of invoices, then products are shipped to “public sector employees”, as a rule, “on parole.” Some directors apply the same approach to colleagues, understanding the complexity of the issue and, without any problems, release their subordinates for family reasons. Unfortunately, not everyone receives such understanding, which entails either dismissal “at one’s own request,” or, in the best case, vacation “at one’s own expense.” Yes, there is a violation of labor laws, but who, excuse me, cares about this?

How often can you take out a certificate of incapacity for work so as not to be fired from your job?

The current labor legislation does not regulate the duration of temporary disability. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation only obliges management to pay appropriate sick leave benefits.

The timing of issuance, rules, and issues of payment for sick leave certificates are determined by federal laws and various regulations of the Ministry of Health. The periods for which sick leaves are usually issued are strictly regulated by the procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work.

The maximum period is:

• if the certificate is issued to a subordinate by the attending doctor, then the sick leave cannot last more than fifteen days;
• sick leave issued by a dentist or paramedic is valid for 10 days;
• For a longer period of time, sick leave is issued by a special commission when the established period for recovery is not enough. There are often cases where an employee is sick for up to ten months. There are difficult situations in which the subject is on sick leave for up to twelve months. This is only possible in the presence of dangerous pathological conditions.

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How long can you be absent from work?

In domestic practice, it is assumed that if an employee’s child gets sick and he needs to care for him, then it will be necessary to open a sick leave for himself (as if he himself were sick). This rule is regulated by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n. In particular, paragraph 5 of this document allows the following periods of absence from the workplace, depending on the age of the child and the nature of his treatment:

As we can see from the above information, the maximum period of absence from work due to illness of a child should not exceed more than 60 days from the date of opening of the sick leave. It is worth noting that this period can be “broken” into several parts within one calendar year. Moreover, based on the text of 255-FZ, we have the opportunity to find out the extent of financial compensation for parents. In the vast majority of cases, two full months for the child’s rehabilitation is quite enough. Here we can note that our legislation is generally liberal in relation to the personal difficulties of employees. For example, in the USA and Western European countries, where social protection of the population is far from the highest level (exactly in the context of our topic), citizens’ opportunity to “get sick” and “ask for time off” is reduced to a minimum. This is probably a striking example when we don’t need to learn from anyone, but it would be nice for us to learn from positive experience.

How do things work in practice?

When management is not satisfied with an employee’s long absence from the workplace, threats of dismissal arise due to frequent sick leave. Especially often, women who are forced to leave work due to their children’s illness experience psychological pressure.

Those dismissed at their own request are not entitled to compensation, so if under pressure you still have to leave your position, it is recommended to write a statement with the consent of the parties.

Since there are no legal grounds for terminating the contract, employers are looking for other reasons:

1. Violation of discipline, systematic or one-time.
2. Lack of valid reasons for absenteeism. Women with children should always go on sick leave, even if the employer promises to be loyal and turn a blind eye to the incident.
3. Amoral behavior.
4. Being at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
5. Incompetence and unprofessionalism.

If an employee responsibly fulfills his obligations and does not violate the employment contract, he cannot be fired for frequent sick leave. However, the employer can fire you from your position if violations are discovered.

Advice! If the dismissal was unlawful, you can use Article 392 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and go to court. During the trial, in addition to reinstatement, a decision may be made to pay compensation.

Previously, legislation made it possible to dismiss an employee if more than 4 months have passed since leaving sick leave, however, amendments were made to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, and the only way out for an employer who wants to part with an employee is to request the clinic where the employee opened a certificate of incapacity for work. Next comes an appeal against the diagnosis.

What to do if two months is not enough?

It is this question that makes many citizens rack their brains to answer it. On the one hand, there is the law, and on the other, there is an urgent need for child care. In most cases, employees are forced to come to terms with the dissatisfaction of their bosses and prefer not to leave their children in difficult times both for themselves and for them. And yet, what to do with the expired 60 days? Here much will depend on the nature of the disease. The above-mentioned document provides a list of diseases that allow the parent to be absent for an additional one month, which gives a total of 90 days. But even if this is not enough, the decision on employment or payment of insurance benefits will remain the responsibility of the employer. It is quite possible that the company will decide to enter the notorious position and continue to pay sick leave, but in this case they will not receive any money back from the relevant department. Moreover, no one has the right to punish an employer if he leaves an employee without money. In the “average” scenario, the director may stop paying “insurance”, but will retain the owner of the sick leave his job, and the “overdue” sick leave will become a kind of valid reason for such a long absence.

According to our clients, this is a very serious problem for many young parents, especially when it comes to single mothers and fathers. Not everyone has the opportunity to sit with a sick child at home when he is unwell. Sometimes there is simply no one to leave him with. It's okay if there are grandparents, uncles and aunts. But if there aren’t even those... But there are actually a lot of such people... Not only career opportunities, salary levels, a coffee machine in the kitchen and other “preferences” are important when choosing a place to work. The personal qualities of your immediate and superior managers are something that can play an important role in your work life. Those who know will understand what we are talking about now.

Read the article: “Questionnaire for staff. What do you need to ask your employees?

Legal aspects

Since 2015, funds for sick leave have been allocated by the FSS (Social Insurance Fund), and therefore the percentage of employers who refuse payments has dropped to almost zero. Nevertheless, a long period of illness and frequent departures from work for medical reasons require the search for a temporary replacement for the vacated position.

Often, management decides to terminate the contract and invite another employee to work, but the employment relationship can be terminated only for the reasons stated in Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Legally, people cannot be fired for private sick leave; there is no such wording in the code.

Fact! Employers cannot terminate a contract with an employee while he is undergoing treatment or has an open certificate of incapacity for child care.

An exception to the rule is the situation when dismissal is carried out in connection with the liquidation of the organization. At the same time, the boss can terminate the contract, even if the employee is on sick leave.

Dismissal on the employee’s own initiative or with the consent of both parties is possible on any day if the application and order were signed by the employee before opening the certificate of incapacity for work. In this case, his signature serves as confirmation of his voluntary resignation from his position, and in case of illness, compensation can be obtained.

Note! In the era of coronavirus, everyone is looking for additional opportunities to earn money. It’s surprising that you can earn much more using alternative methods, up to millions of rubles a month. One of our best authors wrote an excellent article about making money on games with reviews from people.

They told us a secret...

While discussing our topic, there was a tangible desire to find out the opinion of business owners on this matter. How they feel about the problems of their subordinates, what they think about it and what solutions to the current problem they could name. The most revealing thing will be in this short story:

“...what should I think? In general, you know, I employ employees under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation only for the reason that the state asks me to do so. It’s not fair when an employee doesn’t really do the work, but I still have to pay him a salary. Let everyone receive as much as they deserve. The accountant, secretary, and cleaner do not bring me any money at all - they only receive a salary. And what do you think, if one of them also stays at home for some personal business, who will do the work? Pushkin? No really. Either let him work or quit. I have enough problems of my own”...

“Yes...” we thought. Of course, we wanted to say a few kind words to him for such an attitude towards his subordinates, but we didn’t - the chain of command didn’t allow it. However, now that time has already passed, I want to call and still do it. Is this possible? He was probably born at the wrong time and in the wrong place. The best thing for him, perhaps, is to be a feudal lord, under whose subordination would be forced peasants. We are sure that he would have found himself there, in that era.

The problem is that he is not the only one. There are many of those. The difference is that this gentleman at least expresses himself quite straightforwardly than many of those who, under fictitious pretexts, fire workers in a difficult situation, for example, for some kind of “failure to pass certification” or something else of the same series. In general, what can we say...

Dismissal due to health reasons

Many people, afraid of losing their jobs, hide even the most serious illness for a long time, trying to go to work and neglecting the recommendations of doctors to take a certificate of incapacity for work and undergo treatment. However, you should not worry that the employer will terminate the employment contract due to frequent absence from work due to illness.

To be dismissed due to a serious health condition, a conclusion from a medical institution is required. As a rule, such a conclusion is issued with the assignment of a disability group to the employee. The medical institution evaluates not only the state of health, but also the possibility of further continuation of work.

For reference! Termination of employment relations under paragraph 5 of Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is possible only if the employee is recognized as completely unable to perform his labor functions.

In case of limited ability to work, the employer is obliged to offer the employee a transfer to another, easier job, and only if the employee refuses the transfer, the employer has the right to terminate the employment contract. This measure is due to the fact that the employee, due to his illness, can endanger the life and health of other people.

Finally

To top off all of the above, I don’t want to end our article sadly, with a feeling of somehow “hopelessness,” no matter how loud it may sound. Yes, there are selfish people, there are greedy people, there are simply evil ones. They have always been, are and will be. However, there are still fewer of them in comparison with those who are ready to understand, ready to at least formally share experiences and help in difficult times. We are talking about those people who do not look at their rights and still continue to pay, even if they may not do so. They don’t fire people when even this is not profitable for them. Without such an approach to business, there will be no cohesive team, there will be no backbone that is capable of working in a difficult situation. And in general, there would be no normal human relationships. Still, this is the most important thing, and everything else comes later.

Thank you for your attention.

What should an employee do in case of illegal dismissal?

It should be noted that before dismissing a person for one of the reasons listed in article number 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the boss invites his subordinate to write a letter of resignation of his own free will.

A citizen has two ways to protect his rights:

• filing a complaint with the state labor inspectorate;
• filing a claim in court.

A person needs to remember that he is given only thirty days to go to court. If the labor inspectorate does not manage to resolve the current situation in one month, then the time to appeal to the judicial authorities will end. Therefore, it is recommended to simultaneously visit the court with the relevant claim.

How long is it allowed to stay on the base camp without losing your place?

The period of exemption from official duties is determined by the attending physician . It is indicated on the certificate of incapacity for work, issued in accordance with Order No. 624n of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as Order No. 624n). Labor legislation does not limit the number of days during which a person can undergo treatment.

When a company is liquidated or an entrepreneur ceases to operate, an employee may be fired, even if he is on sick leave - this is an exception. But in these cases, the duration of treatment still does not matter.