E-sick leaves for employers: rules for work and payment

E-sick leaves for employers: how businesses should work

For Ukrainian businesses, an e-sick leave is the main document based on which temporary disability, pregnancy, and childbirth benefits are assigned. It is formed in the Electronic Register of Sick Leaves based on a doctor's medical report, and the employer sees it in the policyholder's cabinet on the portal of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Paper leaves have not disappeared completely, but now they are the exception rather than the rule. (Law of Ukraine)

The main thing for the employer is this: you can pay for an e-sick leave not immediately after opening, but after it acquires the status of "Ready for payment". This usually happens 7 days after the closing date, and for pregnancy and childbirth — 7 days from the opening date. After that, the employer reviews the documents: for temporary disability — no later than 10 working days, for pregnancy and childbirth — no later than 3 working days. As a general rule, the first 5 days of a regular sick leave are paid by the employer, and further funding comes from the social insurance system through the PFU. (Pension Fund of Ukraine)

How an e-sick leave is formed

An e-sick leave does not appear on its own: first, the attending physician forms a medical report on temporary disability in the Register of Medical Reports in the electronic healthcare system. Based on it, software tools form a sick leave in the Electronic Register of Sick Leaves. The employee and employer can view such a leaf through the electronic services of the PFU. (Law of Ukraine)

Only attending physicians of healthcare institutions and individual entrepreneurs who have a license for medical practice and conduct an examination of temporary disability have the right to form medical reports. This right is not granted, in particular, to doctors of emergency medical care centers, blood transfusion stations, forensic medical examination institutions, balneological hospitals, mud baths, cosmetology and resort polyclinics, as well as doctors during cosmetology interventions without medical indications. (Law of Ukraine)

When a paper leaf is still possible

The general rule is this: after the launch of the formation of medical reports in a healthcare institution, as well as from October 1, 2021, the issuance of paper leaves instead of electronic ones is prohibited, except in specially determined cases. Such exceptions include, in particular, technical failures in data exchange between registers, due to which an electronic leaf is not formed for more than 7 days, as well as certain situations during martial law. (Law of Ukraine)

During martial law and for three months after its termination or cancellation, additional exceptions are allowed. If the patient missed the deadline for applying to extend a disability case due to force majeure circumstances, the decision to issue a paper leaf as a continuation of the previously issued one is made by the medical advisory commission, and if there is none — by the head of the institution. In addition, if the institution has no forms and it is impossible to get them, by decision of the head it is allowed to issue leaves printed on a white sheet of paper according to the approved form. (Law of Ukraine)

Features of martial law and treatment abroad

The basic rule for a doctor — a medical report is formed after a personal examination of the patient. But during martial law, the legislation allows certain exceptions. For the category "Pregnancy and childbirth", a medical report can be formed without a personal examination, based on the results of remote interaction. For patients with symptoms of COVID-19, flu, or acute respiratory infections, as well as in cases of observation or self-isolation during quarantine, a family doctor can form a report based on a request by phone, via internet telephony, or telemedicine communication for a period of up to 5 calendar days. (Law of Ukraine)

Also, during martial law and for three months after it, a doctor can form a medical report based on medical documents issued abroad if they confirm temporary disability. This is provided, in particular, for the categories "General illness or injury", "Care for a sick child", "Pregnancy and childbirth", "Orthopedic prosthetics". (Law of Ukraine)

Which statuses are important for the employer

Two statuses are key for the employer. An e-sick leave acquires the "Closed" status from the day of its formation in the register. This means that the document already exists, but the benefit cannot yet be assigned and paid. The "Ready for payment" status appears 7 days after the closing date for regular temporary disability, and for pregnancy and childbirth — 7 days after the opening date. It is after this that the employer proceeds to assign the payment. (Pension Fund of Ukraine)

For business, this means a simple rule: you can see the leaf in the PFU cabinet earlier, but calculation and assignment of the benefit should be done after the status changes to "Ready for payment". For maternity leave, there is no need to wait for the sick leave to close — the reference point is exactly the period from the opening date. (Pension Fund of Ukraine)

What the employer should do

After the e-sick leave appears in the policyholder's cabinet, the employer checks whether the employee is indeed an insured person, determines the insurance period, the number of paid days, the basis of disability, and the percentage of payment. Documents for assigning temporary disability benefits are considered no later than 10 working days from the day of their receipt, and for pregnancy and childbirth — no later than 3 working days. It is necessary to apply for payment no later than 6 calendar months from the day of recovery of working capacity or the end of maternity leave. (Law of Ukraine)

After making a decision, the employer forms an application-calculation and submits it to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. The PFU processes the applications-calculations and finances the funds to the employer into a separate account. (Pension Fund of Ukraine)

Who pays and how much

As a general rule, temporary disability benefits depend on the employee's insurance period:

Certain privileged categories of insured persons are entitled to 100% of the average salary regardless of the insurance period. The law directly attributes to them, in particular, victims of the Chernobyl disaster, war veterans, victims of Nazi persecution, and some other categories defined by special laws. (Law of Ukraine)

For a common illness or injury not related to production, the first 5 days of disability are paid by the employer, and starting from the 6th day, the benefit is financed within the system of compulsory state social insurance. For an accident at work or an occupational disease, a different rule applies: the benefit is assigned and paid by the employer for the first 17 days of temporary disability. (Law of Ukraine)

When the benefit is not assigned

The law directly establishes cases when temporary disability benefits are not provided. These include: getting an injury or illness while committing a criminal offense; intentional harm to one's health; being under arrest or undergoing forensic medical examination; compulsory treatment by court order; temporary disability during leave without pay, creative leave, or additional study leave. Separately, the law provides that a benefit for caring for a sick child, a sick family member, or a child under 3 years old is not provided if the employee was on annual, study, or creative leave at that time. (Law of Ukraine)

Part-time workers: what has changed

From April 4, 2025, employees got the right to temporary disability, pregnancy, and childbirth benefits not only at the main place of work but also at the part-time workplace. This is an important change for employers, because now each employer can assign the payment if there are proper documents. (Law of Ukraine)

The basis for assigning benefits for part-time work is a copy of the sick leave. If the insured event is formalized by a paper leaf, the copy is certified by the signature of the head and the seal at the main place of work — if a seal is used. When it comes to an e-sick leave, a copy for a part-time worker is formed in the system, and when submitting an application-calculation, it is necessary to indicate the leaf number up to the dot: the digit after the dot is just a technical mark of the copy and is not part of the unique number. (Law of Ukraine)

Why an e-sick leave may not be formed

One of the most common reasons — there is no information about the employee's employment relations in the Register of Insured Persons on the date of the onset of disability. Another typical reason — there is no information about the main place of work in the register, in particular due to the employer's failure to submit a notification about hiring an employee. For business, this is critical: errors in HR registration can directly block the formation of an e-sick leave. (Pension Fund of Ukraine)

Therefore, the employer should regularly check the correctness of HR notifications, data on the main place of work, and information that enters the Register of Insured Persons. This is a matter not only of HR order but also of the speed of the employee receiving the legal payment. (Pension Fund of Ukraine)

What an entrepreneur should set up right now

In order for work with e-sick leaves not to create risks for the business, it is advisable for the enterprise to have a clear internal algorithm:

Official sources

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