The sick leave must be issued strictly according to the standards established by the Ministry of Health and the Social Insurance Fund. If errors were made during registration and filling, the citizen may be denied compensation for temporary disability, and treatment expenses will not be paid. At the same time, the presence of seals of the medical institution is one of the important points, in the absence of which the sick leave is considered invalid.
How many stamps should there be on a sick leave certificate?
The rules require two seals on a document: the first is placed when opening the sheet, the second - when officially issued. In the case of a referral for an MSE (examination to obtain a disability group), a commission stamp is additionally placed on the sick leave.
Format of the form of certificate of incapacity for work
The Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation has established a single sample for the sick leave form, where three blank marks are left for the seals of medical organizations. The first is placed immediately after the opening of the sick leave, in the upper right part.
The first stamp is placed immediately after the opening of the sick leave, in the upper right part of the ballot
The second and third are located at the bottom of the sheet and are intended to close it. The second mark is used to confirm information that the employee’s ability to work has been restored and he can begin his duties. The third is reserved for medical and social examination and is needed in cases where the patient has undergone an examination to establish disability.
The second and third seal are located at the bottom of the sheet and are provided to close it
The first and second stamps must be affixed by the same medical institution. MSE, on the contrary, can be carried out in any institution chosen by the citizen.
Appearance of sick leave
You may notice that there are a number of missing items on the sheet that were not completed upon discharge. Most of them are related to disability and referral for ITU examination. The document must indicate:
- address and name of the medical organization;
- Full name and date of birth of the patient;
- digital designation of the disease;
- details of the doctor who signs the sheet and closes it;
- official name of the employing company;
- time interval of disability;
- date of issue of the document and date of discharge (permission to go to work).
Appearance of sick leave
Here you can see the location of all the seals. The opening and closing seal of the hospital is triangular in shape, the employer's mark in the lower right corner and the ITU mark, which is missing in this sample, which should be in the central section.
In addition to stamps, the document must contain the signature of the doctor closing the sick leave. He will also be responsible for the decision made if the allotted period was not enough for a cure.
Find out how sick leave is paid using the calculator.
How to put a stamp correctly
There are special places for printing on the form of the certificate of incapacity for work. Accordingly, they can only be placed there. A slight departure beyond the boundaries of the established space is allowed. But under no circumstances should you overlap the cells of the information field. This is evidenced by paragraph 56 of the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n. At the same time, if the print accidentally touches the filled cells, but their contents are easy to read, such a violation is not critical. This will not be a basis for invalidating sick leave or refusing to pay benefits. This opinion is shared by the FSS in its Letter dated October 28, 2011 No. 14-03-18/15-12956.
The name of the medical organization on the print must correspond to its name in the charter, and all information must be easy to read. The same rule applies to the employer. Some highly specialized medical organizations have the right to use stamps without indicating the institution’s profile. These include, for example, drug treatment, psychiatric, and infectious diseases treatment structures. In addition, medical institutions may have special seals intended only to certify certificates of incapacity for work. State medical institutions can also affix stamps, which must be round in shape.
Legal documents
- Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated April 26, 2011 N 347n
- Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated June 29, 2011 N 624n
- <Letter> FSS of the Russian Federation dated October 28, 2011 N 14-03-18/15-12956
Printing requirements
According to the requirements of Order No. 624n of the Ministry of Health, the stamp must be easy to read, and the signature on the stamp must correspond to the official name of the medical institution. There are exceptions to the rule: some medical organizations use special stamps (for example, psychiatric hospitals). This was done to protect patient confidentiality and maintain medical confidentiality.
The signature on the ballot stamp must correspond to the official name of the medical institution
In addition, the imprint may indicate “for sick leave.” This type of stamp was approved by a letter from the FSS dated October 28, 2011.
Important! Stamps are placed strictly in the field marked for them. The edges of the print may extend beyond the established boundaries, but should not touch the lines of information.
The employer puts a stamp on the sick leave only if it is available. The procedure for affixing is regulated by Law No. 208-FZ. In this case, no special requirements are provided, only the clarity of the image is important and that the mark does not interfere with reading the hospital seals with information cells.
Rules for making impressions
This information is necessary for doctors and also useful for employers and employees.
For doctors in clinics and hospitals, knowledge of these rules will help them draw up a document on temporary disability in accordance with existing requirements. Such information will make it possible for the employer and employee to immediately understand whether the document is filled out correctly.
Many people are accustomed to the fact that the stamps on sick leave certificates are placed crookedly, and the inscriptions on them are difficult to make out. Today, the requirements for the design of ballots have become more stringent. This is due to the country’s government’s desire to minimize cases of forgery of sick leave certificates.
Not only representatives of medical institutions, but also managers, personnel officers of enterprises, and patients of clinics should know the rules for making impressions. This will help to detect shortcomings in time and take the necessary measures to correct them.
The rules for placing stamps are given below:
- it is necessary to place them in specially designated places;
- they must be placed evenly;
- it is important that their contours are clear;
- they should not extend beyond the edges of the form;
- it is important that they contain the phrase “for sick leave certificates” or “for sick leave certificates”;
- the text should be easy to read. Smearing and fuzziness are unacceptable. It is important that each letter on the print is easily visible;
- they must fit into the field that is intended for them. It is unacceptable to touch adjacent cells. This will interfere with reading nearby text.
A correctly made seal will make it possible to identify the medical institution that issued the sick leave.
If a doctor at a clinic or medical center made a poor-quality impression on the disability certificate, the Social Insurance Fund has the right to refuse to accept such a document for work.
Who covers sick leave
As a rule, a sick leave certificate is closed by the receptionist of the clinic/hospital that completed the patient’s treatment, as well as by the attending physician who examined the patient for the final period of time before discharge. This means that the first and second seals of a medical institution do not always have to match - for example, a certificate of incapacity for work for a cold could be opened in a clinic, but closed in one of the city hospitals after treatment of complications in the form of pneumonia. But the reason for such a “change” must be really important; closing a sick leave in another clinic simply won’t work.
Important! If the patient was treated by one doctor throughout the entire period of illness, then only he has the right to sign the closing sheet.
Sick leave may be closed in another hospital or clinic, but only under force majeure conditions. For example, when being sent to another city for treatment or moving to another city. In other cases, the sheet is closed in the same place where it was issued.
Features of registration and delivery
How to distinguish a fake sick leave from a real one
There are a number of features when applying for sick leave. Some of them are caused by the peculiarities of interaction with the Social Insurance Fund, while some nuances arise due to the bureaucratic standards of the Ministry of Health.
- You can close sick leave on a day off only if the attending physician officially works on that day. If not, then the sheet is closed on the last working day of the week;
- The certificate of incapacity for work is limited to 15 days. If a citizen requires treatment longer than the established period, then the document is extended for a period of ten days to a month by decision of the medical commission, or is closed with a special note and the issuance of a second sick leave;
- If the patient violates the regime, a special mark is placed on the sheet. The employer is not obliged to pay for those days on which the employee violated the hospital regime. The same is true if a patient fails to appear for a medical examination without a good reason. In this case, it is useless to prove something to the doctor - the employer evaluates the validity of the reason for missing a medical examination;
- if the patient works part-time, the doctor must issue several sick leave certificates for each place of work. Each sick leave is an independent document and is paid by employers in full;
- the patient does not have to take sick leave before going to work. The law provides for a period of up to six months during which the employee has the right to provide the document to the employer. However, without a sick leave certificate, an employee will not receive disability payments, and in the absence of a valid reason for the absence of a document, these days may even be counted as absenteeism.
You can watch the main points on filling out and features of the sick leave certificate in the video.
Video - How to properly apply for sick leave
How many pieces should there be?
It is useful to understand how many stamps should be on a sick leave certificate and where they should be placed. This will help you immediately understand whether the certificate is drawn up correctly and whether it is genuine. There are four places for stamps on the form. Her impressions are made by the staff of the medical institution. The first seal is placed at the very top of the sheet.
It confirms the correctness and authenticity of the information entered in the columns opposite which it was placed. This part of the sick leave contains the patient’s details and the reason for his visit to the doctor. The health worker puts a second stamp when closing the sick leave.
Its imprint is made opposite the column that indicates the date when the patient can return to the enterprise and begin performing his job duties. The third one is not always placed. Its imprint is necessary only if a person is sent to undergo a medical examination.
The employer's stamp on the certificate of incapacity for work is optional. To confirm the authenticity of the information entered, the signature of the manager is sufficient. But some company directors still put a stamp on an employee’s sick leave before sending it to the Social Insurance Fund.
Expert opinion
Irina Vasilyeva
Civil law expert
A temporary disability certificate may have from two to four stamps that confirm the authenticity of the information provided on the form.
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FAQ
Who should fill out a certificate of incapacity for work?
Before being transferred to the Social Insurance Fund, the sick leave is filled out by the medical institution and the employer. After filling out, each party must put their own stamp (if the employer has one) and sign.
Company managers are often interested in the question of who exactly is responsible for filling out the document - the accounting department or the human resources department. The legislation assigns the decision of this issue to the employing organization. If the company management wishes, both departments can fill out the sheet.
Sick leave payment scheme
Are there any special rules when an employer fills out a document?
The specifics of filling out sick leave are established by order of the Ministry of Health No. 624n and the letter of the Social Insurance Fund dated October 23, 2014. Information is entered with a gel, ballpoint or fountain pen, or black ink. Letters must be printed and easy to read, and must not extend beyond the boundaries of the cells allocated to them. Recording is carried out starting from the first cell in the line.
A sample of filling out the part of sick leave allocated for the employer looks like this:
Sample of filling out the part of sick leave allocated for the employer
Is it possible to make corrections to sick leave?
Order of the Ministry of Health No. 624n directly prohibits the use of corrective agents when filling out sick leave. In case of an error, the incorrect information must be crossed out and the entry repeated on the reverse side of the sheet.
If an employer discovers errors in filling out sick leave at a medical institution, it should be clarified whether the error is critical. These include incorrectly recorded employee's full name, an error in opening or closing dates, and an incorrect name of the organization. Such shortcomings may become the basis for the FSS to refuse reimbursement of expenses.
Corrections to a sick leave certificate may become a basis for the Social Insurance Fund to refuse reimbursement of expenses.
What needs to be done to close sick leave early?
Sometimes the patient needs to go to work as early as possible. This issue can only be resolved by the attending physician, as the person who is responsible for the patient’s health. No applications or additional documents are required, you just need to ask the doctor during the visit.
It is important to note that in some socially dangerous diseases (usually infectious), the patient’s opinion about the time of discharge is not fundamentally taken into account, and sick leave is closed for medical reasons.
Closing sick leave early essentially means sending an untreated person to work
Why is sick leave not accepted at work?
Most often, refusal problems occur when applying for an electronic sick leave. The registration of such documents has been carried out since July 1, 2021 and is a complete analogue of a paper sick leave. The rules for information interaction between medical institutions, the employer and the Social Insurance Fund were approved by Government Decree No. 1567 of December 2021. Any refusals to accept this document are illegal; in case of refusal, you can file a complaint about verification using the FSS hotline numbers - https://fss.ru/ru/fund/rusmap/index.shtml
Also, the employer may refuse to accept sick leave in the event of an obvious mistake, absence of stamps, doctor’s signature or any other important information. In this case, you should contact the registry office of the institution that issued the sick leave again to provide another copy.
