The length of service of a specialist directly affects the amount of sick leave benefits. However, the law provides for exceptions. For example, maternity leave. In this article we will talk about the features of paying maternity leave.

Maternity leave is popularly known as a certain period in a woman’s life that occurs during the pregnancy and birth of a baby. In normal cases, this period is 140 days, that is, 70 days before the birth of a new citizen and 70 days after. In case of complications, the period will be increased by 16 days. And if the mother is carrying twins (or more children), then in this case the period of sick leave (SL) is 194 days.

How is sick leave paid for pregnancy and childbirth?

Sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth (BL according to BiR), unlike ordinary BL, is subject to repayment in 100% amount. Payment for sick leave during pregnancy and childbirth depends on the length of the maternity period, the woman’s average earnings and the number of days worked in the billing period.

The calculation period for maternity payments is two calendar years that precede the year in which the BC for BiR was issued. For example, if the slip was issued in 2020, earnings from 2017 and 2016 will be included in the calculation.

Maternity benefits are calculated based on the following conditions:

1. To calculate average earnings, only those incomes that were subject to insurance premiums are taken into account. If mommy was sick during the billing period or was on vacation without saving wages, on maternity leave or other maternity leave, then such income is not included in the calculation.
2. The total income for one calendar year cannot exceed the maximum limit established by the Government for calculating insurance premiums. That is, if in one year the employee’s income exceeded the current limits, the limit is taken into account when calculating maternity benefits: 2016 - 718,000 rubles, 2017 - 755,000 rubles.
3. Payment of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth also depends on the number of days in the billing period. If in a given period of time there were days for which the woman did not receive wages (and, for example, child care benefits for up to 1.5 years), then such days are excluded from the calculation. If there were no such cases, then 731 days are taken into account.

If during the billing period there were no accruals at all, for example, a mother was issued from one maternity leave immediately to another, then in this case the transfer rule applies. That is, a woman has the right to choose another two calendar years for calculating cash benefits under the BiR.

Calculation example

Ivanushkina Alyonushka is drawing up a BC for BiR in 2020 for 140 days.

Her income for 2016 was 700,000 rubles, for 2017 - 800,000 rubles. Since in 2017 there is an excess of the established maximum for insurance premiums, only the permissible limit of 755,000 rubles will be included in the calculation.

There were no periods excluded from the calculation in 2016-2017.

The accountant made the calculation:

• average daily earnings: (700,000 + 755,000) / 731 = 1990.42 rubles;
• benefit amount: 140 days. × 1990.42 = 278,658.80 rubles.

The benefit is paid in full. Income tax individuals Maternity payments are not deducted.

Terms of payment of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth

Maternity benefits are paid in a lump sum, that is, they are not divided into time periods before and after the birth of the baby. If the birth had complications, then an additional 16 days of BC is paid separately, after submitting it to the employer’s accounting department.

The day on which sick leave is paid for maternity leave usually coincides with the nearest payday at the employer's company. Such standards apply to employed mothers.

And if a woman receives maternity benefits through social protection, payment must be made no later than the 26th day of the month following the month in which the BiR BC was provided for payment.

You must apply for maternity benefits no later than 6 months from the date of expiration of sick leave according to the BiR.

Payment of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth (B&C) is made according to generally established rules: the employer must assign benefits to the employee within the date of her application (clause 18 of the Procedure, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development dated December 23, 2009 N 1012n). And payment of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth must be made on the salary payment day closest to the day the benefit was assigned (Part 8, Article 13, Part 1, Article 15 of the Law of December 29, 2006 N 255-FZ). That is, today there are legally established deadlines for paying sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth. However, employees do not always receive their sick leave pay on time.

Late payment of benefits

In general, an assigned but unpaid maternity benefit is paid for the entire period of time, but not more than 3 years preceding the application for it. Let's say an organization pays its employees salaries and benefits from the cash register. The employee did not show up for her benefits on time. Then, if she ever subsequently applies for sick leave pay for pregnancy, she will be paid benefits only for that part of the labor leave that will be included in the 3 years preceding the employee’s new application for benefits.

But if the employee did not receive the benefit on time due to the fault of the employer or the territorial body of the Social Insurance Fund, then the benefit will have to be paid to her without any time restrictions (Part 3 of Article 15 of the Law of December 29, 2006 N 255-FZ).

If benefits were overpaid

If sick pay for maternity leave was made in larger size than necessary, then it is possible to recover from the employee the overpaid amount only in 2 cases (Part 4 of Article 15 of the Law of December 29, 2006 N 255-FZ):

• if the overpayment was due to an accounting error;
• in case of dishonesty on the part of the employee (for example, if the employee provided the employer with false information about the earnings received at the previous place of work, as a result of which the amount of the benefit was incorrectly determined).

How is sick leave paid for pregnancy and childbirth in the “pilot” regions?

In the regions where the pilot project operates, maternity benefits are paid by the territorial branch of the Social Insurance Fund. To receive benefits, the employee, in the general manner, submits to her employer a sick leave certificate and an application for leave, and the employer, in turn, transfers all the necessary information to the Social Insurance Fund (clause 2 of the Regulations, approved by Government Resolution No. 294 of April 21, 2011). Based on the information received, the Social Insurance Fund directly transfers maternity benefits to the employee’s bank account or by mail.

When is sick leave paid for pregnancy and childbirth in the “pilot” regions? From the moment the employer receives all the documents necessary to assign benefits, he has 5 calendar days to transfer information to the Social Insurance Fund (clause 3 of the Regulations, approved by Government Decree No. 294 of April 21, 2011). Then, within 10 calendar days, FSS specialists make a decision on the payment of benefits, and if it is positive, within the same period the benefit must be transferred to the employee (clause 9 of the Regulations, approved by Government Decree of April 21, 2011 N 294). That is, the minimum period for paying sick leave is 15 calendar days.

However, payment of benefits may be delayed, for example, if the employer does not transmit all the information to the Social Insurance Fund, or if the department discovers errors in the preparation of sick leave.

Issues of issuing and paying for this type of sick leave (hereinafter referred to as SL) are resolved in detail in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development. It was issued in June 2011 and approved the relevant Order.

Depending on the circumstances, the certificate is issued by a gynecologist/general practitioner/paramedic/maternity hospital doctor after 30 weeks of pregnancy, and can later be extended, which must be indicated on the second sick leave certificate.

Traditionally, the period for which sick leave is due is 140 days. BC is issued at week 30 based on the last 70 days of pregnancy and the same number of days after the birth of the baby. If complications occurred during this period, the period of sick leave is increased by 16 days. If the mother gave birth to two or more children, then the sick leave can be increased by several tens of days.

In accordance with Art. 255 of the Labor Code of Russia, upon her application, the employer, by order, grants maternity leave for the above period. That is, this entire procedure is strictly declarative in nature.

Additional leave due to complications or multiple births is granted to a woman on the basis of her second application after childbirth; it is necessarily confirmed by a second sick leave issued on the basis of medical documents from the maternity hospital.

The cost of sick leave is calculated based on the average daily earnings and the number of days spent at that time in the maternity hospital and at home. In particular, 140 days X 1000 rubles = 140,000 rubles.

To calculate the average salary, 2 calendar years preceding the year in which the doctor wrote the sick leave are taken into account. So, if it was issued in 2019, then the previous working years of 2017 and 2018 are taken into account.

Only those incomes that were subject to insurance premiums are taken into account. When sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth is paid, leave without pay and amounts received under a regular sick leave are not taken into account.

If for some days, legally included during pregnancy and childbirth, a woman received a salary at work, then these days are also not included in the sick leave. It is important to understand that it is subject to 100% payment.

If the woman had no income at all for the previous two years (for example, she was caring for an older child), then the average salary is calculated for the earlier two working years, and at the woman’s choice.

At the same time, the law stipulates that future mom must have worked at the main place and part-time for at least two calendar years in a row. Otherwise, she can receive sick pay only at her main place of work.

How is sick leave paid for pregnancy if a woman gives birth ahead of schedule, for example, at 28 weeks? Then the sick leave period is 156 days, all days are subject to payment, and it is considered that the birth took place with complications.

In such circumstances, a sick leave certificate is issued directly in the maternity hospital; it has exactly the same legal significance as one issued in antenatal clinic. Based on it and the certificate of average salary, payment is subsequently calculated.

If at the time of pregnancy a woman’s fixed-term employment contract ends, then, at her request, the employer is obliged to extend this contract until the end of maternity leave, i.e. up to 70 days after the baby is born.

Payment of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth may be based on documents received at the Russian Pension Fund institution. If the employer has ceased its activities or for some reason does not respond to the application of a woman who worked for him.

Payment of sick leave is possible only after submitting the following documents to the employer’s accounting department:

– certificate of incapacity for work;

– certificates of average salary;

– statements from the woman who gave birth in any form.

If, after his calculations, the accountant has determined that a woman’s average earnings are less than the minimum earnings established by the state at the time of the birth of the child, then sick pay for pregnancy and childbirth is calculated according to the minimum wage.

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So, future mommy is approaching the long-awaited period of the birth of a child. In the third trimester of pregnancy, the fact and correctness of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth is important for working women. Who issues a temporary disability certificate and when?

Let's talk about this document, the features of its issuance and execution.

Who issues the document and when?

A certificate of incapacity for work due to pregnancy and childbirth must be issued to a woman by her obstetrician-gynecologist. In his absence, this is done by a general practitioner or paramedic. The above document is drawn up within a period of . At the same time, the sick leave indicates that its duration is 140 calendar days, that is, 70 calendar days before childbirth and the same amount after it.

There are situations when the expectant mother does not want to take out sick leave at the time established by law, but wants to continue working until the birth. In this case, her refusal is recorded in the medical record. But when the patient applies again (for example, just before giving birth), the bulletin is issued for a set period of 140 days from the date of the initial application to the antenatal clinic.

It should be noted that in case of multiple pregnancy, the bulletin is issued earlier. The document is issued for a period of 194 calendar days. In this case, the prenatal period is 84 calendar days, the postpartum period is 110.

Sometimes it happens that a multiple pregnancy is diagnosed directly during childbirth. Then the woman is given an additional certificate of incapacity for work for another 40 calendar days. Please note that maternity hospitals have official rights to issue sick leave to women in labor for 156 days in situations where childbirth occurred, that is, at 28-30 weeks of pregnancy.

Design features

A woman's prenatal and postnatal leave must be documented by a doctor on the same form of sick leave. At the same time, in the line indicating the reason for incapacity, the doctor writes down the expected date of birth and underlines the inscription about maternity leave. When filling out, outpatient and inpatient are recorded in the line about the regime, and in the column about release from work, indicate the total amount of maternity leave, that is, 140 for a singleton or 194 calendar days for a multiple pregnancy.

Registration of sick leave in case of adoption of a baby has its own peculiarities.

So, in the section on the reason for incapacity for work, an entry is made about postpartum leave, and in the section on release from work, the date, month and year for the start of the release and its end, inclusive, are indicated. It is important that the date of the court decision on adoption coincides with the date of release from work.

Payment of sick leave

If a woman has an insurance period of less than 6 months, then she is paid benefits in an amount not exceeding minimum size wages (minimum wage), based on the monthly period of work. If in the area where a woman works, regional adjustment coefficients are applied to wages, then the amount of the benefit should be no more than the minimum wage, taking into account these coefficients.

And now about the timing of payment of maternity benefits. The employer must appoint them within ten days from the date the woman applies for payment (if all necessary documents). Once the benefit is assigned, it must be paid on the next day. Moreover, according to the Tax Code Russian Federation such benefits are not taxed.

It should be noted that the procedure and procedure for issuing sick leave to a pregnant woman in Russia is regulated by the Procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work, certified by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Policy of Russia dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n.

The task of a pregnant woman is to receive her certificate of incapacity for work on time, check that it contains all the dates, signatures, seals and submit it to the accounting department of her enterprise (institution, organization). Arrange further actions with your accountant, who will inform you of the date of receipt of the benefit and its procedure.

Especially for Elena TOLOCHIK

Payment of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth is due to women going on maternity leave. This is compensation for the entire period of temporary disability, which includes the prenatal and birth stages and the recovery stage. It is provided under the compulsory social insurance program.

General provisions

Bir sick leave is a type of document confirming the right to payment for temporary disability. It is issued to a woman for maternity leave and payment of compensation for pregnancy/childbirth.

Bir – pregnancy/birth.

Important point! Maternity payments are relied upon upon the birth/adoption of a child. In this case, the age of the adopted baby should not be more than 3 months.

The sick leave document defines the following points:

• the duration of the incapacitated period, which is calculated based on the start and expiration dates of the period;
• the amount of maternity income, this parameter depends on the number of vacation days.

The procedure for providing a certificate of incapacity for work is regulated by the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, this is act No. 624n dated June 29, 2011. Project name “On the regulation of the procedure for issuing certificates of incapacity for work”. The accrual procedure is provided for in Part VIII of this legislative act.

Payout Features

Sick leave- the main payment document for calculating social benefits. Every non-working day, the applicant is compensated for the full amount of her average earnings. To determine this indicator, earnings taken into account for the three-year period before the maternity leave are taken into account.

According to the statement of the employer, who actually pays the woman benefits, the Fund reimburses him with compensation funds. This procedure is carried out in several ways:

• through direct reimbursement of money to the employer's company accounts;
• by reducing the amount of standard payments.

The procedure for refunding funds is established in the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development. This is document No. 951-n dated December 4, 2009. This legislative act establishes a list of papers that an enterprise must submit to the fund:

• a statement written according to the sample, which contains the amount of accrual;
• directly the calculation form, this is form 4-FSSS with information for the entire accrual period;
• copies of the employment contract and other documents that can confirm the employment relationship between the recipient of payments and the employer;
• report card;
• payment documents that can be used to certify the fact of payment of maternity money to an employee.

Most payments based on sick leave are paid jointly by the employer and the Fund. The organization pays for the first three days, and the rest of the time is compensated by the fund.

Important! Foreign women working in the Russian Federation under an employment contract have the same rights to maternity benefits as Russian citizens.

Sick leave must be issued to working women for whom the employer pays contributions to the funds. But in some cases, unemployed applicants also receive it. Let's see who else is entitled to payments? So, maternity leave is compensated:

1. Women serving in the internal affairs bodies, customs, penitentiary or fire service and other government agencies.
2. Women individual entrepreneurs and notaries. This is a special category of citizens who will be able to apply for maternity leave through the department social protection. But assistance is provided only if the applicant is assigned the status of unemployed.
3. Full-time students.
4. Applicants fired from their jobs due to the liquidation of the enterprise. To obtain the right to payment, a woman must register with the Employment Center on time; this must be done within a year after leaving her main place of work.
5. Persons who quit a month before the start of their vacation for a valid reason. So, the employer is obliged to provide compensation to the employee if the reason for her dismissal was a valid situation, which includes the following provisions:

• change of place of residence due to the transfer of a military husband to a new place of work;
• health status;
• the need to care for sick relatives;
• another, forced measure.

Note! Pregnant women who have received unemployment benefits will have their unemployment assistance suspended. In this case, accruals are made by the Employment Center.

Who will pay?

If accruals are made on the basis of sick leave by the employer, then who will pay compensation to women during maternity leave? Let's figure it out. Applications for maternity leave for pregnant women must be submitted to the following organizations and authorities:

• at the place of work/service - for working applicants;
• to the employment center - for representatives who receive unemployment benefits;
• FSS (or social insurance) - for unemployed citizens;
• to the Department of Social Protection of the Population - to unemployed notaries and entrepreneurs.

Note! Mothers who are insured against temporary disability in the Social Insurance Fund receive payments from an extra-budgetary fund. Other applicants are paid from federal savings.

How long can the period of incapacity last?

Duration of sick leave according to the BiR - the moment that is given Special attention. This issue is regulated by the articles of the law on compulsory insurance for the period of disability/maternity (Article 10), the provisions of the act on state benefits for children with children (Article 7), and the provisions of the Labor Code (Article 255).

It is immediately worth noting that maternity leave is provided to a woman to prepare for the birth of a baby, for immediate childbirth and restoration of health. A factor such as a difficult birth may serve as a factor for increasing the standard amount of payments. When determining the amount, the following are taken into account:

• General medical indications. In the hospital, doctors must take into account the physiological characteristics of the patient and the natural timing of pregnancy.
• Special moments of a particular pregnancy (single/multiple pregnancy).
• The need for special preparation before childbirth. The norm applies to women living in the resettlement zone, including due to radioactive contamination.
• Difficulty of labor. It is believed that the more difficult the birth was, the longer the patient’s recovery will take.

Let's consider the main points regarding the terms that are taken into account when determining the period of incapacity for work:

• 140 (70/70) for natural birth;
• 156 – complicated/premature birth (7/86 and 156, respectively);
• 194 – multiple pregnancy (84/110, if the fact is established in advance and 7/124, if multiple pregnancy is detected during the birth process).

The first figure is the total number of vacations.

Indicators x/x – the period before and after childbirth.

Reducing the statutory payment period is not permitted. An exception may be when a woman continues to work. If she opened a sick leave, but goes back to work, they will pay her for the entire period minus the hours worked.

The applicant must make a choice in favor of salary or maternity benefits. From the moment the employee ceases to perform her job duties, marks will begin to be placed on the time sheet indicating that the employee is on maternity leave. With this scheme, all days covered by sick leave are paid.

A woman can still work if the certificate of incapacity for work is opened, for example, at the end of the year. If the applicant needs to include the entire month in the billing period, then she can delay going on vacation.

Note! If an employee has worked part-time at two enterprises for 2 or more years, then both employers are obligated to pay her sick leave.

It must be determined that the period for assigning the amount for sick leave should not exceed 10 days from the date the employer accepted the application. Payment is made within the specified time frame if the applicant has provided the entire package of documents.

At the same time, the deadline for direct payment of such compensation should not be later than the next payment of wages in the organization. In a situation where the woman has not initiated another method of paying money, the funds will be transferred (paid) to her in the standard way for issuing salary.

Exception! For unemployed applicants, the due compensation is paid no later than the 26th day of the month following the period for receiving a set of documents.

The law establishes a three-year period for receiving benefits. If a woman has not received the money that was assigned to her at the time, then she can use any moment from the stipulated period to receive funds.

According to the law, the Social Insurance Fund is obliged to return funds to the employer no later than 10 days after the end of the desk audit (lasts 3 months).

Important point! Maternity benefit is a type of tax-free payment. Personal income tax and insurance premiums are not charged on the calculated amount. For confirmation of this situation, you need to refer to Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Federal Law No. 212 of July 24, 2009