A New Approach to Sick Leave: How Benefits Will Change in Ukraine Starting April 1
30 March 06:12
In Ukraine, a sick leave certificate is part of the social insurance system that allows employees to temporarily stop working due to health reasons while receiving financial compensation. In recent years, thanks to digital technologies, the process of obtaining and paying for sick leave has become simpler, but questions regarding calculations and payments still arise from time to time.
Let’s take a look at how sick leave is paid, how many days it is typically issued for, and whether you can check its status from home, writes "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to UNIAN.
How long is sick leave issued for in Ukraine—who is eligible for it
Sick leave, or a “certificate of incapacity for work,” is an official document confirming temporary incapacity for work due to illness, injury, pregnancy, or the need to care for a family member. It is issued by a doctor following an examination, and since 2021, it has primarily been processed electronically.
According to Article 22 of the Law “On Compulsory State Social Insurance,” insured persons—that is, employees for whom social contributions are paid—are entitled to sick leave. However, the duration of sick leave in Ukraine depends on the specific circumstances. It is usually issued for up to 5 days and can then be extended to 30 days following a follow-up examination.
Without a decision from a medical commission, it can last up to 120 consecutive days, and in complex cases—even longer. At the same time, the number of sick leaves per year is not limited, although prolonged cases are thoroughly reviewed by medical commissions.
Regarding how to obtain a sick leave certificate online, Ukraine (i.e., the Ukrainian government) offers a special electronic system—e-Health. However, to use it, you must first, of course, consult a doctor or a specialist. After the examination, the doctor issues an electronic medical report, based on which an electronic sick leave form is automatically generated in the system. Nothing else is required of you—the entire process is automated.
How sick leave is paid in Ukraine – verification via e-Health
The amount of benefits depends on the person’s average earnings and length of insurance coverage. The calculation is performed as follows: the average daily wage is multiplied by a payment percentage based on the length of service (ranging from 50% for short-term coverage to 100% for long-term coverage) and by the number of sick days. The average daily earnings are calculated based on income from the last 12 months prior to the illness, taking into account only those payments from which insurance contributions were made.
It is worth noting that the first 5 days of sick leave are paid by the employer, and starting from the 6th day—by the Pension Fund of Ukraine.
Additionally, starting January 1, 2026, new payment limits were introduced due to the increase in the minimum wage, which, in turn, affects the minimum and maximum benefit amounts.
How many days does it take to receive sick leave pay in Ukraine
After the sick leave is closed, it is not paid immediately: first, the document undergoes automatic processing in the e-Health system and receives the status “ready for payment,” which usually takes about 7 days. Then, the employer must process the documents within 10 business days and submit them to the Pension Fund, after which the PFU transfers the funds. In general, the entire procedure usually takes one to three weeks.
The paperwork can indeed take a while, whereas Ukraine allows you to check your sick leave quickly and directly from home. An employee can check the status of their sick leave through their personal account on the PFU’s e-services portal or via the “Diya” app, which will show the current stage of processing and payment.
However, how sick leave is calculated in Ukraine largely depends on the procedure used by the specific employer. This usually happens in stages: first, the employer pays for the initial days of incapacity and submits a calculation to the PFU, after which the fund transfers the remaining amount. The funds from the PFU are either sent to the employer (to be subsequently paid to the employee along with their salary) or directly to the insured person’s bank account.
How sick leave will change in Ukraine in April – what the new law says
On April 1, Law No. 4683-IX will come into effect, expanding the Pension Fund of Ukraine’s (PFU) authority. The Pension Fund will now have the right to verify the validity of sick leave certificates and ensure the accuracy of payments.
Thus, if a sick leave certificate is deemed unjustified, PFU authorities will be able not only to suspend payments but also to demand the return of funds already received. In this case, compensation for losses may be sought from medical institutions and doctors, as well as from other individuals.
In addition, the law will grant employers, the Pension Fund of Ukraine, and the e-Health system access to sick leave certificates—we previously wrote about how to view them. In other words, digital data exchange among all participants in the process will be expanded, which will help identify violations more quickly and minimize abuse.
