The lawyer spoke about the rights of employees during long-term treatment

A serious illness often aggravates relations with an employer: patients on long-term treatment face pressure, threats of dismissal, or demands to "resolve the issue amicably." At the same time, labor legislation in such situations is most often on the side of the employee if he knows his rights and acts consistently. On February 7, Andrey Chiruk, head of the legal department and GR of the Oncologica Charitable Foundation, told Izvestia about how long-term treatment changes the rules of labor disputes and what guarantees the law provides.

According to the expert, the key protection for a sick employee is fixed in Part 6 of Article 81 of the Labor Code.

"An employee cannot be dismissed on the initiative of the employer during the period of temporary disability. As long as the sick leave is open, it cannot be reduced, dismissed for absenteeism or non-compliance with the position. Any dismissal issued during this period is highly likely to be declared illegal by the court. The only exception is the liquidation of the organization," Chiruk said.

The lawyer draws attention to the fact that even the moment of opening a sick leave may be important. If the employee first signed the dismissal order, and only after that sought medical help, it will be more difficult to prove the illegality of termination of the contract. Therefore, if you feel unwell and there is a parallel conflict at work, it is important to register the fact of disability in a timely manner and notify the employer.

"Now sick leave is processed electronically, and the employee's task is to make sure that the list is open from the first day of illness, and information about it is communicated to the employer in any fixed way," the expert explained.

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Procedural deadlines also become an additional guarantee. In labor disputes, they are quite short, but the courts recognize long-term treatment as a valid reason for skipping them. If a person was in a hospital or was undergoing serious outpatient treatment and could not go to court in a timely manner, the term will be restored. This is a stable judicial practice, Chiruk stressed.

Even in situations where treatment is delayed and an employee is referred for a medical and social examination, the establishment of disability in itself does not mean automatic dismissal. The employer is obliged to offer a job that is not contraindicated for health reasons, and if the transfer is not possible, the contract is terminated without the employee's fault and with the payment of severance pay. At the same time, the individual rehabilitation program is advisory in nature, and the employee has the right to fully or partially refuse to implement it.

As the expert noted, prolonged illness is not considered a violation of labor discipline.

"The law proceeds from the presumption of employee protection, but on one condition: he acts in good faith, does not hide sick leave and maintains contact with the employer. This allows you to save your workplace and focus on the main thing — treatment and recovery," Chiruk concluded.

On February 4, RANEPA expert Tatiana Podolskaya warned of a possible salary reduction in January due to sick leave. She explained that this month, with a five-day working week, there are only 15 working days, so the amount of pay for each day worked for employees on salary is higher than in most other months of the year, as well as higher than the average level for the previous two years.

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