The public discussion on e-Sick Leave is in progress

In the premises of NALED, in cooperation with the Office for IT and eGovernment, the first of four round tables was held as part of the public debate on the Draft Law on the exchange of data, documents and notifications in case of temporary incapacity for work using the "e-Sick Leave - employer" system. The public debate is open until October 1, and the implementation of the Law is expected to begin at the beginning of next year.

The proposer of the Law is the Office for IT and eGovernment, and the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs and the Republic Fund for Health Insurance participated in the drafting, while the recommendation is also in the Gray Book of NALED as one of the priorities of the economy.

The key improvements relate to the realization of rights and the payment of salary compensation during temporary incapacity for work, whereby the digitization of these procedures replaces paper documents with electronic ones and thus eliminates the need for their physical delivery, reduces the number of visits to the chosen doctor and administrative costs.

According to Nikola Radoman, digitalization advisor at the Ministry of Health, the way the new solution works relies on application through the eAdministration portal using qualified electronic certificates. Businesses that are already registered on the portal, in addition to their existing account, also get the opportunity to use the new "e-Sick Čeave - Employer" system, while for those who are not yet in the system, simple and free registration is possible.

- After registration, authorized users have access to the list of open sick days of employees in their organization, without displaying the diagnosis or other sensitive health data, which is provided only if the employee himself requests it from the selected doctor. The selected doctor enters the date of the expected duration of sick leave into the system, which closes when that date arrives, and remittances are automatically forwarded to the employer. In the case of the need for an extension, the patient is obliged to report to the selected doctor, who, after checking through the system, can make the necessary changes - explained Radoman.

In accordance with the current regulations, employees must notify the employer of the opening of sick leave within three days, by delivering a certificate of temporary incapacity for work, while the new law will introduce the obligation to electronically send certificates and remittances directly from the selected doctor to the employer.

Through the new software solution, the employer electronically sends requests for the calculation of employee salary compensation to the RFZO, when it falls on the Fund, and in return receives the calculation on the basis of which the payment is made. The employer also has the option of submitting an objection to the evaluation of the selected doctor and the first-level medical commission, as well as to request a re-evaluation or expert evaluation of the temporary inability to work.

- The goal of this law is to speed up and simplify the process of exercising rights from health insurance and the Labor Law and to ensure reliable and transparent data exchange between doctors, employers and RFZO. The system enables the display and download of electronic receipts and remittances and the submission of requests for the calculation of wage compensation, which significantly reduces the administrative burden on the economy, and citizens who are on sick leave no longer carry documentation between the counter and employers - said Jelena Bojović, a member of the working group for the drafting of the Law.

This system will also enable the creation of internal reports that will facilitate work planning for employers, by providing an overview of all sick leave, as well as information on whether sick leave is paid by the employer or the RFZO, in which branches, health centers and with which selected doctors the sick leave is open. Access to the system is organized through several clearly defined roles. The basic role is "legal representative", who can grant further access to review sick leave, work with sick leave or work with calculations.