Compensations for temporary incapacity for work
The doctor will draw up an electronic certificate of incapacity for work for you for the period of leave and send it to the database of the Health Insurance Fund. If your doctor terminates your certificate of incapacity for work, please inform your employer!
In order for the Health Insurance Fund to assign and pay benefits on the basis of the certificate of incapacity for work, the employer must submit the details of the certificate of incapacity for work completed by the doctor to the Health Insurance Fund electronically via the state portal www.eesti.ee. Once the employer has sent the information to the Health Insurance Fund and the information on the certificate of incapacity for work does not need to be specified, the benefit will be paid into your current account within a few working days.https://www.eesti.ee/eraisik/en/artikkel/health-and-care/health-and-medical-care/temporary-incapacity-for-work#benefits-for-temporary-incapacity-for-work
You can find information about your certificates of incapacity for work on the state portal www.eesti.ee under ‘Certificates of temporary incapacity for work’.
Incapacity for work is reimbursed up to the date of return to work shown on the certificate of temporary incapacity for work, but no more than
- 182 consecutive calendar days or
- 240 consecutive calendar days for tuberculosis.
The doctor can also issue a certificate of incapacity for work for a longer period. In that case, the certificate of incapacity for work proves the absence from work. No benefits are paid for this period.
For self-employed persons, the Health Insurance Fund pays the sickness benefit from the ninth day of absence from work. No sickness benefit is paid to self-employed persons for the first eight days of their leave.
In accordance with the Employment Contracts Act, an employee has the right to interrupt, postpone, or terminate prematurely a holiday due to significant reasons arising from the employee.
The employee has the right to claim the unused part of the holiday immediately after the impediment to using the holiday ceases to exist or, by agreement of the parties, at another time. The employee must notify the employer of an impediment to using the leave at the first opportunity.
If the employee does not interrupt their leave, they are not entitled to the benefit for incapacity for work.
In the event of sickness or injury, the certificate of incapacity for work is issued to the employee based on calendar days and is granted from the day on which the employee is unable to carry out their duties.
The certificate of incapacity for work may be opened retroactively (also starting on a holiday or public holiday) if an insured person falls ill or needs care or nursing care on a weekend, a national holiday, or a public holiday and the person informs the healthcare professional by telecommunication or by coming to the appointment on the working day immediately following the day on which the insured person falls ill, and if the insured person’s illness is recorded in the health information system.
The benefit for temporary incapacity for work is calculated on the basis of income taxed with social tax. The payable benefit is calculated based on the social tax for the previous calendar year, the data for which is available to the Health Insurance Fund from the Tax and Customs Board.
In accordance with subsection 55 (1) of the Health Insurance Act, when calculating the benefit for incapacity for work, doctoral student benefits, the parental benefit, and other benefits paid by the rural municipality, city, or artistic association and the social tax paid on them are not taken into account.
To obtain the amount of the benefit, the rate of the benefit is calculated from the employee’s average earnings per calendar day and multiplied by the number of days to be reimbursed. Income tax is withheld from the benefit.
The procedure for paying the benefit for temporary incapacity for work depends on the type of certificate for incapacity for work and the reason for it. For more details on the procedures for awarding and paying the benefit, see the page on benefits.
If there was no income subject to social tax in the previous calendar year, the benefit is calculated on the basis of the salary agreed with the person concerned and the minimum wage. More information on this can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.
The Health Insurance Fund pays the benefit for temporary incapacity for work within 30 calendar days of the date on which the employer of the insured person has made the correct entries on the electronic certificate of incapacity for work or on which the additional paper documents have been received by the Health Insurance Fund.
The employer must pay the sickness benefit on pay day, but no later than 30 calendar days after the doctor has closed the sick leave, duly completed in the state portal eesti.ee.
Yes, it can. It is possible to change the name and bank account details of the beneficiary
- via the service ‘Account number and personal data in the Health Insurance Fund’ on the state portal eesti.ee;
- by sending a digitally signed application to info [at] tervisekassa.ee.
The certificate of incapacity for work and subsequent certificates that were issued during the period of employment are paid by the Health Insurance Fund, even if the employment relationship ends in the meantime.
Submit the paper certificate from the foreign doctor to your employer, who will forward it to the Health Insurance Fund together with the necessary supporting documents. If you need incapacity for work for a longer period than the end date specified on the foreign doctor’s certificate, contact your family physician within five days after the end date stated on the certificate. Your family physician will be able to issue you with a medical certificate after the certificate issued by the foreign doctor has been entered by the Health Insurance Fund as the primary medical certificate in the database of the Health Insurance Fund.
For an insurance company in another EU Member State to pay sickness benefits to a person who has received treatment in Estonia, the doctor must complete the document ‘Medical report’.
The doctor has to print out the document, sign it, and give it to the person. The person applies to their employer or the institution paying the benefits in their state of insurance with this document.
It is also allowed for the person to forward the original document together with the application (‘Application for the benefit for incapacity for work in an EU Member State’ at tervisekassa.ee/partner/avaldused-partnerile) to the Health Insurance Fund and for the Health Insurance Fund to forward it to the foreign insurance institution.
To settle labour disputes, you should contact the Labour Inspectorate. You can also turn to a court.
The Health Insurance Fund will reimburse the difference between the pregnant person’s salary and the salary before the transfer to lighter work. For more details, see this link.
Starting from the second day of the certificate for sick leave, the Health Insurance Fund pays a benefit of 70% of the salary before the start of the initial certificate for sick leave.
In the case of lighter work, the Health Insurance Fund will compensate the difference in salary compared to the salary before the transfer to lighter work.
If other employers cannot offer lighter work, the pregnant person is released from work. In such cases, the Health
Insurance Fund will then pay a benefit from the second day of the certificate for sick leave at 70% of the salary paid by the employer before the initial certificate for sick leave started.
The benefits are added together and paid as a lump sum.
The Health Insurance Fund will calculate the pay for one calendar day on the basis of the previous monthly salary.
The next step is to calculate the pay for one calendar day on the basis of the salary for the adapted work.
The Health Insurance Fund calculates the difference in pay per day and multiplies it by the number of days of sick leave.
The Health Insurance Fund will reimburse the difference in pay for up to a maximum of 122 days and up to 50% of the salary before sick leave. The employer must provide the rest.
In the case of an adapted job, the Health Insurance Fund will compensate the difference in pay compared to the pay before the adaptation.
If the other employer cannot provide adapted work, the person will continue to be on sick leave there. The Health Insurance Fund pays a benefit of 70% of the previous salary starting from the second day of sick leave.
The employer provides the data.
Health insurance benefits are added together and paid out as a lump sum.
No. The law does not provide such a possibility.