Several former directors and heads of sectors in "Plantaže" almost simultaneously opened several months of sick leave after being reassigned to other workplaces, which is why the company's management turned to the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Fund and requested a review of the reports of the medical commissions, a check of the procedures that preceded the determination temporary inability to work as well as the actual health capabilities of these persons, "Vijesti" learns.
"Plantaže" also submitted an initiative to the Directorate for Inspection Affairs - Department for Health and Sanitary Inspection, to carry out inspection supervision in the Podgorica Health Center and the Health Insurance Fund, in connection with disputed sick leave.
After the previous executive director of the company was dismissed at the end of October Miroslav Vuković, and was appointed as an acting official Zoran Miladinović, most of the members of the previous management, who were then dismissed and reassigned to other jobs, suddenly fell ill and started sick leave almost at the same time. Most of them are still on sick leave, for over four months, so they have not spent a single day in their new workplaces.
The applications request, among other things, sick leave checks for former executive director Vuković, former director of the Technical Maintenance Sector Sava Perišić, former director of the Department for Legal and General Affairs Denis Glogic, former head of quality control Svetozar Savić... According to the same information, the former executive director was also on sick leave until a few days ago Verica Marash, which then started using annual leave.
They got sick after the shift
What was symptomatic of the current one, and for which they requested checks, is the fact that these persons submitted the reports of the selected doctors, who determined that they were temporarily unable to work, to the employer immediately after they were assigned to other jobs by signing the annex to the employment contract which imply a lower coefficient for the calculation of earnings, or immediately before the submission of such an annex.
All disputed sick leaves were opened, as stated, 15 days apart, which is why the company suspects that in most of these cases it is an abuse of the right of employees to be temporarily prevented from working, as well as a possible violation of regulations and standards of the selected medicines, and individuals in competent medical commissions.
The reason for the possible misuse of sick leave, according to the company, is the intention to preserve the amount of personal income that they had before the shift and which amounted to 1.200 to 2.000 euros, because during the duration of the paid leave they will receive salary compensation in relation to the average salary they earned before going on sick leave.
It is also disputed that several former managers were appointed to these positions a few days before the dismissal of Vuković, and immediately after that they went on sick leave.
There will be other measures against abuses
Due to all of the above, the management of "Plantaž" turned to the Ministry of Health, the Health Insurance Fund and the Directorate for Inspection Affairs for checks on disputed sick leave.
The company announced that in the coming period they plan to take other legal actions and procedures, which they have at their disposal as an employer, in order to check whether it is fake sick leave and to sanction those responsible in case the suspicions are confirmed.
"If the employer's suspicion is proven, it will only further confirm the non-solidarity and non-domestic attitude of part of the former management towards the interests of the company and society in general, since such actions cause damage to the company, which, in addition to being obliged to pay salary compensation for up to 60 days, it is also forced to hire other employees in order to perform the tasks in which these persons are employed, which in the otherwise difficult business conditions represents a significant problem for the company. We believe that it is in the mutual interest of both the state and all employers to put an end to such abuses, and for the responsible persons to be adequately sanctioned, which is why we expect immediate reactions from the authorities we contacted regarding this problem," the company told "News" on the occasion information about submitted initiatives for checking sick leave abuses.
Some have been sick for eight years, healthy only when they take a vacation
"Plantaže" also approached the competent institutions for sick leave checks due to the reports of the competent medical commissions, which established a temporary inability to work that lasts continuously or with minor interruptions for several years, for some employees up to eight years. They request that in these cases as well, the existence of possible abuse of this right be investigated.
"The employer decided to take this step both because of the length of time of the established temporary incapacity for work, and because of the fact that the reports submitted by these employees very often list several completely different diagnoses in a very short time interval, as well as because of the practice of employees to interrupt sick leave days of annual leave, and then reopen sick leave with a completely different diagnosis", according to "Plantaža".
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