And home visits against false sick leave; They are asking for changes in laws and procedures to prevent abuses

The Employers' Union proposed to the Government that, in order to reduce false sick leave, through changes in laws and procedures, among other things, stricter surprise controls of employees who are suspected of abuse of sick leave should be applied. They also requested a reduction of the period in which the salary compensation for an employee on sick leave is borne by the employer without the right to a refund, which is currently the longest in the region and lasts 60 days.

This was stated by "News" from this organization when asked whether they are satisfied with the current measures against fake sick leave, and whether they think it is necessary to change the legal regulations or collective agreements in order to prevent these abuses.

The measures of stricter sick leave control since the beginning of the year and the work of the new third National Commission for sick leave control, which was formed in March, have yielded results as a decrease in suspicious sick leave has been recorded, both the Health Insurance Fund and the Union of Employers, which participates in to the work of the National Commission.

At the end of last year, at a meeting of employers with the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić in the Chamber of Commerce, among the biggest business barriers was the problem of fake sick leave, that Montenegro is the record holder for the number of sick leave in Europe, and that every month about 15 percent of the total number of workers are on sick leave. Then it was announced that stricter rules would be introduced, as well as the formation of a third National Commission to supervise the others.

The cost of compensation for an employee on sick leave for a period of up to 60 days is borne by the employer, and if the sick leave lasts beyond that period, the employer has the right to a refund from the Health Insurance Fund. For employees in the private sector, compensation during sick leave is 70 percent of salary, and in public administration it is 90 percent of salary. In 2022, six million euros were paid from the state Health Fund for sick leave benefits, and officially over a million working days were lost due to sick leave.

"Amendment of laws and by-laws is a key prerequisite for fundamentally solving the problem of abuse of sick leave, since the regulations (due to ambiguity, insufficient regulation, etc.) are very often allies of a kind to those employees who are prone to this type of abuse. In this sense, we emphasize that the UPCG has already presented its view of the current situation to the decision-makers and proposed concrete solutions aimed at neutralizing the mentioned phenomenon, but also protecting employers if abuses occur. Among other things, we proposed stricter (sudden) controls on employees who are suspected of engaging in abuses, as well as reducing the period in which the wage compensation is borne by the employer without the right to a refund, which is currently the longest in the region (60 days)," they stated. from the Union of Employers.

This organization says that based on what it receives through regular communication with its membership, they get the impression that the recently formed National Commission for Sick Leave Control and the announced activities have resulted in a slight reduction in the practice of sick leave abuse.

"In order for this effect not to be temporary, the UPCG will continue to actively contribute to the work of the Commission, aware that the initiated process represents only the first step on the way to solving this long-standing, systemic problem that has a negative impact on employers, but no less on employees and the state," they said. are "News" from UPCG.

In response to the questions of "Vijesti" about the payment of sick leave benefits since the beginning of the year, the Health Fund said that from the beginning of January to the end of May, they paid 3.697.404,07 euros for sick leave reimbursement, and that in the same period last year that figure was 1.762.130,92 euros, but that these payments due to last year's budget problems do not show the real ratio.

"The less paid amount of funds in 2023 is a consequence of the limited budget in the first half of the year, which was defined by the monthly spending plan. When it comes to specific figures, it is still too early to talk about the effects of the controls, given that only a few months have passed. Therefore, we will only be able to do an evaluation in 2025 and determine what the results are. According to our internal indicators, the effects are already visible, but we cannot go public with the official position and concrete figures yet", the Health Fund told "Vijesta".

Education of healthcare workers and changes in the law

The Health Care Fund states that in order to prevent the abuse of sick leave, it is necessary to amend the law, as well as to educate health workers, which will soon begin.

"In the coming period, in addition to the controls themselves, the focus will also be on the education of healthcare workers, in order to further improve the processes themselves. As the work on amendments to the Law on Mandatory Health Insurance is underway, additional improvement of the regulations should certainly be considered, which the public will be informed about in a timely manner," said the institution.