Fund determined to prevent fake sick leave; Nikolić: Controls intensified

The Health Insurance Fund is determined to prevent false sick leave, which is especially prevalent during the summer months.

Assistant Director of the Health Fund, Radovan Nikolić, says for Boje jutra, a morning program on Vijesti Television, that they have intensified controls and if an employee engages in other work or leaves their place of residence during their temporary absence from work, such sick leave will be canceled.

"We are monitoring the number of cases that appear before the commissions and we detected that it is about 30 percent higher than in the months before the summer. This was a clear signal to increase activities and introduce daily controls," Nikolić pointed out.

He adds that the most common diagnoses for which sick leave is taken are psychiatric, neurological, and orthopedic.

"Somehow there's a belief that it's difficult to control, but it's actually not. It's easy to determine if something is based on medical criteria," he states.

According to Nikolić, it has been observed that sick leave is most often taken by employees in the public sector.

"Based on the controls we have conducted, we see that the dominant number of insured persons is from the public sector. The belief that state work is a good basis for abuse must change. A strong state sector means a strong system, and this directly affects the quality of life of citizens," says Nikolić.

He emphasizes that controls will continue as long as there is a need and as long as parameters indicate an increased number of sick leaves.