Veterans Will Not Lose the Right to Full Sick Leave Due to Prolonged Rehabilitation and Treatment

After returning from the front, many veterans face not only issues of rehabilitation and employment but also bureaucratic restrictions when receiving sick leave. At the same time, workers injured at work often have to wait months for the completion of the accident investigation, remaining without proper payments.

In Ukraine, it is proposed to change these rules: war veterans are planned to be given easier access to full sick leave, and those injured at work will be guaranteed payments even before all checks are completed. The relevant bill has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

The new legislative initiative provides for strengthening the social protection of war veterans and workers injured as a result of industrial accidents.

How the rules for paying sick leave to war veterans are proposed to be changed

The purpose of the bill is to strengthen social protection for insured persons who were employed after being discharged from military service and have the status of combatants or persons with disabilities due to the war, as well as workers injured in industrial accidents.

Currently, the Law "On Compulsory State Social Insurance" guarantees war veterans temporary disability benefits amounting to 100% of the average salary. At the same time, there is another restriction: if the insured person's insurance experience during the 12 months before the insured event is less than six months, the payment amount is limited to the sum calculated from the minimum wage. Because of this, veterans who underwent treatment, rehabilitation, or did not work for a long time after demobilization effectively cannot receive the full amount of sick leave benefits.

To eliminate this problem, the government proposes to establish a separate approach for combatants and persons with disabilities due to the war.

What conditions are proposed for veterans

The bill provides that:

• for most insured persons, the current requirement of at least six months of insurance experience within the last 12 months will remain;
• for combatants and persons with disabilities due to the war, such experience is proposed to be counted over a longer period — the last 24 months;
• if a veteran has at least six months of insurance experience over the last two years, temporary disability benefits will be paid without limitation by the amount calculated from the minimum wage.

This will allow extending the period of absence of insurance experience by one year for persons who underwent treatment, rehabilitation, or rest after military service, without losing the right to full insurance payments.

Sick leave after an industrial accident will be paid before the investigation is completed

Another important innovation concerns workers injured as a result of industrial accidents.

Currently, the basis for insurance payments is the investigation report of the accident or occupational disease. At the same time, such an investigation can last several months, especially under martial law conditions. Because of this, injured workers may remain without payments during the investigation period and effectively lose their only source of income.

To solve this problem, the bill proposes to allow temporary disability benefits to be provided before the investigation of the industrial accident is completed — based on the disability certificate.

How the new mechanism will work

According to the proposed changes:

• until the investigation of the industrial accident is completed, sick leave will be paid according to the general social insurance rules;
• the employer at the enterprise where the accident occurred will pay the first 17 days of temporary disability at their own expense;
• after the investigation is completed, a necessary recalculation will be made;
• if the accident is officially confirmed, the employee will be provided with payment up to 100% of the average salary regardless of insurance experience;
• the Pension Fund, through an authorized body, will finance the corresponding compensations to the employer for further transfer to the employee;
• if the investigation does not confirm the industrial nature of the accident, the Pension Fund will reimburse the employer for the payments made for the period from the sixth to the seventeenth day of disability.

No additional budget expenditures are foreseen

The government notes that the implementation of the bill will not require additional expenditures from the state or local budgets. Financing will be carried out within the funds of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

The project was also agreed upon without remarks by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of trade unions, employers, and public organizations of persons with disabilities.

When the changes may come into force

Bill No. 15324 provides that the new rules will come into force three months after the official publication of the law. After that, the Cabinet of Ministers will have another three months to bring subordinate acts into compliance with the new norms.

Thus, the government proposes to simultaneously solve two problems: ensure war veterans access to full sick leave after returning to civilian life and guarantee workers temporary disability benefits even when the investigation of an industrial accident is still ongoing.

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