5 Easy Steps to Get a Sick Leave Certificate Using Your Health Insurance.

Although a sick leave certificate is a throwback to the past, your employer is not entitled to get back the money from the Social Security Fund for the sick leave compensation paid to you. Besides, it verifies your excuse for being absent from work, especially if you were sick for a long time.

Here are some steps you can  take to avoid problems with getting a sick leave certificate if you have health insurance.

Step # 1. Find out whether the medical institution, which services you are planning to use, is licensed to issue sick leave certificates.

When contacting the relevant call-center, make sure to let your assistance coordinator know that you will require a sick leave certificate as well. Not all private medical institutions in Ukraine are licensed to issue them, though. That is why it is better to clear up this issue  from the very beginning so as not to be disappointed in the future.

Step # 2. Inquire if your sick leave certificate can be delivered to your office or home.

It’s  common practice for employees coming back to work after being ill to visit the doctor again to complete the sick leave process which is both inconvenient and time consuming. Your health insurance policy might stipulate that  certificates can be delivered to the address of your choice. Make sure to clear up this issue in advance.

Step # 3. Ask whether or not your clinic can issue sick a leave certificate on a week-end if you work in shifts.

There are only 5 medical institutions in Kiev which have a right to issue sick leave certificates on week-ends. If you fell ill on a Saturday, remember to request your case be assigned to one of the following clinics: “Adonis”, “Health Harmony”. “VNL (Faith Hope and Charity)”, “Stolitsa”, “Dobrobut”.

Step # 4. Request an additional consultation if your doctor has  determined to complete your sick leave but you are still unwell.

Only a doctor can make a decision regarding the completion of sick leave. Neither an insurance company nor insurance broker together with your HR can influence this decision. Doctors are the ones who are soley  responsible for this decision and  the course of your treatment. So in the case of a  doctor  intending  to send you back to work but  you still feel sick, ask for your insurance company’s assistance to arrange for an alternative consultation.

Step # 5. Use private medical institutions’ services if you are not registered for residence in Kyiv.

Private clinics licensed to issue sick leave certificates are entitled to write them out for patients who do not have residential registration in Kyiv. If you plan to get assistance from a public clinic, you might come across some difficulties. At the very least you will have to obtain permission from the chief doctor for using the clinic’s services. You can also be treated in a private clinic but have a public clinic according to your place of residence issue a sick leave certificate. That is not  a very convenient, but a quite frequent scenario.

To sum it up, all you need to do when contacting your insurer’s assistance is to notify them of the necessity in  getting a sick leave certificate, mention the absence of residential registration (if any), and find out whether or not the clinic you will go to is licensed to issue the certificate  in question.