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Sick leave and insurance

The business owner should provide the sick labourers with the necessary medical care as the labour law 91/1959 stipulates obliging the business owner to compensate the labourer’s wage during his sick leave. After issuance of law of social insurance 63/1964, this responsibility is transferred to the social insurance institution. Then the implementation of health insurance (insurance of sickness) comprises different cases of sickness in addition to pregnancy and getting birth. The articles of law of labourers working in the public sector 48/1987 gives the labourer the right in (paid) three-month sick leave per three years. But the article no. 54 of the new labour law 12/2003 deprecates this right that it stipulates, “the labourer that proves his sickness has the right in sick leave determined by the specialized medical department through which he receives a compensation for his wage according to the criterions of social insurance law”.
The article excepts sick labourers in the industrial entities (organized by articles (1-8) of law 21/1958) concerning the right in a full-wage paid sick leave for one month per three years (10 days/year), eight month leave (75% of the wage) and finally three month more with no wage if the specialized medical department decides the probability of his cure. About labourers out of these entities, articles (from 78 to 82) of law 79/1975 organize their sick leaves.
If the “insured” labourers’ sickness hinders him to continue working, the specialized institution will be responsible for paying a compensation for the labourer’s wage (75% if the subscriptions are paid for ninety days and 85% if it is more) during his sickness. The compensation is paid along his sickness, his total incapacity, or death (for not more than three months). There are some remarks concerning this provision as follows:
- The labourer’s difficulty to prove that his leave is because of his sickness.
- The duration of sick leave is 180 days throughout the year divided into two periods.
Dear my brother … sister:
How could we prove sickness?
First; if the labourer gets sick during work hours, he has to inform the business owner, who fills in the form (original [for the labourer] and photocopied [for the business owner] copies) specialized for the medical examination in the health insurance hospital stamped and undersigned by the business owner.
Second; if the labourer gets sick out the workplace that hinders him to go for his work, he has to inform the business owner on the same date of his leave. Consequently, the business owner fill in the form to be delivered to the physician working in the workplace.
Through the two mentioned cases, the sickness is proved by a sick certificate that comprises the diagnosis and the duration of the necessary sick leave. This decision (applied for labourers submitted to the health insurance) is obligatory for business owner.
If the business owner is the responsible for presenting the medical care (according to the permission taken by the public institution for health insurance) or the labourer doesn’t enjoy with insurance system against sickness, the labourer has to inform the business owner, who determines the physician that examines the labourer. If the labourer goes for another physician, the business owner has no commitment to pay for the physician’s fees, costs of treatment, surgeries, medical analysis or radiology. In general, the sick leave begins with the date on which the labourer informs the business owner with his sickness. If the labourer is injured in the public road, the rules of the work injury not sick leave will be applied.
Chronic diseases:
If the labourer has a chronic disease as tuberculosis, leprosy or mental illness, he will receive a compensation estimated with his full wage during his sickness. The mentioned chronic diseases are determined according to decision of the minister of health and the minister of labour force (the ministerial decision 695/1984).
Dear my brother .. sister:
The labourer attacked by one of the chronic diseases has to apply the treatment instructions carefully that its violation gives the specialized department the right to stop paying the compensation.
Transportation allowance:
The specialized department should pay for Transportation allowance (public transportation) if the sick labourer receives a medical treatment outside the city that he lives in. if the physician decides the critical health condition of the sick labourer that doesn’t allow him to make use of the public transportation so the department should afford for expenses of private transportation. It is organized by the decision of the minister of social affairs 296/1976.
Note:
The mentioned rights are the minimum rights stipulated by insurance regulations for the sake of all labourers but if the entity that you work for provides better conditions so you have to ask for these better rights.
The department that affords the compensation:
For the previous cases, the work entity affords the compensation for labourers working in the administrative authority of the State, the public institutions, the public sector and the public works sector. About labourers working in the private sector, the public institution for social insurance pays for the labourer’s compensation. It is possible for the insurance institution to ask the business owner to pay for the compensation to be deducted from its account.
Remember my brother and sister:
The compensation for your wage is paid for both fixed and changeable wages for which the subscriptions of the social insurance are paid.
So, be careful that your insured wage is your real wage (fixed and changeable) and call us for asking about any information concerning this issue.