Do I get paid when I am off work on a medical certificate?
Yes — but not 100%, and not always from the same pocket. For the first 14 days, which social insurance does not cover, the employer pays no less than 80% of your wage. From day 15 it shifts to social insurance: 70% of the daily average of the net assessed base over the last 6 months if you have up to 10 years of insurance, and 80% if you have more than 10. The benefit runs for up to 6 months. The myth that disappoints most people: “a medical certificate means full pay from day one”. It does not. The legal minimum is 80% for the first fortnight, and after that the figure depends on your insurance seniority and on the net base — not on last month's gross salary.
📋 The rules
- Temporary incapacity for work must be proved by a medical certificate.
- For the first 14 days, not covered by social insurance, the employer pays no less than 80% of the wage.
- From day 15, social insurance pays 70% of the daily average of the net assessed base over the last 6 months, where the person has up to 10 years of insurance.
- Where the person has more than 10 years of insurance, the rate is 80% of that same 6-month base.
- The benefit runs for up to 6 months and may exceptionally be extended by a further 3 months, where the KMCAP assesses that the person will recover.
🔓 Exceptions
- Where the insured person is hospitalised and has no dependants, the insurance benefit is 50% of the 6-month net average base.
- For seasonal or temporary workers with at least 3 months of employment in the last 12, the benefit runs for up to 75 days.
- A work accident or occupational disease does not follow the 70/80% rates; it is handled by the separate accident insurance branch.
⚠️ Penalties & fines
This is a right rather than a duty, so the consequence is measured in what you lose. Without a medical certificate, the absence can be treated as unjustified, with everything that follows for the employment relationship. On the other side, unjustifiably refusing a medical verification can strip the employee of their rights against the employer: refuse the check the law provides for and you may forfeit the payment itself. The verifying doctor, for their part, must keep medical confidentiality and state only fitness or unfitness for work — never your diagnosis.
📎 Official sources
- QBZ · Labour Code and Law no. 7703 on social insurance (official register) →
- ISSH · official site of the Social Insurance Institute →
- State Labour Inspectorate · official site →
❓ Frequently asked
Who pays for the first 14 days?
The employer pays them, at no less than 80% of your wage. Those 14 days are not covered by social insurance, so the burden falls entirely on the employer and cannot be shifted to the ISSH.
Why did I receive less than expected from day 15?
Because the calculation runs on the daily average of the net assessed base over the last 6 months, not on gross pay. The rate is 70% up to 10 years of insurance and 80% above that.
How long can the sick leave benefit last?
The temporary incapacity benefit runs for up to 6 months. Exceptionally it can be extended by a further 3 months, where the KMCAP assesses that the person will recover within that period.
I was hospitalised. Does the amount change?
Yes, hospitalisation changes the calculation. Where the insured person is in hospital and has no dependants, the benefit drops to 50% of the net average base of the last 6 months, below the usual rate.
Does the same rate apply to a work accident?
No, they fall under a different regime altogether. A work accident and an occupational disease do not follow the 70/80% rates, because the separate accident insurance branch pays 100% of the net base.
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