Sick leave in Ukraine: a step-by-step guide for HR professionals and employees

Sick leave in Ukraine in 2026 works as an electronic process in which every step follows a clear sequence. An employee receives a medical conclusion, an electronic sick leave certificate is then generated on its basis, and after that interaction begins between the employee, the employer, and the Pension Fund of Ukraine. To avoid payment delays and document errors, it is important to understand who does what at each stage.

This means that sick leave is no longer a document that has to be physically handed over. It is a process that has to be completed correctly.

In brief: how sick leave in Ukraine works today

Sick leave in Ukraine is an electronic workflow that brings together the medical system, state registers, and the employer’s internal processes. The basic logic looks like this:

• a doctor creates a medical conclusion on temporary disability in the healthcare system;
• based on it, an electronic sick leave certificate is automatically created in the Electronic Register of Sick Leave Certificates on the Pension Fund of Ukraine portal;
• the employee checks the sick leave certificate and informs the employer;
• the employer finds the sick leave certificate in the register and tracks its status;
• once the status changes to Ready for Payment, the benefit is assigned;
• the employer submits the sick leave calculation statement;
• the funds are transferred and paid to the employee.

This process is standard for most cases of temporary disability and forms the basis of the entire sick leave payment system in Ukraine.

The key thing here is not to miss a single step. Even if the sick leave certificate has already been created, the process is not finished yet: without notifying the employer, checking the status, and submitting the calculation statement, the payment will not go through.

Legal framework: what the sick leave process is based on

The sick leave process in Ukraine is based on several key documents, but for practical work it is more important to understand their logic than simply to know the wording of the laws.

The process is based on:

• the Law of Ukraine On Mandatory State Social Insurance No. 1105-XIV, as amended and effective as of January 1, 2026;
• the Procedure for the generation of sick leave certificates in the electronic register, as effective at the beginning of 2026;
• the rules governing the creation of medical conclusions in the healthcare system.

These documents define not only the legal basis, but also the practical steps: when the right to payment arises, who pays sick leave, what the deadlines for document submission are, and how funding is processed.

What this means in practice:

• sick leave has full legal force without paper;
• payment depends on the employee’s insurance record;
• submission deadlines are mandatory;
• the sick leave status determines what can be done next.

In other words, the law defines not only the right to payment, but also the sequence of actions. If that sequence is broken, delays and risks of non-payment arise.

What an electronic sick leave certificate is and how it is created

An electronic sick leave certificate is a record that is created automatically on the basis of a medical conclusion in the Electronic Register of Sick Leave Certificates.

Where to find an electronic sick leave certificate and how to check it

The employee does not receive a physical document in hand. Their task is to check that the sick leave certificate exists in their personal account on the web portal of electronic services of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. For the employer, this means the search is done through the policyholder’s account on the same portal.

How a medical conclusion differs from an electronic sick leave certificate

This point is often confused, even though the difference is fundamental for HR processes. A medical conclusion on temporary disability is created by a doctor in the electronic healthcare system.

An electronic sick leave certificate is the result of data exchange between the healthcare system and social registers, and it appears in the Electronic Register of Sick Leave Certificates. It is the electronic sick leave certificate that the employer works with, not the medical conclusion.

Why electronic sick leave is used instead of paper

The full transition to electronic sick leave happened back in 2021. This made it possible to:

• eliminate manual document handover;
• reduce the number of errors;
• speed up verification and payment;
• ensure transparency of sick leave statuses.

During martial law, there may be individual situations where a paper format is still used, but for most employees and employers, the electronic model applies.

What an employee must do after sick leave is opened

After the doctor has created the medical conclusion, the employee needs to take specific steps. This is the stage where delays happen most often.

Step by step:

1. Check the sick leave certificate in the system
If it is not there, the employer will not see it either.

2. Make sure the data is correct
Full name, identification data, employer, and dates.

3. Notify the employer
Preferably immediately after the sick leave certificate has been opened. This can be done through an internal system, a messenger app, or an official communication channel.

4. Track the status
The employee is not required to track the sick leave status, since that is the employer’s responsibility. However, if necessary, they can check it to make sure everything has been processed correctly and that the payment will not be delayed.

A sick leave certificate may have different statuses: Closed, Ready for Payment, Paid, Incorrectly Issued, or Invalid. For a standard sick leave certificate, the Ready for Payment status appears 7 days after the closing date.

5. Check the final status
For a standard sick leave certificate, the Ready for Payment status appears 7 days after the closing date.

If you see the status Incorrectly Issued or Invalid, you should contact the employer or the doctor. This usually means that the document needs to be corrected or reissued.

The main mistake employees make is failing to notify the employer, or doing so too late. This affects processing timelines and may delay payment. Another common mistake is not logging into the Pension Fund personal account to check whether the sick leave certificate was generated at all.

How quickly the employer needs to be notified

Ukrainian law does not set out one universal rule such as notify within 24 hours for every case, but from a practical standpoint this should be done as quickly as possible. Best practice is:

• on the day the sick leave certificate is opened;
• or immediately after it appears in the system.

A delay in notification is one of the most common reasons for delayed payment.

What the HR specialist or employer must do

The employer is responsible for checking the sick leave certificate, assigning the benefit, and initiating the payment process. For HR, this means controlling statuses and the accuracy of the HR side of the process. For the accountant or payroll specialist, it means calculating the amount and submitting the sick leave calculation statement. For the manager, it means making sure the responsible people do their part and reducing the risk of delays. That is why sick leave for an employer is not a single click in the register, but several consecutive actions across HR and finance functions.

The most common issue at this stage is incorrect handling of the electronic sick leave status or mistakes in the calculation statement. Another typical problem is the lack of a clear internal route between HR and accounting.

Which deadlines matter for the employer

Who pays for sick leave and for which days

Sick leave payments in Ukraine are split between the employer and the Pension Fund. The general rule is this: the employer covers the first 5 days, and from day 6 onward the Pension Fund of Ukraine provides the funding.

What the payment amount depends on

The amount of sick leave pay depends on several factors:

• the employee’s insurance record;
• the employee’s average salary;
• the reason for the disability.

The longer the insurance record, the higher the percentage of pay.

Special considerations during martial law

In 2026, electronic HR document management is in force. At the same time, certain exceptions are possible:

• if a medical institution does not have the technical ability to work with the electronic system;
• if there is no access to forms or registers;
• in difficult regional conditions where active hostilities are taking place.

In such cases, alternative scenarios may be used, but they are not the main model. For most employees and employers, the process remains electronic.

Why the Pension Fund may refuse payment or not provide funding

A refusal to fund sick leave is usually related to specific errors or inconsistencies. Put simply, the Pension Fund does not fund something that has not passed the system’s basic verification.

The main reasons are:

• the sick leave certificate does not have the Ready for Payment status;
• errors in the employee’s data;
• lack of sufficient insurance record;
• an incorrectly submitted calculation statement;
• violation of submission deadlines.

In most cases, the problem can be resolved once the data is corrected. But for the employer, what matters is that refusal to fund sick leave means not only a delay in payment, but also additional work for HR, the accountant, and the employee.

Typical mistakes employees and employers make

Practical checklist: what to verify so sick leave goes through without delays

Checklist for the employee

1. visit a doctor and wait until the medical conclusion is created;
2. log in to the Pension Fund portal through your personal account;
3. check the My Sick Leave Certificates section;
4. make sure the data in the certificate is correct;
5. notify the employer immediately;
6. after the certificate is closed, check the status again;
7. if the electronic sick leave certificate does not appear or the data is incorrect, clarify the information with the doctor or on the register side.

Checklist for the HR specialist

1. check whether the certificate has appeared in the policyholder’s account on the Pension Fund portal;
2. check the electronic sick leave certificate status;
3. verify that the employee, time period, and employer are correct;
4. pass the information to the accountant or payroll specialist according to the internal workflow;
5. make sure the decision to assign the benefit is made only after the Ready for Payment status appears;
6. monitor submission of the calculation statement within the required deadline.

Checklist for the accountant or payroll specialist

1. check who funds which days;
2. take into account the insurance record and average salary;
3. submit the calculation statement no later than 5 working days from the date of the employer’s decision and the supporting protocol;
4. track the status of the calculation statement;
5. once the funds are credited, pay the employee;
6. submit notification of the payment to the Pension Fund of Ukraine within one month.

Summary

Sick leave in 2026 is an electronic process where the critical factor is not complexity, but the sequence of actions. The employee needs to check the electronic sick leave certificate in time and notify the employer. The employer needs to track statuses, calculate the payment, and submit documents on time.

In practice, delays arise not because of the sick leave certificate itself, but because of breaks in the process: when information is not passed on in time, statuses are not checked, or actions are not coordinated between HR and accounting.