Issuance of sick leave certificates

In order to provide a sense of stability for employees and support for employers, during the state of emergency the state will fund sick leave from the second day of illness (sick leave certificate B), regardless of the sector in which the person works.

Who qualifies for a sick leave certificate during the Covid-19 crisis?

• Adults who are ill (including a disease caused by Covid-19) or injured;
• Persons who have been identified as contact persons by an epidemiologist of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) and who need to be isolated during the quarantine;
• Persons who have returned from abroad and who work in educational institutions attended by children or in medical institutions or social care institutions or who are employed in jobs involving close contact with the recipient, client, or patient shall be issued a sick leave certificate for up to 14 days from the date the person left the country abroad;
• Persons who are taking care of their sick child;
• Persons who are taking care of their sick child, if the child has been identified by a CDPC (SPKC) epidemiologist as a contact person;
• Persons who qualify for a sick leave certificate based on other criteria: for example, during maternity leave, specified in the “Procedures for Issuance and Cancellation of Sick-Leave Certificates” Cabinet Regulation No. 152 of 3 April, 2001.

OBSERVE!

• In Covid-19 cases, doctors will issue sick leaves to persons who have been officially diagnosed with the disease in a laboratory and to persons who have been quarantined due to their having been in contact with a Covid-19 patient;
• Persons who are required to self-isolate for 14 days, including those who have returned from abroad on specially organised flights or ferries, are not "automatically" provided with a sick leave certificate;
• If the reasons for incapacity for work are caused by Covid-19, the sick leave certificate is funded by the state from the second day in the amount of 80% of the average social insurance contribution of the recipient;
• If the illness is not related to Covid-19, the sick leave certificate is issued and funded in the usual manner. Sick leave certificate A is issued for the first 10 days of illness and is paid for by the employer. From the 11th day of illness, the State Social Insurance Agency grants sickness benefit;
• In order to receive sickness benefit, a person cannot have any income during the period of illness, because the issuance of a sick leave certificate is associated with the loss of ability to work.

Conditions under which sickness benefit or sick pay may be interrupted or not granted:

• The person has knowingly and significantly harmed their own health or the health of the person for whom they are caring and this has been established by a doctor;
• The person has not complied with the regime specified by the doctor during their sick leave period without a justifiable reason or they have missed their appointment with the doctor or their examination by a medical commission without a justifiable reason.

ISSUANCE OF SICK LEAVE CERTIFICATES TO SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS

The new procedure for issuing sick leave certificates also applies to self-employed persons who have paid their social contributions at least from the minimum wage, as these self-employed persons are subject to sickness insurance.

More information:
State Social Insurance Agency (VSSA)
konsultacijas@vsaa.gov.lv 
Telephone: +371 64507020

Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC), telephone: +371 67387661
Ministry of Health, telephone: +371 67876191

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