Guide6 min read
Business and contracts
How to check an employee’s sick leave payment
Sick pay can differ because of the earnings base, excluded calendar days, insurance record, or funding allocation. Start the review with the e-sick-leave record and documents, rather than the amount credited to your card.
What you should know
- First check the status, reason, and dates of the e-sick-leave record because they determine the applicable calculation route.
- Verify average pay using confirmed earnings, calendar days, and excluded days under Procedure No. 1266.
- The total insurance record sets the 50–100% rate; the separate six-month test for the past year must also be checked.
- For an ordinary illness, the employer pays the first five days and the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) funds the benefit from day six.
When to check
Check the payment if the sick-leave amount on your payslip is unclear, only part of the expected amount reached your bank card, or your employer refers to the PFU without explaining its own actions. Start with the e-sick-leave record: verify its status, incapacity reason, dates, and whether the entries concern one insured event. An error here changes both the number of days and the payment route.
This guide covers an employee under an employment contract with an ordinary illness or a non-work-related injury. A work accident, care for a child or family member, pregnancy and childbirth, a sole proprietor, a Diia City gig contract, or several employers requires a different route. Do not force those cases into a simple formula.
For a Kyiv company with a head office and several branches, identify the employer legal entity separately. The HR portal, payroll center, and employer may be different links in the process, but the written request should go to the entity with the employment obligation that decides on payment.
Applicable period and procedure
Under Procedure No. 1266, average daily pay is calculated from earnings subject to USC during the calculation period. In an ordinary case, review the 12 calendar months before the month of the insured event, but the actual period depends on employment duration and special rules. Divide earnings by calendar days of employment after excluding days for documented valid reasons.
Then apply the rate based on total insurance record: 50%, 60%, 70%, or 100%. Separately check whether the person has at least six months of insurance record during the 12 months before the insured event. If not, a minimum-wage-related limit applies. For insured events in 2026, the PFU lists UAH 284.07 per day; do not carry this figure over to another date or unverified data.
For an ordinary illness, the employer pays the first five calendar days under Procedure No. 440. The PFU funds the benefit from day six. These are not two different average salaries: the daily base is the same, but the decision, funding source, and payment records must be checked separately. For an arithmetic check, use the sick pay calculator if none of its stop conditions apply.
From 1 May 2026, Resolution No. 533 amended Procedure No. 1266, including how earnings are confirmed for secondary employment and simultaneous business activity. If there are several insurers or the maximum USC base must be allocated, do not use a simplified single calculation.
Steps to take
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Check the e-sick-leave record. Save its number, status, reason, and dates. If it is not ready for payment or contains an error, first identify who must correct the underlying medical or register data.
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Request a complete payroll breakdown. Ask in writing for the calculation period, monthly earnings subject to USC, total calendar days, each exclusion, average daily amount, insurance-record rate, and payable days. “Calculated by the software” is not a substitute for figures.
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Verify the insurance record. Obtain an OK-5 or OK-7 certificate through the official PFU service. Check both the total record for the 50–100% rate and the separate six-month test for the past 12 months. If there are gaps, compare them with the employer’s data and contribution records.
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Rebuild the formula without intermediate rounding. Move from earnings to the calendar-day denominator, exact average, and daily benefit. Multiply by the sick-leave days and show final amounts to the nearest kopeck. Do not compare the gross result with the net bank transfer.
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Separate the first five days from the rest. Find the employer’s portion on the payslip. For days from day six onward, check the decision granting the benefit, the calculation statement submitted to the PFU, and its status. This identifies whether the issue is arithmetic, documentation, or payment delay.
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Submit a written request for correction. Attach a table with the e-sick-leave details, base, days, record, your formula, the employer amount, PFU portion, actual accrual, and difference. Ask the employer to correct specified entries, resubmit corrected data if needed, and provide a documented response.
What to check before filing
Make sure all figures relate to the same legal entity, insured event, and calculation period. At a large Kyiv employer, HR data, USC records, and payroll may be handled by different teams. A general request to “pay the sick leave” will not resolve a mismatch; identify the source of each figure in your request.
Check for a stop condition: less than six months of recent insurance record, a work-related cause, care leave, pregnancy and childbirth, Diia City, self-employment, several employers, or the maximum USC base. In these cases, the ordinary calculator result is not the amount to claim. For general wage arrears, see the guide to unpaid wages, and check the time limit for a potential employment dispute with the separate tool.
For the insurance-funded portion, use official PFU channels and check the current filing route for the relevant territorial office in Kyiv or Kyiv Oblast. Do not rely on an arbitrary directory address. Include the e-sick-leave record, employer decision, calculation statement, OK-5/OK-7, and discrepancy table.
When to consult a lawyer
Legal help is appropriate if the employer withholds the breakdown, disputes the insurance record without explanation, submitted incorrect data to the PFU, shifts all responsibility to another group company, or issued a written refusal. Arithmetic alone is also insufficient for a work-related illness, multiple jobs, or a dispute about employment status.
A lawyer can separate an employer error from a PFU funding issue, identify the proper recipient of the request, and prepare a documented claim or court route. A useful consultation produces a checked table, specific disputed entries, proof of delivery, and the next procedural step—not a promise of payment.
What to prepare
- E-sick-leave record showing its status, number, incapacity reason, and dates for one insured event.
- Payslips for the calculation-period months showing gross payments and unified social contribution (USC) separately.
- Written payroll breakdown: earnings base, calendar and excluded days, average amount, and insurance-record percentage.
- OK-5 or OK-7 certificate from the insured-person register to check contributions and insurance record.
- Employer’s or authorized person’s decision to grant or deny the insurance benefit.
- Calculation statement submitted to the PFU and evidence of acceptance, funding, or return for clarification.
- Payslip and bank statement to distinguish accrual, deductions, and payment.
Common mistakes
- Comparing the gross formula result only with the net bank transfer after tax.
- Assuming that more than eight years of total insurance record replaces the separate six-month test for the past year.
- Excluding calendar days without a documented valid reason or failing to check payroll exclusions.
- Claiming the entire amount from the PFU without separating the first five ordinary-illness days funded by the employer.
- Contacting only the Kyiv office’s HR team without identifying the employer legal entity and the person who prepared the calculation.
Official sources
- Law of Ukraine No. 1105-XIV on Compulsory State Social InsuranceDefines entitlement, insurance record, benefit rates, grounds for refusal, and special cases.
- Procedure for Calculating Average Salary No. 1266Governs the calculation period, earnings, calendar days, valid reasons for exclusions, and average daily pay.
- Procedure for Paying the First Five Days of Temporary Incapacity No. 440Sets employer-funded payment for the first five days of ordinary illness or a non-work-related injury.
- Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 533 of 29 April 2026Updated Procedure No. 1266 from 1 May 2026 on confirming earnings for certain categories.
- Law of Ukraine on the State Budget for 2026 No. 4695-IXSets the minimum wage and maximum USC contribution base relevant to special limits.
- PFU: updates to Resolution No. 1266Explains 2026 changes for employees with multiple jobs and people who also conduct business activity.
- PFU: benefits based on insurance recordLists the 50%, 60%, 70%, and 100% rates and separate grounds for full payment regardless of record.
- Prepared
- This material was prepared for the website’s reference section based on official sources.
- Control
- Before publication, the editors check legal statements against the cited official sources and the date they were current.
- Important
- This guide is informational. A decision requires review of the documents, deadlines, and factual circumstances.
Current as of . The material depends on the documents and circumstances of the specific case.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell which part of sick pay is due from the employer and which from the PFU?
For an ordinary illness or non-work-related injury, the employer pays the first five calendar days of one insured event, and the PFU funds the benefit from day six. Work-related cases follow a different procedure.
Which document shows the insurance record for sick leave?
For an initial check, obtain an OK-5 or OK-7 certificate from the insured-person register and compare it with the employer’s calculation. Disputed periods may also require primary records of employment and contributions.
Can I calculate sick pay using only my salary?
Usually not. You need actual earnings subject to USC for the applicable calculation period, as well as calendar days of employment and documented exclusions.
What if my insurance record for the last 12 months is under six months?
Do not rely on the ordinary calculator result. The law sets a special minimum-wage-related limit; for a 2026 event, the PFU lists UAH 284.07 per day, but the date and input data must be checked separately.
Does a missing payment mean the PFU denied the benefit?
Not necessarily. Check the employer’s decision, submission and status of the calculation statement, funding, payroll accrual, and actual payment date. A delay can occur at several stages.
Where should an employee of a Kyiv company raise a disputed calculation?
Send a written request for the calculation and correction to the proper employer legal entity. Check insurance-benefit questions through official PFU channels and the relevant territorial office; verify the address and filing method on the submission date.
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