MINSK, 25 January (BelTA) – Digital sick notes may be introduced in Belarus in 2024-2025, BelTA learned from Yulia Berdnikova, Manager of the Social Protection Fund of the Belarusian Labor and Social Protection Ministry.
The head of the Social Protection Fund noted that digital sick notes are necessary in order to enhance social rights of citizens, reduce errors of employers, and help employers and the Social Protection Fund calculate and pay sickness benefits.
Yulia Berdnikova said: “We are working with the Healthcare Ministry on the matter. We intend to implement a digital version of sick notes in 2024-2025. We need to set up a pilot zone, test the process, and polish the software in order to minimize the time Belarusian accountants spend [on managing sick notes]. When an employee brings a paper sick note to the employer, the employer has to enter information from the paper on the Social Protection Fund website. This procedure will be optimized. When the healthcare institution submits digital sick note data to the Social Protection Fund, the employer will be able to get the data from the fund.”