Serbian Ministry of Health held a public debate on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Health Insurance (“Draft Law”) until 28 February 2021. The Draft Law, if adopted by the Serbian Parliament, would be effective from 1 June 2021. The Draft Law introduces several important novelties.

Submission of notification of temporary incapacity for work

According to the Draft Law, in the future, employers would receive a certificate of employee’s temporary incapacity for work electronically from a selected doctor, with the consent of the insured. On the day of the beginning of the application of the amendments to the Law on Health Insurance, the relevant provisions of the Labor Law, which currently regulate the notification to the employer on employee’s temporary incapacity for work, as well as the accompanying violation of work discipline in case of failure to submit such certificate, would cease to apply.

According to the valid legal obligation, employees, their close family members or other persons with whom the employee lives in the family household, are obliged to submit a doctor’s certificate of temporary incapacity for work to the employer no later than three days from the day of the temporary incapacity for work.

Calculation of the salary will no longer be done by employers but by the Republic Fund of Health Insurance (RFHI)

The Draft Law also sets out a novelty regarding calculation of salary paid by the employer at the expense of the Republic Fund of Health Insurance (RFHI). Namely, the employer would no longer calculate salary compensations, since this would be done by the RFHI, which, according to the valid regulations, controls the calculation on the basis of data on paid taxes and contributions received from the Tax Administration. The RFHI would pay the salary compensation to the employer within 15 days from the calculation, which is a shorter period compared to the current one which is 30 days.

Pregnant women receive salary regardless of whether the contributions are paid or not by their employers

Payment of salary compensation due to temporary incapacity for work for pregnant women and in a situation when the employer does not pay their contributions is guaranteed by the Draft Law. According to the currently valid regulations, pregnant woman to whom the employer does not pay contributions, cannot receive salary compensation during pregnancy leave.

For more information on the novelties regarding health insurance regulations, contact us at aleksicsasaradnicima@lawofficealeksic.rs or call us at one of the phone numbers given below.