In Ukraine, it was found that a significant part of sick leave is issued without proper grounds. According to the results of state inspections, almost every fourth sick leave turned out to be unfounded. This is stated in the explanatory note to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, approved on December 17. The document and accompanying materials have been published in the EP, reports "Wave".
According to the data, in the first half of 2025, more than 4.2 thousand sick leave certificates were checked. According to the results of the checks, 22.8% of them were found to be unfounded. This means that in fact, almost every fifth sick leave was issued without sufficient medical grounds.
Monitoring of the electronic sick leave register shows a steady trend towards an increase in the number of violations. If in 2021 the share of unjustified sick leave was only 2.4%, then in 2023 this figure increased to 16.5%. In 2024 it reached 18.2%, and in 2025 it continued to grow.
In total, 5,931 sick leave certificates were checked in Ukraine in 2024, and 4,225 in the period from January to June 2025. Despite the lower number of checks, the proportion of violations detected remains high, which, according to the government, indicates a systemic problem.
Against this background, the Ministry of Social Policy initiated changes to the procedure for monitoring sick leave. In particular, it is proposed to grant representatives of the Pension Fund the right to check the validity of sick leave certificates without using the electronic health care system. The explanatory note notes that the National Health Service currently does not have the technical capabilities to conduct such checks, and the corresponding costs are not included in the budget.
Government officials recognize that large-scale abuse of sick leave creates an additional financial burden on the social insurance system and requires increased control. The proposed changes should be one of the steps to reduce the number of fictitious sick leave and abuse in this area.
