For employees

Health needs

Certain health-related visits to health professionals can be planned and coordinated with the work schedule in advance, while others are unexpected, but even in such cases it is possible to balance them with your work responsibilities.

 

Temporary incapacity for work

If you become ill and are unable to work, you should contact your family doctor for a medical certificate confirming incapacity for work. After you are diagnosed and prescribed the appropriate treatment during your visit, you will be issued an electronic medical certificate confirming incapacity for work, under which you will be granted temporary leave from work for a specified period and entitled to a sickness benefit. To receive this benefit, you will have to inform your employer about your temporary incapacity for work, and submit an application to Sodra either online or by going to its nearest office.

Your employer will pay you for the first two days of your incapacity for work, and the rest of the benefit will be reimbursed from Sodra’s budget. The amount of the benefit paid by the employer must comprise 62.06 % – 100 % of your average salary, and the amount of the benefit paid by Sodra from the third day of illness is 62.06 % of the amount of your reimbursable salary. The monthly benefit paid by Sodra may not be less than 11.64 % of the national average monthly salary valid during the quarter preceding the quarter prior to the month of temporary incapacity for work, and may not be higher than two national average salaries valid during the quarter preceding the quarter prior to the month of temporary incapacity for work.

More information on temporary incapacity for work and sickness benefits can be found HERE.

Meeting other health needs

Regular health checks and visits to the dentist or other healthcare professionals often overlap with an employee’s work schedule, thus forcing the employee to find ways to balance his work and his health needs. At the request of the employee and with the consent of the employer, unpaid days off may be provided to the employee for personal reasons during his/her working day. In this case, missed working hours shall be transferred to other working days. If you are working rotating shifts and can arrange your work time according to your needs, you may not need to request for time off, however in other cases this measure provided for in the Labour Code can be very helpful. It is important to note that the use of unpaid time off to meet one’s personal needs must not violate the requirements of maximum working time and minimum rest time – with certain exceptions. You should not work more than 48 hours per week, you should have at least 11 hours of rest between your working days (shifts), and you should be given 35 hours of uninterrupted rest per week.

At the request of a disabled employee, the employer must grant him or her unpaid leave of up to thirty calendar days per year. This leave can be used at the employee’s discretion, thus, if there is a need, unpaid leave can be used for health purposes, such as medical SPA (sanatorium) treatment.

Civil servants receive even more guarantees. Pursuant to Article 49 of the Law on Civil Service of the Republic of Lithuania, a civil servant who has received the written consent of his/her immediate superior shall be granted up to two days of paid leave per month, which he/she can use for visits to health care institutions, state or municipal institutions, and other establishments.

Even if you are aware of the measures guaranteed by law, be sure to find out if your employer offers additional benefits for balancing work and health needs.