Croatia - Cash benefits (sick leave)
This chapter explains your entitlement to income-replacement benefit in the case of temporary loss of capacity for work and to sick leave.
You are entitled if you are registered for mandatory health insurance with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) as an economically active person. Also people with a permanent residence in Croatia or with an approved permanent residence permit employed in another European Union country or in a country with which Croatia has an international treaty and who do not have mandatory health insurance in accordance with the regulations of the country in which they work in the manner laid down by European Union regulations or international treaty are also entitled.
This chapter covers:
- income-replacement benefit while temporarily incapacitated for work (naknada za vrijeme privremene spriječenosti za rad);
- cash sickness benefit (novčana naknada zbog bolesti).
In what situation can I claim?
You may be entitled to income-replacement benefit for the time you are temporarily incapacitated for work if you are employed or self-employed, if you are a farmer, priest, person providing assistance and care to a Croatian war veteran, parent with carer status and in other circumstances.
Your working capacity may be reduced temporarily not only due to illness or injury. You may also take sick leave, for example, for a medical examination that cannot be performed outside your working hours, due to medically required isolation, complications during pregnancy, accompanying a sick person, or caring for a sick child or spouse.
What conditions do I need to meet?
If you are employed or self-employed, in order to be entitled to sickness income-replacement benefit, you need to have pensionable service of at least 9 consecutive months. If you have interruptions in your career, then your prior pensionable service must be at least 12 months during the past 2 years.
If you fall short of this, you are entitled to minimum sick pay. However, this limit does not apply to the income-replacement benefit given for a recognised accident at work or occupational disease (see the topic Disability).
If you acquired health insurance status through other income (author contract, copyright contract), in order to be entitled to this cash benefit, you must have your temporary incapacity for work confirmed. It is confirmed by the Medical Committee of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Income-replacement benefit while temporarily incapacitated for work
You are entitled to income replacement benefit for the time you are temporarily incapacitated for work (sick leave) paid by the HZZO or a cash benefit.
Income-replacement benefit for sick leave is normally paid by the employer for the first 42 days of sickness, or 7 days for a worker with a disability. The amount of the payment depends on the collective agreement or employment contract, but may not be less than 70% of your average wage in the 6 months preceding your sick leave.
From the 43rd day of sick leave, or the eighth day for a disabled employee, income-replacement benefit is calculated and paid out by the employer and reclaimed from the HZZO. In this case, the minimum rate may not be less than EUR 111.00 and the maximum rate is limited to EUR 566.00.
In case the employer is insolvent or bankrupt, the HZZO can pay the income-replacement sickness benefit directly into your account.
Income-replacement benefit in the amount of your average 6-month wage paid by the HZZO is paid out when you take sick leave as a result of the Homeland War, for nursing a sick child under the age of 3, for donating tissues and organs, medical isolation and complications during pregnancy.
You are entitled to income-replacement sickness benefit until your recovery, but as a rule no longer than an uninterrupted period of 18 months for the same diagnosis. After this, the benefit is reduced to half its amount.
This reduction does not apply to certain severe illnesses.
In case of nursing family members, the duration of cash assistance is restricted to 60 days when caring for a child under the age of 7 years or 40 days for an older child. If so required due to the nature of the illness, this period may be prolonged.
The cash benefit is limited to 20 days when caring for a spouse or child older than 18.
Entitlement to sick leave is confirmed by your chosen primary healthcare doctor in a healthcare institution or private practice. You are entitled to income-replacement benefit until your doctor or authorised HZZO doctor assesses that you are capable of working or until you are diagnosed with a disability under a final decision by the competent body of the health insurance scheme.
You must inform your employer about your sick leave. You must supply your employer with a certificate of temporary incapacity for work and expected duration within 3 days at the latest.
The Sick Leave Report, which contains the start and end of the sick leave, is filled out and issued by your chosen doctor. In the case of maternity leave, the report only contains the start date of maternity leave.
During sick leave, at your request, your chosen doctor will issue a Notice of Duration of Sick Leave, when required for calculating income replacement benefit paid by the employer.
Sick leave as assessed by your chosen doctor may only last for the period prescribed by them.
Cash benefit
As a rule, salary compensation shall be paid by the employer (out of their own resources or the resources of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund).
In some cases, you have to claim the cash benefit by submitting an application to the regional office of the HZZO in your area of permanent or temporary residence (e.g. for mandatory maternity leave or problems relating to pregnancy and childbirth).
The cash benefit is set as the average base for the payment of contributions for mandatory health insurance (see Jargon Busters). It is paid out by the HZZO and stands at 70% of the average base and cannot be more than EUR 566.00. There is no ceiling on cash benefit in case of mandatory maternity leave and sick leave due to accidents at work and occupational diseases.
Jargon busters
- Pensionable service - the period for which your employer, or you yourself as a self-employed person, have paid mandatory contributions for health and pension insurance.
- The average base is the average of the insurance bases for which contributions have been paid for mandatory health insurance in the 6 months preceding the month in which you became unable to work.
- Permanent residence is the place and address in Croatia at which a person has permanently settled. Habitual residence is the term applying to people who are using the right of freedom of movement of workers in EU countries. It conveys permanence - you have been living in an EU country for some time and intend to stay there for the foreseeable future.
- Temporary residence is the place and address in Croatia where a person is temporarily residing. It is registered if it will last longer than 3 months.
Forms you may need to fill in
Complaint form http://www.hzzo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/obrazac-zalba.doc?831c2f
Know your rights
You can find out about your legal rights at the links below. They are not European Commission websites and do not represent the views of the Commission:
Commission publications and websites:
Who do you need to contact?
Croatian Health Insurance Fund
Margaretska 3
HR-10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Tel. +385 8007979
http://www.hzzo.hr/en/
Ministry of Health
Ksaver 200A
HR-10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Tel. +385 14607557, +385 8007999
https://zdravlje.gov.hr/kontakti/1982