Starting January 1, 2026, a new state social insurance system has been launched in Uzbekistan. A separate State Social Insurance Fund (SSI Fund) has been created — it takes over the assignment and payment of benefits. Under Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 796 of December 17, 2025 (in force since December 19, 2025), starting July 1, 2026, this fund will pay sick leave benefits.
- The first 5 working days of an employee’s illness per calendar year are paid by the employer out of its own funds. The limit is cumulative for the year rather than per individual sick leave episode, and it also applies to secondary employment — both external and internal part-time positions.
- Starting from the 6th day — and for all subsequent episodes of illness within the same year — the benefit is paid by the SSI Fund directly to the employee’s card.
- No additional insurance contributions are required: the funding is already built into existing taxes.
How sick leave will now be paid:
Insured tenure equals the period for which contributions were actually paid — no contributions, no tenure. Tenure directly determines the amount of the benefit.
Benefit amount by insured tenure
- 6 months to 8 years of tenure — 60% of average salary;
- 8 years or more — 80%.
An additional 20% is paid on top of the benefit to people with disability groups I and II, parents raising four or more children under 18, and families raising a child with a disability.
Under the law, sick leave is paid for the entire period stated in the medical certificate, but for no more than 182 calendar days within one calendar year — this is the overall payment cap (a rule carried over into the regulation under Resolution No. 796 / SSI).
Processing workflow
- The medical facility issues an electronic sick leave certificate in the Unified Medical Information System — within 1 business day.
- The data is automatically transmitted to the “Social Insurance” module of the Unified Social Protection Registry.
- The system automatically pulls information on income, contributions, and tenure from the Tax Committee, the Unified National Labor System (mehnat.uz), and other databases, and calculates the benefit.
- The employee receives an SMS with the amount, form, and timing of payment (or the reason for denial).
- The SSI Fund transfers the funds to the paying bank — the financial agent — which credits the money to the employee’s card within 5 business days.
What employers are now required to do:
- register employment contracts and all amendments to them, civil-law contracts, and all types of leave in the Unified National Labor System (mehnat.uz) accurately and on time — the completeness of this data directly determines whether the employee’s benefit is granted;
- pay for the first 5 days of sick leave, including for part-time employees;
- bear responsibility for the accuracy of the data submitted: if a benefit is overpaid due to incorrect information, the employer and/or the employee must reimburse the Fund for the damage (overpayments caused by a malfunction of the information system itself are not subject to recovery — these are borne by the Fund).
