Does sickness mean completely giving up travel and participation in important family events?
Employees on sick leave often wonder if they can go on vacation during this period, visit their family outside their place of residence or participate in a ceremony such as a wedding or birthday. Does sickness mean completely giving up travel and participation in important family events? The answer is not clear.
Sick leave is granted to an employee in connection with his inability to work. During this time, it is prohibited to take actions that could worsen your health or extend the treatment process. It is also absolutely prohibited to perform any paid work.
If the content of the sick leave includes the annotation “The patient can walk”, it is permissible to perform ordinary everyday activities, such as shopping or short walks.
The regulations do not specify a detailed catalog of permitted or prohibited activities. The key is that the actions taken during the disease do not conflict with the purpose of the dismissal, which is to recover and regain the ability to work. Incorrect use of the exemption may result in the loss of the right to sickness benefit. We explain what is not worth doing on L4 and how to behave when we need to leave.
Foreign trip a l4 – a lot of risk
The most difficult situation applies to people who fell ill at the time of their holidays abroad. Such a trip, even if the doctor pointed out in the dismissal that “the patient can walk” can be very risky. Both the employer and ZUS can carry out an inspection at any time. They will check if the employee:
- does not perform earning work at that time,
- He does not benefit from the exemption in a manner contrary to its purpose, i.e. treatment and recovery.
And this second point can be problematic. The annotation itself about the possibility of walking does not mean that a longer trip abroad is conducive to recovery.
It is worth recalling the decision of the Supreme Court of December 14, 2005 (III UK 120/05), in which it was stated that performing activities extending the period of incapacity for work is always treated as improper use of the dismissal. In other words – the goal of L4 is to regain health, and everything that makes this process difficult can result in consequences.
Family vacation – possible, but with the obligation to report
The situation is different when a patient – having a dismissal with the annotation “can walk” – wants to go to his family in the country for a few days. Such a trip is acceptable, provided that the patient informs ZUS about the change of whereabouts.
The Social Insurance Institution clearly reminds: “On sick leave, you must provide the address you are at. If you change your whereabouts during L4, you must report it within 3 days to the Employer.”
How to report a change of address during L4?
The employee should provide a new address no later than within three days. It can do it in several ways:
- via the platform of electronic services (PUE ZUS),
- by phone,
- Personally, in any branch of ZUS.
Failure to notify the change of residence during the dismissal may be considered a violation of obligations and result in loss of benefits.
Can an employee go to a wedding at L4 when it is a dismissal that does not require lying?
According to a court judgment, the judgment of the Supreme Court of April 2, 1998 and PKN 14/98 the employee's participation in his own wedding during a sick leave containing the annotation “the patient may walk”, does not interfere with employee obligations and cannot be considered a serious violation of basic employee obligations, within the meaning of Art. 52 § 1 item 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure
The above ruling was issued 25 years ago. Currently, ZUS may conclude that the employee uses sick leave contrary to the purpose. It should be remembered that each situation is considered individually. If the employee is unable to work, the question is whether he is able to participate in the event and whether he has received a sick leave. It should be remembered that using a sick leave may have consequences.
Although in theory during L4 you can change the environment, in practice a trip to a foreign vacation or going to a wedding carries a risk. A short stay with a family in the country is more acceptable, but requires prior notification of a new address with ZUS and employer. For your own safety and avoiding unpleasantness, it is better to treat the time of dismissal as a period of actual recovery, and not an opportunity to travel. The sick leave is to serve to recover.
