– We want to end the absurdities and we want to adapt the regulations regarding the loss of the right to sickness benefits and the use of sick leave to the requirements arising from court decisions, but above all, the requirements arising from life experience and common sense – argued Sebastian Gajewski during the first reading of the bill in the Sejm. This concerns an amendment to the Act on the social security system, which was passed by the Sejm on Friday.
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What regulations are currently in force
Currently, during sick leave you are not allowed to perform paid work and you are not allowed to undertake any activity that is inconsistent with the purpose of the leave. At first glance, everything is clear. Unfortunately, the regulations do not define what constitutes paid work or activity incompatible with the purpose of the exemption. They do not provide for any exceptions.
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As a result, there have been cases of loss of the right to sickness benefit in the event of undertaking paid work for a few minutes or undertaking marginal, incidental activities that are inconsistent with the purpose of the leave. And, as Deputy Minister Gajewski explained, it happened that, for example, courts found the loss of the right to sickness benefits due to:
- Bringing dinner to my husband to a place 200 m away from the apartment,
- air travel,
- participate in your own wedding at the Civil Registry Office, but without attending the wedding reception,
- signing one contract,
- signing one fuel invoice,
- signing employee documentation delivered to the patient's bedside by his wife,
- or submitting an application online and signing it with an electronic signature, as well as, for example, logging in once to the IT system provided by the employer and remaining in this system for several minutes.
And now that is about to change.
What will be the rules for being on sick leave?
The adopted act still states that the insured person loses the right to sickness benefit if, during the leave, he or she performs paid work or inappropriate activity.
However, the Act specifies that paid work does not include incidental activities that require significant circumstances to be undertaken during the period of leave from work. However, an important circumstance cannot be the employer's order.
– This is an activity that had to be undertaken during the dismissal, even though it is actually an incidental, marginal paid job – explained Deputy Minister Gajewski.
Therefore, if, while treating a cold, an employee remotely accepts an invoice or an order, or consents to an urgent leave of a subordinate, he or she will not be able to be deprived of benefits. On the other hand, if a store employee with a broken leg cannot report to work, he or she can participate in previously scheduled online training.
See also: Are we facing a crisis? The Ministry of Labor speaks out on group layoffs
Incidental and everyday activities during sick leave?
Moreover, the amendment defines activity that is inconsistent with the purpose of leave from work. They will be these any activities that hinder or prolong the treatment process or convalescence, excluding ordinary everyday or incidental activitieswhich important circumstances require to be undertaken during the period of leave from work.
— We believe that no one should lose sick pay or sick pay because of this went to the store, to the pharmacy, to the doctor, for a walk, took the child to school or took some activity related to his/her worke.g. in the case of a doctor who wrote out a prescription for her child while on sick leave. This is an incidental activity, for which today you can lose the right to sickness benefit, and according to the new regulations, this will no longer be possible – explained Minister Gajewski.
Sick at one job, healthy at the other
Moreover, the amendment states that if you meet the conditions for being subject to social insurance from at least two jobs, the inability to work due to illness applies to each of them, and the doctor issues a separate sick leave for each of them. However, you will also be exempt from work. The amendment allows for a situation where you can be sick in one job and work in another.
The new provision reads: “if paid work under a specific title can be performed due to the type of work, at the request of the insured person, work leave for this reason may not be issued.” However, in such a situation, the employee must inform the company where he may work that he is on sick leave elsewhere.
Marcin Stanecki, chief labor inspector, raised doubts about this provision. In his opinion, the doctor issuing the sick leave does not have full knowledge of the working conditions and therefore currently only confirms incapacity for work. The provision was passed anyway. The Ministry of Family explains that this is a way to meet the expectations of employers and insured persons.
Changes in dismissal control
Currently, the control of dismissals is referred to in Art. 68 of the Act, which consists of a total of two provisions. According to one of ZUS, the employer can control the employee on sick leave and formally lay off. The second provision is an instruction to issue a regulation on this matter. The amendment will clarify the rules of control.
Firstly, both ZUS and the employer will be able to check the sick leave after the end of the illness. The inspection report is to be prepared in two copies, one for the inspected employee. He will be able to submit his objections within seven days. Secondly, ZUS will decide on the use of sick leave in accordance with the purpose, obtaining, if necessary, the opinion of the doctor who issued the sick leave or a certifier.
Millions on layoffs
In 2024, ZUS registered 27.4 million medical certificates, which translated into a total of 290 million days of sickness absence. The cost of sickness absence last year amounted to PLN 31.0 billion in total.
In turn, between January and September 2025, ZUS conducted 341.5 thousand control of sick leave and issued PLN 21.9 thousand decisions suspending further payment of sickness benefits in the amount of PLN 34 million.
