Sick pay and sickness allowance

The sick pay and sickness allowance are payable to the employee for periods of incapacity for work or isolation due to communicable disease.

The sick pay is financed by the employer. The employer pays it to the employee for the first 33 days of incapacity for work in a calendar year. In the case of an employee who has not reached the age of 50 years, sick pay is payable for the first 14 days in a calendar year (after the year in which the employee turns 50).

The sick pay is payable in the following amounts:

• 80% of the assessment basis (labour regulations binding a given employer may provide for a higher pay in this respect),
• 100% of the assessment basis, if incapacity for work:
  • was a result of accident on the way to or from work,
  • occurs in the period of pregnancy,
  • is a result of the employee undergoing necessary medical examinations provided for candidates for donors of cells, tissues and organs or the procedure of their collection.

The right to the sick pay is acquired by employees after 30 days of uninterrupted insurance (the so-called waiting period).

The right to sick pay in the same way as employees also applies to out-workers and persons undergoing alternative military service.

The amount of the sick pay is calculated under the rules used to calculate the sickness allowance assessment basis. The sick pay is based on the monthly remuneration from the recent 12 months preceding the month when incapacity for work occurred. If the incapacity for work occurred before the lapse of 12 months, the employer establishes the assessment basis based on the actual period of employment for full calendar months. When establishing the assessment basis, the employer takes into account the remuneration on which the sickness insurance contribution was calculated, and reduces it by the deducted social insurance contributions.

The employee is entitled to the sickness allowance after cessation of the sick pay period, i.e., respectively, from:

• 34th day of incapacity for work in a calendar year,
• 15th day of incapacity for work in a calendar year if the employee is over 50 years of age.

The right to sickness allowance from compulsory insurance is granted after 30 days of the waiting period.

A person who has voluntarily joined the sickness insurance (e.g. a self-employed person, a freelancer/contractor) has the right to the sickness allowance already from the first day of incapacity for work. However, he/she is entitled to the sickness allowance only after completing the waiting period of 90 days.

Previous periods of sickness insurance coverage, both compulsory and voluntary, are included in the waiting period in the following situations:

• when the interval between the current and the previous period did not exceed 30 days,
• when the interval between the current and the previous period was due to:
  • child-care leave,
  • unpaid leave,
  • active military service of a non-professional soldier.

Certain groups of insured persons are entitled to sickness allowance from the first day of sickness insurance. These are:

• graduates of schools or tertiary level schools if they have been covered by sickness insurance or have joined sickness insurance within 90 days of the date of graduation or obtaining a higher education diploma,
• persons whose incapacity for work was a result of accident on the way to or from work,
• persons who are compulsorily insured and have previously been covered by compulsory sickness insurance for at least 10 years,
• Members of Parliament who have joined sickness insurance within 90 days of the date of term expiry,
• persons who have completed their training at a doctoral school,
• Customs Service officers who had accepted a job offer pursuant to Articles 165(7) and 167(2) of the Act of 16 November 2016 – Provisions introducing the Act on the National Tax Administration and have become employees of organisational units of the National Tax Administration.

ZUS or the employer pays sickness allowance for a maximum of 182 days, The exceptions are situations where the incapacity for work is due to tuberculosis or falls during pregnancy – then the period for which the allowance is paid is 270 days. As of 1 January 2022, for the period of incapacity for work or inability to perform work falling after the lapse of the sickness insurance coverage, sickness allowance is payable for no more than 91 days with the exception of:

• incapacity for work occurring during pregnancy,
• incapacity for work due to tuberculosis,
• incapacity for work as a result of undergoing the necessary medical examinations provided for candidates for donors of cells, tissues and organs and the procedure of collection of cells, tissues and organs.

Sickness allowance amounts to:

• 80% of the allowance assessment basis,
• 100% of allowance assessment basis, also during a period of hospital stay, if the incapacity for work:
  • was a result of accident on the way to or from work,
  • occurs during pregnancy,
  • is a result of the employee undergoing necessary medical examinations provided for candidates for donors of cells, tissues and organs or the procedure of their collection.

If incapacity for work was caused by accident at work or occupational disease, the insured person is entitled to sickness allowance from accident insurance. This benefit is due from the first day of insurance and from the first day of incapacity for work. It amounts to 100% of the assessment basis.

The basis of assessment of sickness allowance payable to an employee is an average monthly remuneration from 12 calendar months preceding the month when incapacity for work had occurred. A sickness insurance contribution had to be calculated on this remuneration, and the remuneration had to be reduced by social insurance contributions.

And the assessment basis of allowance payable to an insured person who is not an employee is the average monthly income from 12 calendar months before the incapacity for work has occurred. The income on which the sickness insurance contribution was calculated is taken into account, and reduced by social insurance contributions.

If incapacity for work occurred before the lapse of 12 calendar months, allowance assessment basis is calculated based on actual employment or insurance period for full calendar months.

The right to sick pay or sickness allowance is vested in persons to whom a doctor issues a certificate of temporary incapacity for work. Since 1 December 2018, certificates may be issued only in electronic form (the so-called e-ZLA).

The Social Insurance Institution pays sickness allowance to employees of work establishments that report no more than 20 employees for sickness insurance. However, in work establishments with more than 20 employees reported for sickness insurance, sickness allowance is paid by the employer during the period of insurance. In 2021, an amount of PLN 24,527.0 million was paid due to sickness absenteeism. In 2021, the Social Insurance Fund paid for 154.7 million days of absence due to sickness.

Following the amendment of the legislation, employees are entitled to 5 days of care leave per calendar year. The leave is granted for the provision of personal care or support to a family member or a person living in the same household if they require it for serious medical reasons.
No sickness allowance is payable for the period of incapacity for work during the care leave. The same rule applies to rehabilitation benefit and care allowance.

Legal status as of 2022 (some information - 2023)