Poland's Sick-Leave Overhaul Could Let Workers Clock In Elsewhere While Signed Off
Published on 10/30/2026 at 16:04 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Polish employers are pushing back against a planned legal change that would allow staff to be signed off sick by one employer while continuing to work for a second — a reform due to take effect on 1 January 2027.
Under the proposal, an employee on sick leave from one job could keep working for another company, provided a doctor confirms they are still able to carry out their duties at that second workplace.
The Business Centre Club (BCC), a Polish employers' organisation, has joined other business representatives in calling for substantial amendments to the plan before it becomes law.
Warning over abuse and oversight
The BCC argues the reform carries serious risks of abuse and would create major difficulties for both company-level and official oversight. It also warns of extra strain on the public purse.
Labour and social security law specialists at the organisation say doctors should bear greater responsibility, particularly those who issue sick notes purely digitally, without any face-to-face conversation with the patient. In the BCC's view, such certifications need to carry legal weight.
Billions in sick pay already
Wojciech Nagel, a BCC vice-president and a supervisory board member at Poland's Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), points to the heavy burden the system already carries. Spending on sick pay, he says, is placing growing pressure on public funds.
The scale of the problem is set out in ZUS's report for 2025. During the reporting period, 27.5 million medical certificates were issued, covering a total of 290.5 million days of incapacity for work.
Payments for sick leave and sickness benefit came to 34.88 billion z?oty in total. Of that figure, 20.71 billion z?oty came from the Social Insurance Fund (FUS). Compared with 2024, FUS spending on these benefits rose by 13.2%.
Call for talks with ZUS and the RDS
Given these figures, the BCC wants the planned legislation properly coordinated. It is calling for prompt discussions with ZUS and a swift debate in the social insurance committee of the Council for Social Dialogue (RDS), the body through which unions, employers and government negotiate.
To head off problems when the new rules take effect on 1 January 2027, the BCC says companies' objections and the social insurance system's financial limits must feed into the legislative process at an early stage.
