Working on sick leave? MRPiPS is preparing a revolution in L4

The sick leave system is set to undergo a real revolution as early as 1 January 2026. The latest draft of changes to social insurance will not only allow for combining benefits with full pay for many contracts but will also allow for incidental work activities during sick leave (excluding employer instructions). Experts warn against potential abuses.

Two jobs, different statuses – sick leave and work at the same time?

The amendment to the Social Insurance System Act (UD114 project) introduces a significant change in the scope of sick leave for people employed under several contracts. According to the new Article 17, paragraph 1d, an employee will be able to stay on sick leave under one insurance title and at the same time work (if the doctor sees no contraindications due to the nature of the work) and receive full remuneration from another. Moreover, the project grants the employee the right to apply for one ZLA certificate, regardless of the number of places of employment, which raises serious concerns among employers. Experts indicate that such a situation may lead to a risk to the employee’s health and does not release the employer from its obligations in the field of occupational safety. The new regulations may therefore significantly increase the vulnerability of L4 to abuse. Key decisions should remain in the hands of doctors and ZUS, and the imprecise formulation of “incidental activity” may open the way to unfair practices.

However, as it results from the justification of the government’s draft amendment, the current practice of depriving an employee of sickness benefits when they are on sick leave from one employer and are simultaneously working for another is considered unjustified. The drafters argue that the loss of the right to the benefit should not occur when a sick leave is presented only to one employer, while work is performed at the other. Legal doctrine emphasizes that incapacity for work is different from illness. It is a legal concept defining the impact of an illness on the ability to perform a specific job. Therefore, a health condition that prevents the performance of one job (e.g. hoarseness for a TV presenter) does not have to exclude the possibility of performing another (editorial work). Thus, failure to use the entire sick leave should not automatically deprive the employee of the right to benefits from the employer for whom the employee refrains from working.

New definition of gainful employment on sick leave – exceptions and possibilities

As part of the proposed changes, the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Policy (MRPiPS) aims to clarify the concept of “gainful work” in the context of sick leave. According to the draft (Article 17, Section 1a of the Act), any paid activity will be considered gainful work, regardless of the legal form of its performance. The only exception will be incidental activities that are necessary to undertake during sick leave due to significant circumstances. This means that an employee on sick leave under an employment contract will be able to perform work under another legal relationship, for example a contract for services, provided that the type of work is not contraindicated by the doctor certifying the incapacity for work in connection with a given disease. We wrote more about the new definition of gainful work in the article: Changes to sick leave – draft amendment to the Act on the social insurance system

When will the new L4 regulations come into force?

Currently, the draft amendment to the rules on sick leave is at the stage of work in the Council of Ministers and has not yet been submitted to the Sejm. The deadline for submitting comments as part of public consultations and opinions expired in mid-November 2024.

Currently, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, as the author of the project, is analysing the submitted comments and preparing a position on them. The detailed course of the Council of Ministers’ work on the project is available here. It was originally assumed that the new regulations would enter into force on January 1, 2025, but this deadline was not met. Therefore, it is necessary to follow the further legislative process in order to determine the final date of their entry into force.

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