Sick leave (colloquially known as L4) is a certificate issued by a doctor when the patient is unable to work due to illness. Specialists Emilia Sujkowska and Iwona Siporska from the Rafał Piotr Janiszewski Advisory Office provide the most important information and answer bothering questions about sick leave in an interview with Poradnik Zdrowie. Read more!
Anna Tłustochowicz: When is the patient en titled to L4?
Emilia Sujkowska and Iwona Siporska :We receive a sick leave whena doctor states that we are incapable of workwhich occurs as a result of an illness or when it is necessary for us to be isolated because of a contagious disease.
So e.g. quarantine during COVID-19?
That's right. In this case, we receive a sick leave despite the fact that we may or may not be sick. In other situations, L4 is absolutely due to the disease, which prevents the patient from properly performing his or her work.If the sickness lasts up to 33 days in a calendar year, the employee is en titled to sick pay.From the 34th day, sickness benefit is paid. For employees who have reached 50 years of age, the period of sick pay is reduced to 14 days.
Before we get into that, let's figure out what the term “incapacity for work” means?
That a person is unable to function at work in such a way that it is safe for him and properly enough to be able to fully perform his professional duties.
You don't have to look far:angina, fever and powerful weaknessare indications for L4.
It is known that in such a state, a person is not only able to work, but even often perform household chores. Just stay in bed.
Everyone intuitively feels that when he is in hospital, has surgery, pneumonia, he should get a sick leave. But in frivolous situations? Cold? Diarrhea?
Even diarrhea can be a reason for a sick leave, because when it is caused by the virus, not only would the employee feel uncomfortable if he had to come to work, but also put other employees at risk.
He could infect them.
Of course. So it is also about preventing other employees from getting sick. The doctor decides about issuing L4 each time. After examining the patient and carrying out the necessary tests, and on the basis of the interview, he decides whether or not the patient is able to go to work.
And it happens that he wants to issue a sick leave, but the patient asks him not to. I want to go to work. Then what?
In the case of an ordinary cold, the doctor will rather not protest, but when it comes to, for example,an infectious disease, there can be no negotiation.
Generallythe decision to issue a sick leave belongs to the doctorand the patient should follow it.
L4 appears in PUE ZUS and the employer is immediately informed about the employee's inability to perform his / her duties.
The employee does not have to inform the boss that he has been dismissed?
Doesn't have to, although of course it would be nice if he did.It is a matter of good practices and work culture.As long as the dismissals were issued in a paper form, on the famous green sheets, the employer did not know about the dismissal right away, so the employee was obliged to deliver them to the company. This is not the case now.Electronic layoffs also give bosses new opportunities . When they suspect that employees are simulating, they have the opportunity to verify the situation.
How?
By pressing a special button. If the boss has doubts as to whether his employee is actually incapable of work or is abusing the doctor's goodness, thensends ZUS a request "check sick leave ". In such a situation, the Social Insurance Institution is obliged to inspect the employee. In the era of the epidemic, it was difficult, but in general, such control consists in the fact that a ZUS inspector appears at the place of residence and checks whether the person is actually sick and complies with medical recommendations.
Of course, ZUS also carries out such inspectionswithout requests from employers . Especially when employees stay on long-term L4 and there is a suspicion of extortion of benefits from ZUS.
In the era of the pandemic, for example, the number of dismissals from psychiatrists has increased significantlyand - despite the fact that long-term stress, remote work and uncertainty of tomorrow have certainly had a negative impact on the mental he alth of Poles - ZUS announces controls, incl. these layoffs.
Let's determine then, what are the duties of the employee on L4? Does he have to be at home in bed? Will it beillegal, if he goes to his cabin in the mountains during his sick leave?
Above all, it is the duty to follow the doctor's instructions. In the certificate, we will find information whether the patient has to lie down or is allowed to walk.But under the slogan "to walk" we do not understand the effectiveness of mountain trips!To walk, i.e. to be able to go to the pharmacy or to the doctor or to the store for basic necessities, such as food. In fact, one can ask the question: "What is ZUS interested in, whether you are at home or at the seaside on sick leave"? Well: it interests. The sick person is supposed to take care of his treatment, rest, and not go on holiday.The very fact of leaving is an energetic burden.But also a risk, because excessive effort may exhaust a sick person and cause, for example, fainting.
To sum up: during a sick leavethe employee should be at home . At your home address. And follow the doctor's instructions, i.e. take medications, rest and focus on recovery. Also, he cannot take up any additional gainful work during this time!
And work remotely? What if the employee is over-zealous and says, "Boss, unfortunately I got a sick leave, but I'm at the computer"?
During the coronavirus epidemic, when it happened that employees received L4 and were not sick, they only had to be in isolation, then if the boss agreed - they could work remotely.In other cases, L4 means that the human cannot work . Employers should keep an eye on this. They are then responsible for the deterioration of he alth, if a person who was considered unfit for work, but performed this work, overstretched the person and his he alth deteriorated. By the way, it is worth noting that in order for employees not to be afraid of being on sick leave - a rule has been introduced that during this time they cannot be dismissed.
How long can L4 last?
Up to 180 days.The exceptions are sick pregnant women and people with tuberculosis, for whom this period is extended to 270 days.
And then what?
Then, if the employee is still incapable of work and this six-month period would not be enough to heal him, he may go onrehabilitation allowance for a maximum of another 12 months . In this case, we are still talking about temporary incapacity to work, and during the period of sick leave, the patient remains under the care of a doctor all the time, and often undergoes rehabilitation in order to finally be able towork back.
When we talk about a long-term sick leave, before returning to work, the employee needsa special certificate from the doctorthat such a return is safe for him and he is already able to work.
And if it isn't?
Then he stands before the ZUS commission, which rules on temporary or permanent incapacity to work.
The media widely informs about situations when an amputee patient has to report to the committee every year. There are mocking comments that medical examiners want to check whether the leg has grown back.
There is no catalog of diseases that qualify for temporary or permanent inability to work.It all depends on the patient's medical history , what is in his medical records and whether he is actually unable to do any work. After all, a leg amputee can theoretically work at a computer, if, of course, their mental state allows it. This is why people are called before a commission composed of ZUS certifying doctors to assess each individual case.The pension is usually granted for the year , after which it is necessary to appear again before the committee.
Finally, let's explain how much money is due to an employee staying on L4 and is this money paid by the employer or the Social Insurance Institution?
Up to the mentioned 33 - or 14 days in the case of employees over 50 - employer days, and then ZUS. The rates in both cases are the same: 100 percent. salary if the sick leave is caused by an accident at work, if the pregnant woman or the candidate or donor of cells or organs is ill.In other cases - and this is the most common case - 80 percent is paid. salary.
Only in the case of hospitalization, although there are exceptions here as well, the employee receives70 percent. salary .
Sickness benefit is paid by ZUS, but in larger companies - employing more than 20 people - the employer actually credits the Social Insurance Institution and it is he who, on normal dates, pays the employee the money due to him, and only then settles the accounts with ZUS -em. It is a favorable solution for the employee, because it will happen that ZUS itself pays benefits with a delay.
Last question: can only a woman or a man take sick leave for a sick child or care for an elderly family member?
Gender doesn't matter. Every employee has theright to L4 to look after a sick child or relativea person over the age of 75 . The annual limit for this type of dismissal depends on the age of the person the employee has to look after and the situation, and it is a maximum of 60 days.
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