E-leave is a medical certificate in an electronic version, abbreviated as e-ZLA. It can be issued during a visit to a doctor's office, home visit or during a telemedicine service. Find out what the employer sees in your sick leave, what the issuing of e-ZLA looks like in practice, what PUE ZUS is and in what situation you will receive a sick leave in printed version.

1. What is e-waiver?

E-leave is an electronic leave, thanks to which you no longer have to provide the leave to your employer (if you are an employee) or to ZUS (if you run a business). The e-exemption will be automatically sent to the profile of the Electronic Services Platform of the contribution payer (PUE ZUS) and to the ZUS system. From December 1, 2022, e-ZLA is the only valid form of issuing sick leaves.

2. Can every doctor issue an e-certificate?

E-sick leave is issued by a doctor who has the authorization granted to him by the Social Insurance Institution, if he decides that the patient is incapable of performing work. The electronic exemption may also be issued by a medical assistant authorized by the doctor who enters the information indicated by the doctor in the system. The certificate should be issued on the day of the visit or surgery. A doctor who has not examined the patient has no right to issue a medical certificate. It is also worth knowing that when due to an illness or a serious injury, we come to the HED (or to a specialist), the certificate must be issued at the place where help is provided.

3. How is the whole procedure with e-release?

Issuing an electronic sick leave (e-ZLA) takes only a moment, because the system - after entering the PESEL number - tells the doctor most of the data, e.g. employers (payers of contributions) and family members. In addition, the system compares the date of the beginning of the period of incapacity for work with the rules for issuing sick leave specified in the regulations and with the last discharge of the patient. The system also suggests the letter code and the statistical number of the disease.

4. Can the doctor issue an e-certificate during a video call or chat with the patient?

Many of us are more and more willing to use telemedicine - a technology that allows you to stay in constant contact with your doctor without leaving your home. It complements standard medical services and during the periodpandemic and the spread of the coronavirus has become even more common. Medical advice and contact with a doctor via phone, chat, video call, and a special application are a safe and quick form of obtaining a consultation, e-prescription, e-leave or e-referral for examinations. During a telemedicine consultation, the doctor may analyze the test results and the patient's medical history, assess his behavior (whether he is conscious, oriented, what his mood is, how he speaks), he may ask for the measurement of vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, number of breaths). , glucose levels on your meter). If it is possible, the doctor looks at the changes that have occurred (in photos taken by phone, video chat) - rash, swelling, changes in the throat. May ask you to apply pressure to a specific area (assessment of circulation), pinch a fold of skin (assessment of dehydration).

"If the physician decides that, based on the information and medical records he has, he is able to sufficiently assess the patient's he alth, he or she can issue an e-prescription and e-certificate. In the case of an e-prescription, we will receive a PIN with which you should go to the pharmacy to buy the necessary medications. On the other hand, the e-exemption is sent electronically directly to the Social Insurance Institution. Currently (statement from the beginning of April 2022 - editorial note), we already provide 60% of all medical advice by phone or online. We quadrupled the number of remote consultations in the last week compared to the beginning of the year. Telephone counseling and other telemedicine services can be provided by specialists not only from Medicover Centers, but also from their homes, ”says Dr. Piotr Soszyński, MD, director of strategic medical consulting at Medicover Polska.

5. When will my employer find out about my e-leave?

E-ZLA issued by a doctor immediately goes to ZUS, and ZUS makes it available to the employer on the ZUS Electronic Services Platform (PUE ZUS) and the insured (patient). Thanks to this, the employee does not have to provide the dismissal to the employer. He can also view the e-ZLA issued by the doctor on his private profile at PUE ZUS (profile registration page).

6. Does every employer have to have a profile at PUE ZUS?

Yes, when it is required to submit insurance documents to ZUS electronically. If it is not, it can create such a profile voluntarily. Creating a profile at PUE ZUS is free of charge. The employer may receive notifications about the issuance of the leave by e-mail or SMS.

Although it is convenient to use PUE ZUS, there is no obligation to have such a profile for now. If the payer has not yet created a profile, he is obligedinform (in writing) your newly hired employees (on the first day they are covered by sickness insurance) that they must provide a hard copy of the certificate when it is issued. The system will inform the doctor if the employer does not have a PUE profile. Then the patient will receive a hard copy of the e-certificate. It must be delivered to your employer within 7 days. The printout of the electronic certificate should be signed and stamped by a doctor or medical assistant.

7. Can a person who has no symptoms of infection, but is concerned about his he alth and therefore does not want to go to work, get a sick leave?

A sick leave is a certificate of the employee's inability to work. The doctor makes such a decision based on the interview with the patient and the analysis of medical records in the case of an e-visit. If the visit takes place in a facility - additionally on the basis of a physical examination. In the described situation, when the patient does not have any symptoms, the doctor has no grounds to issue a medical certificate.

8. Can I request a printed medical certificate?

Yes. The e-ZLA medical certificate is sent to the insured person:

  • If the information available on the doctor's profile shows that the contribution payer does not have a PUE profile,
  • At the insured person's request, even if the contribution payer has a profile at PUE ZUS.

The e-ZLA medical certificate printout is signed and stamped by the doctor. It is possible to prepare a printout only after issuing the e-ZLA medical certificate, signing it and sending it to the Social Insurance Institution.

9. What about sickness for a child or caring for another family member?

Parents are en titled to a leave to care for a sick child until they turn 14. You can also get a leave to look after a close person (wife, husband, parents, stepfather, stepmother, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings), but on the condition that they run a common household with them. Thanks to the so-called special act - a special act on special solutions in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic - parents of children under the age of 8 are en titled to an additional care allowance in the event of an unforeseen closure of a nursery, kindergarten, school or children's club. All information is available at www.zus.pl, or you can use the hotline22 290 87 01(service number for care allowances, open Mon-Fri 7-15). Additional care allowance (in the amount of 80% of the allowance calculation basis) is granted to parents or legal guardianschildren who:

  • They look after a child under the age of 8 (the allowance can be used no longer than the day before the child's eighth birthday),
  • They are covered by sickness insurance (e.g. they are employees, contractors, persons running a non-agricultural activity).

10. What happens when it is not possible to issue an e-waiver, e.g. the system hangs?

An alternative medical certificate will be issued. This is the case if there is no internet connection (e.g. during a home visit to the insured person) or the signing of the certificate is not possible. In such situations, the doctor has the option of using forms in the form of a medical certificate, previously printed from the ICT system.

Each form printed by the doctor (from his profile) has a unique identifier (series and number) and is registered in the system. The medical certificate issued in an alternative procedure does not contain the statistical number of the insured person's illness. On the day of the examination, the doctor provides the insured with a medical certificate with his stamp and signature. The insured is obliged to provide them to the contribution payer, even if he has a profile on PUE.

Important

After the alternative medical certificate is issued, the doctor is obliged to enter the same data into the ICT system and forward the e-ZLA medical certificate to the electronic ZUS inbox within 3 working days of the alternative medical certificate.

11. Does the employer see the disease code on the e-leave?

No. The E-ZLA for the contribution payer does not contain the statistical number of the disease. This solution protects the privacy of the employee.

12. Is it possible to resign from sick leave and come to work or take a vacation?

If the doctor has already issued an e-ZLA and the person decides that he or she does not want to use the exemption, he should arrange further proceedings with his employer. It is no longer the responsibility of ZUS.

Worth knowing

Consultants of the free NFZ hotline, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, are available at the number800 190 590 . They provide patients with contacts to primary he alth care units that provide medical tele-advice. All patients can consult their GPs over the phone, online or by other means of communication, thus reducing the need to leave home during a pandemic. On the Fund's hotline, you can obtain a POZ number at which teleportation will be carried out - including a remotely issued exemption. More information at www.zus.pl

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