New L4 2025 rules – when will they apply? What will change?

At the end of October, a draft amendment to the Act on the social security system and certain other acts was submitted for public consultations and opinions.

The fundamental change in the ministry's proposal is the introduction of the possibility of working while on sick leave. According to the current regulations, an insured person who performs paid work or uses leave from work in a manner inconsistent with the purpose of the leave during the declared incapacity for work loses the right to this benefit for the entire period.

The project proposes defining “paid work” as any activity of a gainful nature, regardless of the legal relationship that is the basis for its performance. At the same time, a reservation was introduced that paid work would not include incidental activities required by “significant circumstances”.

The authors of the project argue in the assessment of the effects of the project's regulations that the provision implements “the established interpretation of the Supreme Court in this respect.”

“This means that paid work, as a negative condition for the right to sickness benefits, will not be identified with every human activity carried out on every legal basis. Therefore, taking an action, the omission of which could lead, among others, to to significant financial losses for the employer or contractor (e.g. signing invoices, waybills, other documents) will not lead to withdrawal of social security benefits“- we read.

The project also proposes a departure from the current rule, “according to which each performance of paid work for one contribution payer during the period of receiving sickness benefit for employment with another contribution payer deprives the insured person of the right to benefit for the entire period of sick leave.”

“This applies to the case when the insured person meets the conditions for being subject to social insurance under at least two types of this insurance (e.g. is employed by two payers of contributions). If the person issuing the leave from work indicates in the decision that gainful work under a specific title may be performed due to the type of work, incapacity for work due to illness will be adjudicated under a specific title, and work may be performed under another title if the type of work does not justify adjudicating incapacity for work in this case“- we read.

According to the authors of the project, this means that it will be possible to receive sickness benefit on one basis and remuneration for work on the other.

“It is possible that the employee's health condition will adversely affect the ability to perform one of the jobs, if they are of different types (e.g. hoarseness will prevent a journalist from broadcasting on television, but it does not constitute an obstacle to working in a newsroom or other institution)” – explain the authors of the project.

According to the assessment of the effects of the Act's regulations, a person residing in L4 will have to provide the contribution payer and ZUS with current information about the place of residence or stay.

“If the inspectors do not find the insured person during the inspection, this will constitute the basis for losing the right to sickness benefit for the entire period of leave from work“- it was written.

The exception will be the situation when the absence is justified by “health reasons or the need to undertake incidental activities that require significant circumstances to be undertaken during the period of leave from work” “These include cases where the insured person, in particular he went to the doctor, went for rehabilitation, went for tests, to the pharmacy or for a walk as part of his convalescence. In the case of care allowance, this will be the case e.g. picking up a child from kindergarten by a person under personal care” – mentioned.