Sick Pay in Poland: How ZUS Calculates Your L4 Benefit

If you're a temporary or foreign worker in Poland and fall ill, you're entitled to sick pay (zasiłek chorobowy) — a cash benefit that replaces your income during illness. Many workers confuse it with the sick-leave certificate (L4) or with their regular sick-day salary. This guide explains who pays, how much, and how to calculate your benefit.

Who Is Eligible?

Sick pay is available to any worker insured under the sickness insurance scheme (ubezpieczenie chorobowe) at ZUS (Poland's Social Insurance Institution). For employees on a standard employment contract (umowa o pracę), this insurance is mandatory from day one. For workers on a civil-law contract (umowa zlecenie), sickness insurance is voluntary — your employer must enrol you, or you must opt in yourself.

There is also a 30-day waiting period: sick pay only kicks in after 30 consecutive days of sickness insurance coverage. Exception: recent graduates covered within 90 days of finishing school or university have no waiting period.

Who Pays — Employer or ZUS?

It depends on how long you've been ill during the calendar year:

• First 33 days of illness per year — your employer pays (as sick-day salary)
• Workers aged 50 or over — employer pays only the first 14 days
• From day 34 (or day 15 for workers 50+) — ZUS takes over and pays sick benefit directly

Note: the 33 (or 14) day count is cumulative across the year — even if you have several short illness periods.

How Much Will You Receive?

The standard sick benefit rate is 80% of your calculation base. There are exceptions:

• 80% — standard illness
• 70% — hospitalisation (in-patient treatment)
• 100% — occupational disease, accident at work or on the way to/from work, illness during pregnancy

How to Calculate the Benefit

The calculation base is your average gross monthly salary over the last 12 months (or the full employment period if shorter). Social insurance contributions (~13.71%) are then deducted from this figure.

Example:

• Average gross salary: PLN 5,000
• After deducting contributions: 5,000 × (1 − 0.1371) ≈ PLN 4,315
• Daily rate: 4,315 ÷ 30 ≈ PLN 143.83
• Daily sick benefit (80%): 143.83 × 0.80 ≈ PLN 115.07
• 10 days off sick: ≈ PLN 1,150

How Long Does the Benefit Last?

Sick benefit is paid for a maximum of 182 days per year. For tuberculosis or illness during pregnancy the limit is 270 days. Once exhausted, you can apply for rehabilitation benefit (świadczenie rehabilitacyjne) — for up to 12 months.

Step-by-Step: How to Claim

1. See a doctor — they issue an electronic sick note called e-ZLA
2. The doctor sends e-ZLA automatically to ZUS and your employer — you don't need to deliver anything yourself
3. Notify your employer of your absence (by phone, SMS, or however your company requires)
4. For the first 33 days, your employer pays sick-day salary with your regular payslip
5. From day 34, ZUS pays the benefit — either directly to your bank account or via your employer

Foreign Workers — What to Watch Out For

• Check on the pue.zus.pl portal that your sickness insurance is active and your employer is paying contributions
• If you're on a umowa zlecenie, confirm with your employer whether voluntary sickness insurance has been arranged — without it, you'll receive nothing from ZUS during illness
• Incorrect data in ZUS (e.g. a wrong PESEL number) can block your payment — verify your records in advance
• NHS-equivalent treatment (NFZ) is free when your health insurance is active — the same doctor issues your sick note

Key Distinctions: L4, Sick-Day Salary, Sick Benefit

• L4 / e-ZLA — the doctor's electronic sick note confirming incapacity for work
• Sick-day salary (wynagrodzenie chorobowe) — paid by your employer for the first 33 (or 14) days, at ≈80% of normal pay
• Sick benefit (zasiłek chorobowy) — paid by ZUS from day 34 (or 15), also at ≈80% of the calculation base

Summary

Sick pay in Poland protects your income during illness. As a worker in Poland — regardless of nationality — you're entitled to it as long as you're covered by ZUS sickness insurance. Check pue.zus.pl before you need it to confirm your insurance is active and your employer is paying contributions. That way, if you fall ill, your income won't fall to zero.