Newsletter | Employment law in Poland | April 2025

IS IT POSSIBLE TO WORK ON SICK LEAVE?

New regulations concerning sick leave have been included in the draft amendment to the Act on the Social Insurance System and Certain Other Acts prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. The key change involves a regulation according to which, in the case of employment with two employers and a certificate of inability for work, the doctor will be able to specify which type of professional activity is excluded. This means that the employee will be able to continue performing certain job duties for one employer while remaining on sick leave for the other. In this case, they will be able to receive full pay from the first employer and sickness benefits from the second.

In addition, employees on sick leave will be able to perform incidental work activities if their undertaking such activities during the period of sick leave is required by significant circumstances, e.g. if the failure to do so could lead, among other things, to significant financial losses for the employer.

The draft also specifies the rules for travelling abroad during sick leave. The obligation to inform the Social Insurance Authority (ZUS) of one's place of stay will be maintained. In addition, a trip to a third country will be permitted if it is in line with the doctor's recommendations or is necessitated by significant circumstances, e.g. family reasons. In addition, the doctor will have to confirm that this does not conflict with the purpose of the sick leave.

 

REVEALING SALARIES – THE LATEST PROPOSALS FOR CHANGES TO THE LABOUR CODE

The parliamentary bill to amend the Labour Code concerning the transparency of salaries has been sent for further work. The Sejm Extraordinary Committee has proposed further changes to it.

The latest draft stipulates that employers are obliged to inform candidates about their salary, including all its components (regardless of their name and nature), as well as other work-related benefits, in cash or kind, as well as its initial amount or range, based on objective, neutral criteria, in terms of gender. If the employer is subject to a collective agreement or remuneration regulations, they shall be obliged to indicate the relevant provisions in this regard. The information should be provided on paper or in electronic form in good time: in the job advertisement, before the interview or at another point in time before the employment relationship is established.

In addition, the employer will be obliged to ensure that job advertisements and job titles are gender-neutral and that the recruitment process is non-discriminatory. According to the new proposal, Article 22(1) paragraph 1 point 6 of the Labour Code will also be amended to exclude the possibility for an employer to request information about a candidate's salary, both at their current and previous places of employment.

The parliamentary proposal in its original form included as many as 10 amendments to the Labour Code, but after the work of the subcommittee, the scope of the reforms was significantly reduced. Ultimately, the recommended draft covers only two articles. The date of entry into force of the new regulations remains unchanged - the new regulations will come into force six months after their announcement in the Journal of Laws.

 

INCREASING NUMBER OF EXTERNAL REPORTS TO THE POLISH OMBUDSMAN (RPO)

Since 25 December 2024, whistleblowers have been able to make external reports, i.e. to notify public institutions directly of legal violations that concern their activities. The RPO Office has announced that since the regulations came into force, the RPO Office has received a total of 221 letters concerning irregularities.

However, most reports were not qualified as external reports because they referred to violations of the law that did not fall within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act, e.g. they were reports of violations of labour law. For a report to be qualified as an external report within the meaning of the Whistleblower Protection Act, it must concern one of the categories listed in Article 3(1) of that law. It is worth noting that the catalogue described in this provision is closed.

 

HEALTH CONTRIBUTION - CHANGES PLANNED FROM 2026

The Ministry of Finance has announced changes to the system of calculating the health contribution for entrepreneurs. The new regulations would come into force on 1 January 2026.
According to the law passed by the Sejm, the health insurance contribution will consist of two parts: the basic flat-rate part will be 9% of 75% of the minimum wage, while the second part, calculated as a percentage, will apply to income exceeding a certain threshold. For entrepreneurs who pay taxes according to the tax scale or flat tax, the excess of over 1.5 times the average monthly salary will be subject to a rate of 4.9%.

In turn, flat-rate taxpayers will pay 3.5% on income that exceeds three times the average monthly salary. In addition, those who use the tax card will pay a lower contribution, 9% calculated at 75% of the minimum wage (instead of the current basis, which is the full minimum wage).

The bill will now be considered by the Senate.

 

INTERRUPTION OF MATERNITY LEAVE AND THE RIGHT TO SUPPLEMENTARY LEAVE

The amendment to the Labour Code, which came into force on 19 March 2025, introduces the possibility of taking a new type of leave. This entitlement is granted to the mother or father of the child and concerns supplementary maternity leave, which must be taken once and immediately after maternity leave.

In the event of the child's hospitalisation and interruption of maternity leave under Article 181 of the Labour Code, the parent does not lose the right to supplementary maternity leave. The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, in its latest position from 11 March 2025, confirmed that the two entitlements are separate and that an employee may take one or both.

Therefore, there is no obligation to be on maternity leave during the child's hospitalisation to be able to apply for supplementary maternity leave. However, it must be used continuously immediately after the end of the maternity leave.

 

DECREASE IN INCOME TO GUARANTEED EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND (FGŚP)

The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has announced that the income of the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund for the past year amounted to PLN 1.064 billion, compared to PLN 1.075 billion for 2023.

The decrease in the Fund's income is a result of the decrease in the number of full-time jobs on the labour market, as the fund is financed by employers' contributions. The contribution basis for the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund is the contribution basis for the pension and disability insurance of a given employee. The Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund serves to protect employee claims if they cannot be met due to the employer's insolvency.