Pregnancy Sick Pay Reform: Will ZUS Take Over Employer Costs?
Polish lawmakers are considering legislation that would shift the burden of paying sickness benefits for pregnant employees entirely to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) starting from the first...
Polish lawmakers are considering legislation that would shift the burden of paying sickness benefits for pregnant employees entirely to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) starting from the first day of leave.
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Current Sick Pay Regulations
Under existing laws, an employer is responsible for covering sickness benefits for the first 33 days of an employee’s absence. Only after this period does the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) assume payment of the benefit.
Pregnant women are currently entitled to a specialized, extended benefit period of 270 days. ZUS begins payments on the 34th day of medical leave, reflecting a state-sanctioned protection of expectant mothers.
Proposed Legislative Changes
Employers frequently cite the financial burden of covering sick pay and replacement staffing costs as a deterrent to hiring young women. The proposed amendment to the Labor Code aims to require ZUS to cover benefits from the very first day of pregnancy-related leave.
The draft legislation successfully underwent its first reading in the Sejm on June 9 and was referred to a codification committee. If passed, the law is scheduled to take effect 30 days after its official publication.
Calculating Benefits During Pregnancy
While standard sickness benefits typically equal 80 percent of the assessment base, pregnant women receive 100 percent. This amount is equivalent to the salary the employee would have earned had she remained at work.
The assessment base is derived from the average monthly salary over the preceding 12 months, including bonuses and awards, minus social security contributions of 13.71 percent. To qualify for these payments, a medical certificate marked with the “B” code must be submitted to the employer within seven days of issuance.
Medical Certification Requirements
A pregnancy itself does not automatically qualify an individual for medical leave. The certificate must be justified by health issues—not necessarily pregnancy-related complications—that prevent the employee from performing her duties.