Work on the day of the sick leave

There may be a situation where an employee who has been at work will present a sick leave that will cover the day he worked. In such a case, should he receive remuneration for the time worked or sick pay or sickness benefit? What is the situation when the employee was only part of the day at work and then went to the doctor?

Working all day and sick leave for that day

For the day on which the employee was unable to work, but nevertheless performed his work full-time, he is entitled to remuneration for work. For such a day, the employee will not receive sick pay or sickness benefit, despite the fact that the medical certificate issued after the end of work also covers this day. The employee is entitled to remuneration for the work performed, which the employee cannot renounce. Therefore, an employee who worked the entire day in accordance with the standard of working time applicable to him, and at the same time went to the doctor after its completion, should receive remuneration for the time worked, and not remuneration for sickness or sickness benefit. Sickness benefits are not payable for periods of inability to work during which the insured retains the right to remuneration under the provisions on remuneration. Remuneration for the period of incapacity for work should be determined only for the period when the employee was actually absent from work due to illness.

Example 1.

The employee worked the entire day on September 14, and due to his malaise after work, he went to the doctor who issued him a sick leave from September 14 to September 25. The employee for September 14 should receive remuneration for the work performed, while the sick pay will be due only from September 15.

In this case, the first day of incapacity for work is not included in the benefit period.

A memorandum of service may be attached to the employee documentation, explaining the reason why the employee received remuneration for work, and not a sickness benefit, for one day of sick leave.

Working part of the day and sick leave for that day

A doctor who issues a sick leave to an employee due to illness decides that he / she is unable to work on a given day. It cannot therefore be concluded that the employee was unable to work for only a few hours. In accordance with the applicable regulations, sickness benefits are payable for the full days of the employee's illness. It is not possible to pay sickness benefit by the hour - as with earnings for worked time.

If the employee worked for part of the day and then received a sick leave for that day, he is entitled to sickness benefit or sick pay only if he was paid only for the part of the day worked. If, on the other hand, an employee - despite having worked only a few hours from the eight-hour standard applicable to him - received a salary for the whole day, he is not entitled to any other sickness benefits, and that day is not considered a day of incapacity for work due to illness. As a result, it is not included in the benefit period. Start a free 30-day trial period with no strings attached!

Therefore, if the employee receives remuneration only for the hours worked, then for that day he will also be entitled to sickness benefit or sick pay. However, if the wage is paid for the entire working day, the sickness benefit should not be paid until the next day.

Example 2.

The employee went to the doctor on September 1 at 11:00, after working 4 hours. Due to incapacity for work caused by illness, he received a medical certificate from ZUS e-ZLA for the period from September 1 to September 7 (7 days).

The employer paid out:

• remuneration for 4 hours worked on September 1, calculated according to the employee's remuneration rate in force for that month,
• sickness benefit for the period from September 1 to September 7 (previously the employee was sick for 33 days during the year, for which he received sick pay).

Summing up, whether the employee will be entitled to remuneration or sickness benefit for a working day covered by sick leave depends on whether the employer has charged the base salary for a given day.