Control of an employee on sick leave

As a rule, an employee on sick leave is to rest and recover in order to recover as soon as possible. However, there are situations when sick leave is an excuse to obtain additional time to deal with private matters, and even to take up additional paid employment. Therefore, the employer whose employee is on sick leave has the right to inspect it. What does the inspection of a sick employee look like? The answer is below!

Who can check?

The said inspection of the employee may be carried out personally by the employer - provided that he employs up to 20 employees - or another person who has received a personal authorization from the boss. Usually, another employee of the company is delegated to carry out the inspection.

In addition, the employer has the right to request an inspection by the Social Insurance Institution. In such a situation, you can even refer to certifying doctors employed at ZUS. Such inspectors have the right to determine whether a given sick leave is actually justified on medical grounds.

The authorization transferred to the inspecting person should comply with the model presented in the appendix to the ordinance of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy on detailed rules and procedures for verifying the correct use of sick leaves from work and the formal control of medical certificates.

Where should the employee inspection take place?

The inspection may be carried out by the employer at the employee's place of residence, but also at the place of his temporary stay, in a second place of work or - if the employee is also an entrepreneur - in the place where he conducts business activity.

The basic premise authorizing the finding that the employee has abused the dismissal is his absence from the place of residence or stay. However, it is worth remembering that this is not a decisive premise - the absence may be justified by a visit to the doctor or the need for rehabilitation. In such a situation, the employer is obliged to give the employee a date in which he will have to explain the reasons for his absence.

In a situation where the subordinate refuses to answer or exceeds the set deadline, it may be considered that the granted sick leave is used contrary to its intended use.

At the end of the inspection - a protocol

Each employee inspection should be summarized in a protocol. Such a document should always contain all the facts that the inspector considers important in the context of the activities performed. However, when the exemption is used incorrectly, it will be necessary to include in the protocol also supporting arguments

The protocol template can also be found in the form of an annex to the above-mentioned regulation.