ZUS is going hunting! Poles get sick on Fridays and punishment will be merciless

Friday became a favourite day for illness for many Poles. The latest data of the Social Insurance Institution are alarming and show that the practice of taking sick leave to extend the weekend is increasing. However, ZUS no longer intends to look at it idle and announces a revolution in the control system. The inspectors have already gained fresh powers, and the plans are to usage artificial intelligence to track down fraudsters. For workers who execute another activities during the L4 period, the consequences may be devastating – from the work to reimburse all sickness benefit to disciplinary dismissal. The time of carefree “infirmity” on request is just ending.

Revolution in ZUS Controls. Inspectors will knock on anyone

No more sense of impunity. ZUS importantly tightens the course and extends its control powers. Until recently, checks mainly afraid employees of smaller companies, employing up to 20 people. Now that's changed. Inspectors may enter any company, regardless of its sizeWhich means no 1 can feel safe. But this is only the beginning of the revolution. The government plans to take over payment of sickness benefits from the first day of the absence of an worker in this or next year. In practice, this means 1 thing: mass and automated checks.

The Social Insurance Institution intends to usage the power of artificial intelligence for this. peculiar algorithms will analyse patterns and trends, automatically typifying people who mostly take short-term layoffs just before or after the weekend. The strategy will rapidly catch suspicious patterns, directing the attention of the controllers to circumstantial employees and doctors. As the data from the ZUS study "Disease Absence in 2024" shows, the problem is huge. Last year Poles spent more than 290 million days on layoffs, and 22.8% of one-day L4 was shown on Friday. It's a clear signal to officials where to look for abuse.

How does ZUS track down frauds? Modern technologies and tips

Irregularity detection methods are becoming increasingly advanced. The inspection is no longer limited to a visit to the place of residence. Inspectors have the right to check besides location related to economical activity employee. This means that they can appear on a construction site, in a workshop or in an office where a individual on L4 moonlights on the side. Moreover, the controllers are increasingly eager to get data from open sources. Your activity in social media, vacation photos or post about completed orders can become evidence in the case.

ZUS is besides looking at doctors. Recorders can phase even 2.5-3 1000 redundancies in 1 monthwhich is physically impossible in a reliable patient study. In 2024, as many as 161 doctors lost their L4 privileges for this reason. It is increasingly the employers themselves who study suspicions of abuse to ZUS. They are tired of having to bear double costs – paying for absent workers and organizing replacements, which in tiny companies can paralyze the business. Only in the first 4th of 2025 ZUS conducted 116,8 1000 checkswhere the payment of allowances for the full amount close to the PLN 11.5 million.

Raw punishment without mercy. You're not just gonna lose your allowance, you're gonna lose your job.

The consequences for an worker caught in the act are highly severe. In accordance with the rules, a individual who, at the time of dismissal, carries out gainful work or uses L4 in violation of the objective, loses entitlement to sickness benefit for the full period of that exemption. This is crucial information – even a one-time violation, specified as aid with renovation or conducting the event, results in the work to reimburse the full period for which the release was issued, whether it was a week or a month.

However, losing the benefit is not the only punishment. An employer who learns of abuse has the full right to draw the most severe consequences. The misuse of medical leave is treated as a serious breach of the duties of employees. This in turn opens the way to disciplinary dismissalswithout notice. This provision in the work certificate may make it importantly hard to find fresh employment. Moreover, an worker released disciplinaryly loses his right to sickness benefit, even if his incapacity to work was authentic.

Ridiculous cases of abuse. These stories show the scale of the problem

The creativity of Poles in the usage of medical dismissals knows no boundaries, and stories revealed by ZUS controllers are absurd. Among the most bright examples was the owner of the ceremony home, who during the inspection He hid from the inspector... in a coffin.. Another man, on sick leave, actively participated in the hunts, which he boasted about online. The benefit besides lost the DJ, which during L4 ran a fresh Year's Eve party, reporting it live on social media.

The case of a man who took care of a supposedly sick wife was peculiarly outrageous. The fraud came to light erstwhile she called the workplace... her spouse herself. She said she was perfectly healthy and working all the time, and her husband uses the day off to party. These examples, though extreme, show that medical leave for many has become synonymous with additional paid leave. In the age of digitalisation and universal access to information, however, specified behaviour is highly easy to verify.

ZUS announces that the checks will be continued and tightened. Further changes to the law are planned to seal the strategy even more. Anyone who thinks he can fool the strategy and organize a long weekend at the expense of taxpayers must face serious consequences. The hazard present is greater than ever.