flash news: #social insurance
From 13 April 2026, employers of up to 20 staff can themselves check proper use of sick leave, without having to wait for the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) to act. According to data from Conperio, between 13 April and 31 July, interest amongst small and medium-sized business es in checking sick leave rose by 42 per cent in comparison to the first quarter of the year.
On 26 May 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a draft bill on social security for people practicing an artistic profession. The new regulations are intended to support artists working on commission, 69% of whom earn below the national average and 30% of whom earn below the minimum wage.
In 2025, the Social Insurance Institution (“ZUS”) recorded 27.5 million medical certificates of temporary incapacity for work, which meant 290.5 million days of sick leave. This is 500,000 days more than the previous year and 8 million more than in 2021, according to ZUS data.
The year 2026 brought a significant change in how to communicate with the Social Insurance Institution (“ZUS”). From March 12 ePUAP communication system is disabled, and submissions sent this way are no longer processed.
The Social Insurance Institution („ZUS”) is to provide a new service to inform business persons of arrears in contribution payments. To date payers were only informed of non-payments via a message in their account in the eZUS system.
At the request of the editors of Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, the Social Insurance Institution (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych) clarified that a day on which an employee worked all or part of a day and then received a medical certificate for the same day is to be included in a period of sickness benefit.