The government is backtracking on its promise to change L4. It's too expensive and opens the door to abuse.

• Money.pl has established that the changes proposed by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy were blocked at the stage of the Economic Committee of the Council of Ministers
• If ZUS took over the payment of sickness benefits from the first day of sick leave, the government would have to pay PLN 13-14 billion annually from the state budget.
• There are also concerns that the changes would open the door too wide to abuse by dishonest employees and employers.

Funding sickness benefits from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) from the beginning of an employee's absence was one of the so-called "100 concrete measures for the first 100 days of government" that the Civic Coalition brought to the parliamentary elections. Although the Ministry of Labor's work on the bill on this matter has concluded, all indications are that the government will abandon the reform.

Money.pl has determined that the proposed changes were blocked at the Economic Committee of the Council of Ministers stage, before the bill was even submitted to a government meeting. The solution promised by the Civic Coalition (KO) during the election campaign is said to be too costly and open the door to abuse.

Sebastian Gajewski, Deputy Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, admitted in an interview with Money.pl that if ZUS took over the payment of sickness benefits from the first day of sick leave, the Minister of Finance would have to pay the Social Insurance Institution PLN 13-14 billion annually in subsidies from the state budget.

"These costs are comparable to the widow's pension in the target variant of 25 percent. These funds would have to come from the sickness fund, which – unlike the surplus disability and accident funds – has a deficit," he explained.

Secondly, there was concern that some employers would encourage employees to take sick leave, paid for by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), if the company was in a difficult financial situation or had fewer orders. "I don't assume such behavior would be common, but we have to take it into account," Gajewski confirmed.

This would require greater opportunities for ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) to control sick leave, and today – as Gajewski pointed out – with 40% of vacancies in this institution, this is unrealistic.

Gajewski reassures: we still have over two years until the end of the term

The government also investigated the solutions adopted by other EU countries in this regard, and it turned out that in the entire EU, only Cyprus pays sick leave from day one without employer involvement. In all other countries, employers contribute to the costs, albeit to varying degrees.

Some Civic Coalition (KO) politicians admitted in an interview with Money.pl that they fear repercussions for abandoning their campaign promises. Representatives of other parties in the ruling coalition, however, reportedly have no such concerns.

When asked about the reform, the Poland 2050 politician even emphasized that the 100 specific measures were a commitment of one party, not the entire government. Gajewski added that it must bide its time and noted that the ministry is currently focusing on reforming medical certification.

- We still have over two years until the end of the term, so I think we will return to this discussion in the future, also taking into account the possibilities of the state budget - he assured.

He also stressed that the government does not want to finance the change by increasing the sickness contribution.

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