Employee Sick Leave in Poland: Who Pays the First 33 Days, and What Does It Cost in 2026?

An employee in Poland takes 20 days of medically certified sick leave. How much must the employer pay?

The answer depends on more than the employee’s monthly salary.

For one employee, the employer may be responsible for all 20 days of sick pay. For another employee with exactly the same salary and exactly the same illness duration, the employer may fund only 14 days, while the remaining six days qualify for sickness allowance financed through Poland’s Social Insurance Fund.

The distinction comes from Article 92 of Poland’s Labour Code and the statutory transition from employer-funded sick pay (wynagrodzenie chorobowe) to sickness allowance (zasiłek chorobowy).

In 2026, the general rule is:

• Employees subject to the standard threshold receive employer-funded sick pay for the first 33 calendar days of sickness in a calendar year.
• Employees entitled to the shorter age-related threshold receive employer-funded sick pay for the first 14 calendar days.
• After the applicable limit is exhausted, qualifying sickness days are covered by sickness allowance financed through the Social Insurance Fund (Fundusz Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, or FUS).
• Both ordinary sick pay and sickness allowance are generally calculated at 80% of the applicable assessment base, subject to statutory exceptions and employer-specific arrangements.

The important employer-cost implication is that two employees earning the same salary can create different direct sick-pay liabilities because they fall under different statutory thresholds.

This guide provides a reproducible payroll model using a PLN 6,000 monthly gross salary, compares six age-and-absence scenarios, explains the payroll-cost treatment, and identifies the reconciliation evidence employers should request from Polish payroll providers.

Who Pays for Sick Leave in Poland in 2026?

Poland operates a two-stage system for ordinary employee sickness absence.

First, the employer finances statutory sick pay for the applicable number of days in the calendar year.

After that period is exhausted, sickness allowance becomes payable from the social insurance system.

The statutory transition depends on the employee’s age-related eligibility.

Employee category	Employer-funded sick pay	FUS-funded sickness allowance
Standard threshold, including employees below age 50	First 33 calendar days	From day 34
Shorter threshold applicable after the year the employee turns 50	First 14 calendar days	From day 15
Employee turning 50 during 2026	Generally 33-day threshold for 2026	From day 34
Employee who turned 50 during 2025	14-day threshold in 2026	From day 15

The age-50 rule does not switch automatically on the employee’s 50th birthday.

The shorter 14-day employer-funded period applies from the calendar year following the year in which the employee turns 50.

For example, an employee who turns 50 in June 2026 generally remains under the 33-day rule throughout 2026. The 14-day rule starts in January 2027.

This distinction is easy to miss in payroll systems that determine the sick-pay threshold solely from the employee’s current age.

The relevant statutory provision is Article 92 of the Polish Labour Code. The same transition is explained in ZUS guidance on sick pay and sickness allowance.

The Ivvora 2026 Sick Leave Cost Model

To make the employer liability comparable, Ivvora modeled employees receiving the same salary but subject to different age-based sick-pay thresholds.

Model assumptions

Parameter	Assumption
Employment type	Standard employment contract (umowa o pracę)
Monthly gross salary	PLN 6,000
Historical salary	PLN 6,000 monthly for the preceding 12 months
Assessment-base reduction	13.71%
Ordinary sick-pay rate	80%
Prior sickness days in 2026	Zero
Sickness insurance waiting period	Already satisfied
Absence durations	7, 20, and 45 calendar days
Special statutory sick-pay exceptions	Excluded
Employer contractual top-ups	Excluded
Salary bonuses or variable remuneration	Excluded
Pregnancy, occupational accidents, and commuting accidents	Excluded from base model

The 45-day scenario represents one continuous absence; its monetary figures are reported as a total for the absence, not as a single month’s payroll.

The calculations isolate the sickness-related benefit components. They do not claim that these components equal total payroll expenditure across every calendar month affected.

Step 1: Calculate the assessment base

For an employee with a stable PLN 6,000 gross monthly salary:

PLN 6,000 × (1 − 13.71%) = PLN 5,177.40

The PLN 5,177.40 figure represents the simplified monthly sickness-benefit assessment base.

In ordinary cases, this base is determined using average qualifying remuneration from the previous 12 calendar months, with relevant employee social insurance contributions deducted.

Step 2: Calculate the daily benefit

Polish sick-pay and sickness-allowance calculations use a statutory 30-day divisor.

PLN 5,177.40 ÷ 30 = PLN 172.58

At the ordinary 80% rate:

PLN 172.58 × 80% = PLN 138.06 per sickness day, after rounding to grosz.

For this model, the daily statutory sick-pay and sickness-allowance amounts are the same because the same assessment base and 80% rate apply.

The financing source, however, changes once the employer-funded threshold is exhausted.

Scenario 1: Seven Days of Sick Leave

A seven-day illness remains within the employer-funded limit for both age groups, assuming no earlier sick-pay days have been used during the calendar year.

Cost component	Standard 33-day threshold	Shorter 14-day threshold
Total sickness days	7	7
Employer-funded days	7	7
FUS-funded days	0	0
Daily sick pay	PLN 138.06	PLN 138.06
Employer-funded sick pay	PLN 966.42	PLN 966.42
Sickness allowance	PLN 0	PLN 0

Calculation:

7 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 966.42

The age-related distinction produces no difference in direct sick-pay financing at this stage.

What the employer actually pays

The employer is responsible for PLN 966.42 of statutory sick pay under the model.

However, this should not be added blindly on top of a full PLN 6,000 salary.

The employee’s regular salary is generally reduced for the sickness period under the applicable monthly remuneration rules, and the statutory sickness payment is then calculated separately.

There may also be normal remuneration for the days worked during the month.

Therefore, PLN 966.42 is the modeled employer-funded sick-pay component, not the employee’s entire monthly payroll cost.

Scenario 2: Twenty Days of Sick Leave

This is where the age-related threshold creates a material financing difference.

An employee on the standard threshold remains within the first 33 days.

An employee eligible for the shorter threshold reaches the employer-funded limit on day 14.

The following six days fall into the sickness-allowance stage.

Cost component	Standard 33-day threshold	Shorter 14-day threshold
Total sickness days	20	20
Employer-funded days	20	14
FUS-funded days	0	6
Daily benefit	PLN 138.06	PLN 138.06
Employer-funded sick pay	PLN 2,761.20	PLN 1,932.84
FUS-funded sickness allowance	PLN 0	PLN 828.36
Total sickness-related payments	PLN 2,761.20	PLN 2,761.20

Standard 33-day threshold

20 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 2,761.20 employer-funded sick pay

All 20 days remain the employer’s statutory sick-pay financing responsibility.

Shorter 14-day threshold

Employer-funded period:

14 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 1,932.84

FUS-funded period:

6 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 828.36

Total:

PLN 1,932.84 + PLN 828.36 = PLN 2,761.20

The employee receives the same modeled total sickness-related amount, but responsibility for financing it is split.

The difference in employer liability

PLN 2,761.20 − PLN 1,932.84 = PLN 828.36

For this particular 20-day absence, the employer’s directly financed statutory sick pay is PLN 828.36 lower when the employee is already entitled to the shorter 14-day threshold.

This does not mean hiring older employees automatically produces that saving.

The result depends on the employee qualifying for the shorter threshold, the amount of earlier sickness absence, the duration of the current absence, and the actual assessment base.

Scenario 3: Forty-Five Days of Sick Leave

A 45-day absence exceeds both statutory employer-funded limits.

The difference is how quickly the employee moves from employer-funded sick pay to FUS-funded sickness allowance.

For the standard threshold, the transition occurs after 33 days.

For the shorter threshold, it occurs after 14 days.

Cost component	Standard 33-day threshold	Shorter 14-day threshold
Total sickness days	45	45
Employer-funded days	33	14
FUS-funded days	12	31
Daily benefit	PLN 138.06	PLN 138.06
Employer-funded sick pay	PLN 4,555.98	PLN 1,932.84
FUS-funded sickness allowance	PLN 1,656.72	PLN 4,279.86
Total sickness-related payments	PLN 6,212.70	PLN 6,212.70

Standard 33-day threshold

Employer-funded sick pay:

33 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 4,555.98

FUS-funded sickness allowance:

12 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 1,656.72

Total:

PLN 6,212.70

Shorter 14-day threshold

Employer-funded sick pay:

14 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 1,932.84

FUS-funded allowance:

31 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 4,279.86

Total:

PLN 6,212.70

The difference in direct employer financing is:

PLN 4,555.98 − PLN 1,932.84 = PLN 2,623.14

This is the main financial implication of the age-based rule for a long ordinary sickness absence.

The total modeled statutory sickness-related payments are unchanged because the assessment base and percentage rate are identical.

What changes is the party responsible for financing the different days.

Six Scenarios Compared: Actual Employer-Funded Sick Pay

The following table consolidates the findings.

Absence	Applicable employer limit	Employer-funded days	FUS-funded days	Employer-funded sick pay	FUS allowance
7 days	33	7	0	PLN 966.42	PLN 0
7 days	14	7	0	PLN 966.42	PLN 0
20 days	33	20	0	PLN 2,761.20	PLN 0
20 days	14	14	6	PLN 1,932.84	PLN 828.36
45 days	33	33	12	PLN 4,555.98	PLN 1,656.72
45 days	14	14	31	PLN 1,932.84	PLN 4,279.86

All amounts are illustrative, before personal income tax and any applicable employee-specific adjustments.

This table should not be interpreted as showing the employee’s total monthly gross or net pay, the employer’s entire payroll expenditure, or a complete annual absence cost.

It isolates statutory sick-pay financing and sickness-allowance responsibility.

The employer’s maximum modeled sick-pay exposure

For a PLN 6,000 monthly salary under the stated assumptions:

• Standard 33-day threshold: PLN 4,555.98 in employer-funded sick pay.
• Shorter 14-day threshold: PLN 1,932.84 in employer-funded sick pay.

Once these limits are used for the calendar year, further qualifying ordinary sickness absences move into the sickness-allowance stage, subject to entitlement and benefit-period rules.

These are maximum amounts under the fixed daily rate in this simplified model, not universal statutory maximums. A higher assessment base or employer-provided sick-pay enhancement can change the amounts.

Why 33 Days Does Not Mean 33 Working Days

One important distinction is frequently overlooked when employers forecast sickness costs.

Poland’s statutory sick-pay thresholds count calendar days of qualifying incapacity, not only scheduled working days.

If an employee is medically certified as unable to work from Monday through Sunday, the seven-day period generally counts as seven sickness days.

That includes Saturday and Sunday, even if they would ordinarily have been non-working days.

This affects the threshold-crossing calculation.

For example, an employee who has already accumulated 28 qualifying sickness days in 2026 and then takes another seven-day certified absence will generally use the final five employer-funded days and transition to sickness allowance for the remaining two days.

The fact that some of those days fall on a weekend does not automatically stop the statutory count.

A payroll system that counts only working days can delay the transition incorrectly and overstate employer-funded sick-pay liability.

The 33-Day and 14-Day Limits Are Annual Totals, Not Limits Per Illness

The employer-funded threshold is cumulative within the calendar year.

It does not reset every time the employee becomes ill.

Consider an employee subject to the standard 33-day threshold.

Sickness event	Days absent	Cumulative days	Financing
February illness	8	8	Employer
May illness	12	20	Employer
September illness	10	30	Employer
November illness	7	37	First 3 employer; next 4 FUS

Under the PLN 138.06 daily model:

Employer-funded days:

8 + 12 + 10 + 3 = 33

Employer sick pay:

33 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 4,555.98

FUS-funded days:

4

FUS sickness allowance:

4 × PLN 138.06 = PLN 552.24

An employer that treats every new medical certificate as a new 33-day allowance would incorrectly increase its sick-pay obligation.

The employer needs a reliable cumulative sickness-day register for each worker and calendar year.

Does the 33-Day Counter Reset When an Employee Changes Jobs?

A change of employer does not automatically give the employee a fresh 33-day or 14-day employer-funded allowance within the same calendar year.

When the employee has worked for more than one employer during the year, previous periods of qualifying sickness absence must be considered under the applicable rules.

For example, an employee under the 33-day rule may have already accumulated 25 sick-pay days with Employer A.

The employee then changes jobs and experiences a further 15-day illness while working for Employer B.

Assuming the previous days have been properly established, the remaining employer-funded allowance is:

33 − 25 = 8 days.

Employer B does not simply start another independent 33-day allocation.

The new sickness period would ordinarily be divided into:

• Eight employer-funded sick-pay days
• Seven sickness-allowance days

The daily benefit base at the new employer may differ, so the earlier PLN 138.06 daily rate should not be carried over automatically.

Employers should verify prior-year-to-date sickness information through appropriate employment documents and payroll records.

This is particularly important for employees joining in the middle of the year.

Does the Employer Still Pay ZUS Contributions on Sick Pay?

Statutory sick pay and ordinary salary are not treated identically for contribution purposes.

Employer-funded sick pay under Article 92 is generally excluded from the social insurance contribution base for pension, disability, sickness, and accident insurance.

However, statutory sick pay is generally included in the employee health insurance contribution base under the applicable health contribution rules.

Sickness allowance (zasiłek chorobowy) is treated differently: it is generally excluded from both social insurance and health insurance contribution bases.

Payment component	Pension/disability/accident contributions	Health contribution treatment
Ordinary remuneration for work	Generally applicable	Generally applicable
Statutory employer-funded sick pay	Generally excluded	Generally included
Statutory sickness allowance	Generally excluded	Generally excluded

This makes it incorrect to apply a flat employer social insurance rate to the full amount of statutory sick pay.

Example of incorrect cost modeling

Suppose a provider reports PLN 2,761.20 as employer-funded statutory sick pay for a 20-day absence.

If the provider then adds standard employer pension, disability, accident, FP/FS, and FGŚP contributions to that entire sick-pay amount as though it were ordinary working remuneration, that treatment requires investigation.

Statutory sick pay is not an ordinary wage contribution base for those charges.

Nevertheless, any regular remuneration paid for work during the same payroll month may still attract employer contributions, as may other components subject to their own contribution rules.

The correct employer-cost model must split the payroll into individual components and apply the relevant contribution bases separately.

What Does a 20-Day Absence Do to the Employer’s Full Payroll Cost?

Sick-pay financing is only one part of absence costing.

Consider the employee with PLN 6,000 monthly gross salary taking 20 calendar days of certified ordinary sickness absence during a 30-day calendar month.

Assume the employee is entitled to sick pay throughout the absence and has no other remuneration elements.

The illustrative ordinary remuneration remaining for that month is:

PLN 6,000 − (PLN 6,000 ÷ 30 × 20) = PLN 2,000

The employee also receives the appropriate sick pay or sickness allowance.

Under the standard 33-day threshold

Payroll component	PLN
Regular gross remuneration	2,000
Employer-funded sick pay	2,761.20
FUS-funded allowance	0
Gross remuneration and sick pay paid by employer	4,761.20

The employer is legally financing PLN 2,761.20 of sick pay, as well as paying the PLN 2,000 regular remuneration.

Additional employer statutory charges may apply to the regular remuneration and other relevant pay components.

Under the shorter 14-day threshold

Payroll component	PLN
Regular gross remuneration	2,000
Employer-funded sick pay	1,932.84
FUS-funded allowance	828.36
Employer-financed regular remuneration and sick pay	3,932.84

The total sickness-related amount remains PLN 2,761.20, but only PLN 1,932.84 of it is employer-funded.

If the employer is responsible for administering the FUS-financed allowance, the cash disbursed through payroll may exceed its ultimate own-funded liability.

This is why employer cost, employee gross entitlement, and payroll cash disbursement must be kept in separate columns.

Important: The regular remuneration calculation assumes a 30-day month and an otherwise unchanged monthly salary. A real 45-day absence crosses payroll periods, and the regular salary must be calculated separately for each affected month. Actual payroll calculations must also follow statutory rounding and the applicable payroll timing rules.

Who Actually Transfers the Sickness Allowance to the Employee?

A common misunderstanding is that ZUS must always directly pay the employee after day 33 or day 14.

The financing source and the party administering payment are different concepts.

Under ZUS rules, sickness allowances may be paid by ZUS or by an employer acting as a benefit payer.

The general dividing line is the number of people reported for sickness insurance.

Employer/insured-person situation	Who generally administers sickness allowance?	Who finances the statutory allowance?
Payer reporting no more than 20 insured people	ZUS	FUS
Payer reporting more than 20 insured people	Employer, during insurance	FUS

The insured-person count is generally determined as of November 30 of the preceding calendar year, with specific rules for payers that did not report insured people on that date.

A company with more than 20 insured people can therefore pay the sickness allowance to the employee while not ultimately financing that statutory benefit as an ordinary employer payroll cost.

This matters for invoicing and reconciliation.

A payroll provider might show the entire sickness allowance as an employee payment, but it should not necessarily classify the entire amount as an employer-funded employment expense.

The company needs to distinguish the statutory benefit paid on behalf of the social insurance system from its own sick-pay liability.

The Difference Between Payment Responsibility and Cash Flow

Consider a company that administers sickness allowance for the 45-day absence of an employee under the shorter threshold.

The modeled sickness-related entitlement is:

Component	PLN
Employer-funded sick pay	1,932.84
FUS-funded sickness allowance	4,279.86
Total sickness-related payment	6,212.70

The company may administer payments covering both components.

But it should not classify all PLN 6,212.70 as its own statutory sick-pay expense.

Its direct financed sick-pay liability is PLN 1,932.84.

The PLN 4,279.86 allowance is financed by the FUS and must be handled through the applicable ZUS settlement procedure.

A payroll invoice or payroll register that labels the entire PLN 6,212.70 as employer-funded sick pay obscures the distinction and should be reconciled.

Actual remittance and settlement timing may still create cash-flow requirements, even where the employer is not the ultimate financing party.

When Is Sick Pay 100% Rather Than 80%?

The ordinary 80% model is not universal.

Certain situations qualify for a 100% benefit rate.

Examples include qualifying sickness incapacity during pregnancy, an accident on the way to or from work, and certain necessary medical examinations or procedures connected with donation of cells, tissues, or organs.

Work accidents and occupational diseases are governed by separate accident-insurance benefit rules and require different treatment.

How a 100% rate changes the model

Using the same PLN 5,177.40 monthly assessment base:

Daily amount at 100%:

PLN 5,177.40 ÷ 30 = PLN 172.58

Sick days	Amount at 80%	Amount at 100%
7	PLN 966.42	PLN 1,208.06
14	PLN 1,932.84	PLN 2,416.12
20	PLN 2,761.20	PLN 3,451.60
33	PLN 4,555.98	PLN 5,695.14

These figures show total calculated benefits for the stated days, before allocation between employer sick pay and sickness allowance.

The financing threshold must still be determined under the applicable statutory rules.

Payroll systems should never assume that every absence uses 80% without checking the legal reason for the benefit and any enhanced employer arrangements.

Can the Employer Pay More Than the Statutory 80%?

Yes. Applicable workplace remuneration rules may provide more favorable terms than the ordinary statutory minimum.

For example, an employer may provide additional compensation so an employee receives more than 80% during certain sickness periods.

However, the employer should distinguish three items in its accounting:

1. Statutory employer-funded sick pay.
2. Statutory FUS-funded sickness allowance.
3. Any additional employer-funded contractual or policy benefit.

An employer-funded top-up is not automatically part of the statutory sickness allowance financed by FUS.

Its contribution treatment must be assessed according to its legal character and the applicable payroll rules.

For budgeting, a company offering enhanced sick-pay terms should model both its statutory obligation and the incremental benefit it has chosen to provide.

How the 30-Day Waiting Period Changes Sick Leave Entitlement

The 33-day and 14-day rules should not be confused with the waiting period for sickness insurance benefits.

Employees subject to compulsory sickness insurance generally acquire entitlement after 30 days of uninterrupted insurance, although previous qualifying insurance periods and statutory exceptions can affect the result.

An employee becoming ill shortly after commencing a first job might therefore not be entitled to the ordinary statutory sickness payment immediately.

There are exceptions, including certain qualifying graduates and individuals with sufficient prior compulsory sickness insurance history.

The employer must establish entitlement before simply applying the 80% calculation.

The waiting period answers whether the employee is entitled to payment.

The 33-day or 14-day rule answers how the qualifying sickness days are financed.

Those are separate questions.

How Long Can Sickness Allowance Continue?

The transition from employer-funded sick pay to sickness allowance does not mean sickness allowance is available indefinitely.

The ordinary sickness benefit period is generally limited to 182 days.

A longer period of up to 270 days applies in specified circumstances, including incapacity during pregnancy or due to tuberculosis.

Further rules apply to benefit periods after sickness insurance has ended.

The employer-funded sick-pay days and sickness-allowance days interact with the statutory benefit-period rules, which are not the same thing as a fresh unlimited allowance after day 33.

For extended absences, employers should monitor the applicable benefit-period count, entitlement, medical certification, and any transition to other benefits.

What Happens When Sick Leave Crosses December and January?

The employer-funded 33-day or 14-day count is determined on a calendar-year basis.

However, there is an important distinction between resetting an annual count and determining which benefit continues during uninterrupted sickness.

If sickness allowance is already being paid at the end of December and the employee remains continuously unable to work in January, the sickness allowance generally continues rather than automatically switching back to employer-funded sick pay on January 1.

If the employee returns to work and later experiences another qualifying sickness period in the new year, the employer-funded annual allowance may apply again, subject to the employee’s applicable threshold and other rules.

Employers should therefore not hard-code a January 1 return to employer-funded sick pay for every employee.

The system must consider the previous benefit type and whether incapacity was continuous across the year-end boundary.

How to Audit Sick Pay in a Polish Payroll Provider’s Records

An employer should be able to verify the distinction between employer-funded sick pay and FUS-funded sickness allowance using individual payroll records, medical certification data, and ZUS reporting.

The following controls are particularly useful.

Audit item	What to verify
Employee date of birth	Correct 33-day or 14-day threshold
Calendar year of 50th birthday	Shorter threshold starts in following year
Prior sickness days	Annual cumulative total
Previous employer sickness history	Relevant prior days reflected
Medical certificate	Valid certified period and applicable reason
Assessment base	Correct historical qualifying remuneration
Employee social insurance deduction	Correct 13.71% treatment where applicable
Daily rate	Statutory divisor, percentage and rounding
Employer-funded days	Do not exceed applicable annual threshold
FUS-funded days	Transition begins at the correct point
Regular remuneration	Reduced appropriately for sickness period
Employer social contributions	Not improperly charged on statutory sick pay
Health contribution	Appropriate treatment of sick pay versus allowance
ZUS reports	Correct classification of benefit types and periods
Provider invoice	Separates employer-financed cost from FUS-financed benefit
Payment settlement	Matches the applicable ZUS benefit-payer arrangement

Worked payroll audit: 45-day absence, shorter threshold

Under the model, the expected sickness-payment allocation is:

Item	Expected amount
Total absence	45 days
Employer-funded days	14
FUS-funded days	31
Employer statutory sick pay	PLN 1,932.84
FUS sickness allowance	PLN 4,279.86
Total sickness-related amount	PLN 6,212.70

If a provider records all 45 days as employer-funded statutory sick pay, the apparent overstatement of the employer-financed sick-pay component would be PLN 4,279.86.

That is a reconciliation exception, not automatic evidence of an overpayment.

Before drawing a conclusion, check whether the amount is a payroll cash disbursement, a FUS-financed allowance being administered by the employer, a temporary settlement item, or an actual employer expense.

This classification determines whether the invoice is accurate.

Five common errors to investigate

Age threshold applied immediately at age 50. The system starts the 14-day rule in the employee’s birthday year instead of the following year.

Annual sickness days reset for every absence. The employer pays another 33 or 14 days for each new medical certificate, ignoring prior qualifying periods.

Working days counted instead of calendar days. Weekends within a certified sickness period are omitted, potentially delaying the allowance transition.

Employer contributions charged on statutory sick pay. The provider treats sick pay like ordinary remuneration for all social insurance contribution purposes.

FUS-financed allowance treated as employer expense. The provider fails to distinguish benefit administration from ultimate financing.

These errors can affect employer-cost forecasts, ZUS reconciliation, employee payments, and financial reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions About Poland Sick Leave Costs

Does the employer pay the first 33 days of sick leave in Poland?

Generally, yes, for employees under the standard 33-day threshold. The 33 days are cumulative within the calendar year, not a fresh entitlement for each illness.

What changes when an employee turns 50?

The shorter 14-day annual employer-funded sick-pay period becomes applicable from the calendar year after the employee turns 50. It does not start automatically on the 50th birthday.

Who pays sick leave after day 33?

Qualifying sickness allowance becomes payable from the 34th cumulative sickness day under the standard threshold. It is financed through FUS, although ZUS or an authorized employer may administer its payment.

Who pays sick leave after day 14 for older employees?

For employees eligible for the shorter threshold, qualifying FUS-financed sickness allowance begins on the 15th cumulative sickness day in the calendar year.

How much does seven days of sick leave cost an employer?

For the modeled PLN 6,000 gross monthly salary, ordinary employer-funded sick pay for seven days totals PLN 966.42, assuming the employee has the full employer-funded entitlement remaining.

How much does 20 days of sick leave cost?

In the same model, the employer funds PLN 2,761.20 under the standard threshold. Under the shorter threshold, employer-funded sick pay is PLN 1,932.84, with PLN 828.36 financed through FUS.

How much does 45 days of sick leave cost?

Under the fixed PLN 6,000 salary model, employer-funded statutory sick pay totals PLN 4,555.98 under the 33-day threshold and PLN 1,932.84 under the 14-day threshold. The remainder of the statutory sickness payments qualifies for FUS financing, assuming entitlement continues.

Is sick pay calculated using 80% of gross monthly salary?

Not directly. The applicable assessment base is generally calculated from qualifying historical remuneration after deducting relevant employee social insurance contributions. The ordinary 80% rate is then applied using the statutory daily calculation.

Does the employer pay ZUS social contributions on statutory sick pay?

Statutory sick pay is generally excluded from pension, disability, sickness and accident insurance contribution bases, although health contribution rules differ. Ordinary remuneration paid alongside sick pay remains subject to its applicable contribution rules.

Are weekends included in sick leave days?

Yes. Qualifying certified sickness periods are generally counted in calendar days, including weekends and public holidays occurring within the period.

Can an employer recover sickness allowance it paid on behalf of ZUS?

Where an employer is authorized to pay sickness allowances, the amounts are handled under the applicable ZUS benefit settlement arrangements. They should not simply be characterized as an employer’s own statutory sick-pay expense.

The Employer Cost Takeaway

Poland’s sickness rules create two very different financial obligations that payroll systems must distinguish.

The first is the employer’s statutory responsibility to finance the initial 33 or 14 calendar days of qualifying sickness absence.

The second is the social insurance system’s responsibility to finance sickness allowance after that employer-funded period has been exhausted.

For employees receiving a stable PLN 6,000 monthly gross salary, Ivvora’s 2026 model produces the following employer-funded sick-pay amounts:

Sickness duration	Standard 33-day threshold	Shorter 14-day threshold
7 days	PLN 966.42	PLN 966.42
20 days	PLN 2,761.20	PLN 1,932.84
45 days	PLN 4,555.98	PLN 1,932.84

The 45-day example creates a PLN 2,623.14 difference in direct employer-funded statutory sick pay between the two threshold categories.

That difference does not represent total absence-related business cost. Replacement labor, overtime, lost productivity, normal remuneration, and other employment expenses may substantially change the full economic cost.

For employers hiring in Poland, the correct forecasting approach is to model four separate elements: ordinary remuneration, employer-funded sick pay, FUS-funded sickness allowance, and any additional operational or contractual costs.

For companies using payroll outsourcing or an employer-of-record provider, the same separation should appear in reconciliation reports and invoices.

The central audit question is not only how much the employee received.

It is which portion the employer was legally required to finance, which portion the social insurance system financed, and whether the payroll records prove that distinction.

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Official Sources and Methodology

1. Polish Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) — Sick Pay and Sickness Allowance

Official ZUS guidance dated July 20, 2026, covering the 33-day and 14-day rules, qualifying rates, waiting periods, and sickness allowance transition.

https://lang.zus.pl/benefits/sick-pay-and-sickness-allowance

2. ZUS — Sickness Allowance Entitlement and Benefit Periods

Official detailed guidance on the cumulative employer-funded threshold and the transition to sickness allowance.

https://bip.zus.pl/pl/web/guest/swiadczenia/zasilki/zasilek-chorobowy/z-ubezpieczenia-chorobowego/prawo-do-zasilku-i-okres-przyslugiwania

3. ZUS — Employee Sickness Benefit Assessment Base

Official rules for calculating qualifying historical remuneration and the sickness-benefit assessment base.

https://www.zus.pl/pl/swiadczenia/zasilki/zasilek-chorobowy/podstawa-wymiaru/dla-pracownikow

4. ZUS — Payers of Sickness Allowance

Official rules distinguishing ZUS-administered and employer-administered benefit payments, including the insured-person threshold.

https://www.zus.pl/en/swiadczenia/zasilki/zasilek-chorobowy/postepowanie-w-sprawie-zasilkow/platnicy-zasilku

5. Polish Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy — Sickness Allowance

Government guidance on sickness allowance, benefit calculation periods, and calendar-day entitlement.

https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/zasilek-chorobowy

6. Polish Labour Code — Article 92

Primary statutory provision governing employer-funded remuneration during qualifying sickness incapacity.

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19740240141

Calculation methodology

The numerical examples were independently constructed by Ivvora using a hypothetical PLN 6,000 monthly gross salary and a stable qualifying assessment base.

The model applies a 13.71% reduction to obtain the monthly assessment base, divides that amount by 30, applies the ordinary 80% rate, and allocates the resulting daily amount between employer-funded sick pay and FUS-funded sickness allowance according to the employee’s applicable annual threshold.

The examples assume benefit eligibility, no earlier qualifying sickness days during the year, and no exclusions or supplementary employer payments.

The model does not represent actual employee payroll records. Individual payroll outcomes depend on remuneration history, eligibility, applicable absence circumstances, prior sick-leave periods, benefit-base rules, statutory rounding, and the allocation of payments across payroll months.

Ivvora | Poland Payroll and Employer Cost Research | October 2026