Can my employer see what my sick note (L4) is for?

Who this applies to

Anyone who receives an electronic sick note (e-ZLA): an employee, and also a contractor under a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) covered by sickness insurance. The same data go to the contribution payer, i.e. the entity that registered you for insurance. If you have several insurance titles (e.g. an employment contract and a contract of mandate), the doctor issues a separate sick note for each of them (Article 17(1c)), so each payer sees their own.

What to do

1. Check what is on the sick note. The medical certificate contains the data listed in Article 55(3) of the Sickness Benefits Act. The employer receives all of them except the statistical disease number:

2. Learn what the letter codes mean (Article 57(1)):
   • A - incapacity after a break of no more than 60 days, caused by the same illness as before,
   • B - incapacity during pregnancy,
   • C - incapacity caused by alcohol abuse (sickness benefit is not paid for the first 5 days, Article 16),
   • D - tuberculosis,
   • E - an illness referred to in Article 7(2): an infectious disease with an incubation period longer than 14 days, or another illness whose symptoms appear after more than 14 days. The code concerns incapacity that arose after the insurance ended. It does not mean every infectious disease.
3. If you do not want the employer to see code B or D, submit a written request to the doctor before the sick note is issued (Article 57(2)). Remember that code B matters for money: for illness during pregnancy, an employee keeps 100% of sick pay instead of 80% (Article 92 § 1(1) and (2) of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy, KP).
4. Check how you deliver the sick note. If the employer has a PUE/eZUS profile, you do not need to deliver anything. If it does not, the doctor gives you a printout, which you hand to the employer (Article 55a(6) and Article 58(5)). The printout does not contain the statistical disease number either.
5. Remember your duty to report your absence. The e-ZLA alone does not replace telling your employer that you will not come to work. The rules are described in the guide I am ill. Do I have to find someone to cover for me?
6. Do not do paid work during sick leave. From 13 April 2026, you lose sickness benefit for the entire period of sick leave if, during the certified incapacity, you do paid work or undertake activity inconsistent with the purpose of the sick leave (Article 17(1)). In that case the employer will not pay sick pay either, because it is not due when there is no entitlement to sickness benefit (Article 92 § 3(2) of the Labour Code).
7. Be at the address given in the e-ZLA or explain your absence. According to the ZUS guide, you report a change of the place where you are staying to the employer and ZUS within 3 days. A visit to the doctor, the pharmacy or rehabilitation justify absence during a check. ZUS treats a refusal to explain as improper use of sick leave.

What you may and may not do on sick leave (from 13.04.2026)

After the amendment (Dz.U. 2026 item 26), the Sickness Benefits Act defines two concepts:

• Paid work is any activity of a gainful nature, regardless of its legal basis: employment, a contract of mandate, a business. The exception is incidental activities required by significant circumstances. The Act adds expressly: "Istotną okolicznością nie może być polecenie pracodawcy" ("An instruction from the employer cannot be a significant circumstance") (Article 17(1a)). As an example, ZUS gives a one-off signature on a document that nobody else can sign.
• Activity inconsistent with the purpose of sick leave means actions that hinder or prolong treatment or convalescence. Ordinary everyday activities are allowed (Article 17(1b)). According to ZUS, this covers, for example, grocery shopping or taking a child to school, especially when nobody else can do it.

The indication "chory może chodzić" ("the patient may walk") does not mean permission to work or to go on a holiday trip. The indication "chory powinien leżeć" ("the patient should stay in bed") does not prohibit going out to the doctor or the pharmacy.

Checks on sick leave

• Who checks. ZUS. An employer that pays sickness benefits itself (registers more than 20 people for sickness insurance). Any employer for the period for which it pays sick pay under Article 92 of the Labour Code (Article 68(1)-(1d)). A smaller employer may ask ZUS to carry out a check.
• What a check looks like. The inspector shows their authorisation and ID card. They may enter the place of the check, check your identity solely to establish who you are, and demand explanations within the scope of the check (Articles 68b-68d). They must keep information about your private life confidential. According to ZUS, they may not demand information about your state of health or the cause of your incapacity for work.
• Report. You receive one copy. Within 7 days of receiving it, you may submit objections and indicate evidence. The objections are examined by ZUS (Article 68e(4)-(5)).
• Check of the sick note itself. ZUS may check whether the doctor correctly certified incapacity for work and refer you for an examination by a ZUS certifying doctor (lekarz orzecznik). The employer may request this (Article 59(3) and (12)). You must make the medical records you have available to the doctor carrying out the examination (Article 59(4)).

Exceptions and caveats

• Changes from 1 January 2027. A provision will then enter into force allowing, at your request, a sick note not to be issued for one title, if the type of work allows it to be done despite the illness. You will then have to inform that payer about the sick leave from the other title (Article 17(1d) and (1e), Article 43(3) of the amending act). Until the end of 2026 this option is not available.
• Cases from before 13.04.2026. Proceedings and checks started before that date and not yet completed continue under the old provisions (Articles 39 and 42 of the amending act).
• What you say yourself, the employer knows. The Sickness Benefits Act does not provide for the diagnosis to be passed on to the employer. We have also not found a provision requiring you to disclose it.
• A ZUS decision on loss of sickness benefit can be appealed to the court. The route is described in the guide PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?

Example

Assumptions: a pregnant employee works for an employer that has a profile on PUE ZUS. Before the e-ZLA was issued, she did not submit a request to leave out code B. The doctor ticked "chory może chodzić" ("the patient may walk").

On PUE the employer will see the period of sick leave, the address of stay, the indication "the patient may walk" and code B. It will not see the statistical disease number. If she had submitted a written request to the doctor before the visit, code B would not be on the sick note. The employer would then not have information from the e-ZLA that she is entitled to 100% sick pay. If during sick leave she goes to the doctor for an examination and the inspector finds the house empty, it is enough for her to explain the reason for her absence and document it.

Documents and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

Can the employer call the doctor and ask about the diagnosis?

The inspector may request information from the treating doctor if this is justified by the purpose of the check (Article 68c(2)(3)). This concerns information needed to assess whether the sick leave is being used for its purpose. The Act does not give the employer access to the diagnosis.

Can I answer a work phone call or reply to an email while on sick leave?

The Act excludes from paid work only incidental activities required by significant circumstances, and not on the employer's instruction. Regularly dealing with work matters carries the risk of losing the benefit. If your employer expects this, read the guide I am ill. Do I have to find someone to cover for me?

Can the employer dismiss me because it sees code C?

This guide does not describe the rules on terminating a contract during illness. See Dismissal during sick leave, and if in doubt, use free advice from the PIP.

Related guides

• Can an employer dismiss an employee during sick leave (L4)?
• I am ill. Do I have to find someone to cover for me?
• PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?
• How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Ustawa o świadczeniach pieniężnych z ubezpieczenia społecznego w razie choroby i macierzyństwa, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 854 (art. 7, 16, 17, 55, 55a, 57, 58, 59, 61, 68-68g)
• Ustawa z 18.12.2025 o zmianie ustawy o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych oraz niektórych innych ustaw, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 26 (art. 13, 39, 42, 43)
• Metryka ELI nowelizacji (wejście w życie 13.04.2026)
• Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 92)
• ZUS: Kontrola prawidłowości wykorzystywania zwolnień od pracy, poradnik, kwiecień 2026

Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.