I am ill. Do I have to find someone to cover for me?

Who this applies to

• Employees with an employment contract who have fallen ill and cannot come to work.
• People with a contract of mandate or a contract for the provision of services (the provisions on mandate apply to the latter, Article 750 KC).

If you work under a mandate as if you had a job (fixed hours, instructions, a rota), check whether it is in fact an employment relationship: Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties.

What to do: employment contract

1. Report your absence. Do so immediately, and no later than on the second day of absence. State the reason (illness, without medical details) and the expected length (§ 2(2) of the regulation).
2. Use the method set out in the work regulations. The work regulations specify the employer's method of justifying absence (Article 104(1) § 1(9) of the Labour Code). If the employer's internal rules do not specify it, you can notify in person, through another person, by telephone, by other means of communication or by post. If you send it by post, the postmark date counts.
3. If you cannot make it on time, e.g. if you are bedridden and nobody else is at home, or because of another unforeseen event, the delay may be justified. Notify the employer as soon as the obstacle ends (§ 2(3) of the regulation).
4. The evidence is the e-ZLA. A medical certificate justifies the absence (§ 3(1) of the regulation). What the employer can see on it is described in the guide Can my employer see what my sick note (L4) is for?.
5. Pass on what is necessary, but do not take over the employer's duties. An employee should look after the welfare of the workplace (Article 100 § 2(4) of the Labour Code), so it is sensible to say where urgent documents are or which deadlines are coming up. Finding a replacement, changing the rota and dividing up tasks are matters of work organisation, i.e. the employer's job (Article 94(2) of the Labour Code).
6. Do not work during sick leave on instruction. Since 13.04.2026, gainful work during a certified period of incapacity results in the loss of sickness benefit for the entire period of sick leave. Incidental activities are an exception, but "istotną okolicznością nie może być polecenie pracodawcy" (an instruction from the employer cannot be a material circumstance) (Article 17(1) and (1a) of the Act on sickness benefits). Without the right to benefit, sick pay is not due either (Article 92 § 3(2) of the Labour Code).
7. Record the employer's demands. If the employer threatens a penalty for not arranging cover, keep the messages. You can report the matter to the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) (complaint generator).

What penalties are possible under an employment contract

• Disciplinary penalties are listed in Article 108 of the Labour Code: a warning and a reprimand, among other things for not following the established method of justifying absence. A financial penalty applies only to a closed list of offences (including health and safety, leaving work without justification, alcohol). Not arranging cover is not on that list. Note: failing to report an absence on time may result in a warning or reprimand.
• Deductions from pay without your consent are possible only in the cases listed in Article 87 § 1 of the Labour Code, including financial penalties under Article 108. Other deductions require your written consent (Article 91 § 1). More: What can an employer deduct from your wages and how much must it leave you?.
• Material liability requires fault and damage, and the employer must prove them (Articles 114 and 116 of the Labour Code). The employee does not bear the risk connected with the employer's business (Article 117 § 2), and compensation may not exceed three months' pay (Article 119). Full damage is covered only in the case of intentional fault (Article 122). Illness itself is not the employee's fault. This is our conclusion from the provisions.
• A clause in the contract requiring you to find a replacement under threat of a penalty: provisions of a contract less favourable than labour law provisions are invalid (Article 18 § 2 of the Labour Code). Whether a specific clause is less favourable is assessed in the given case.

You can object to a disciplinary penalty within 7 days, and after the objection is rejected, sue the employer in the labour court within 14 days (Article 112 of the Labour Code).

What to do: contract of mandate

1. Read the contract. Check whether it allows a substitute, whether it provides for an obligation to report obstacles and whether it contains contractual penalties.
2. Inform the principal straight away. A contractor should provide the necessary information about the progress of the matter (Article 740 KC). Illness is such information. The regulation on justifying absence applies only to employees, so the 2-day deadline does not apply here. What counts is the contract and ordinary diligence.
3. A substitute only in three situations (Article 738 § 1 KC): the contract allows it, it follows from custom, or you are forced to by circumstances. In that case you must immediately notify the principal of the substitute's identity and place of residence. After such notification, you are liable only for whether you chose the substitute with due care. Whether illness is a circumstance that "forces" you depends on the case, e.g. on whether the task can be postponed.
4. Without authorisation, do not send anyone in your place. If you entrust the mandate to another person without a legal basis and the principal's property is lost or damaged, you are liable even for accidental loss (Article 739 KC).
5. Check the risk of a contractual penalty. A contractual penalty may concern only a non-monetary obligation, e.g. performing a service on time (Article 483 § 1 KC). It is due regardless of the amount of damage, but you can demand that it be reduced if you have performed a significant part of the obligation or the penalty is grossly excessive (Article 484 KC). Liability for non-performance of the contract does not arise if it results from circumstances for which you are not responsible (Article 471 KC). Whether illness is such a circumstance is assessed in the specific case.
6. Be prepared for termination. The principal may terminate the mandate at any time. It must then reimburse your expenses and pay the part of the fee corresponding to the work done so far, and, if there was no good reason, also compensate for damage (Article 746 § 1 KC). You can also terminate, but under a paid mandate without good reason you are liable for damage (Article 746 § 2). The right to terminate for good reasons cannot be waived in advance (Article 746 § 3).
7. Benefit under a mandate. If you are covered by sickness insurance under the mandate, the principal as the contribution payer also receives the e-ZLA. The ban on gainful work during sick leave (Article 17 of the Act on sickness benefits) applies regardless of the type of contract.

Exceptions and caveats

• Special provisions. This guide describes the Labour Code, the 1996 regulation and the Civil Code. Service regulations for specific professions and collective agreements may have their own rules on reporting absence.
• No provision on cover. The view that an employee does not have to look for a replacement follows from the absence of such an obligation in the provisions and from Article 94(2) of the Labour Code. The statute does not say this in a single sentence.
• Notification and evidence. Notification (a call, a message) and evidence (the e-ZLA) are two different things. Take care of both.
• When to get advice. If the employer has imposed a penalty or deducted money, or the principal demands a contractual penalty, use free advice from the PIP. The PIP does not resolve disputes under civil-law contracts, but it will help establish whether the contract is in fact an employment contract.

Example

Assumptions: a shop employee with an employment contract fell ill during the night. The work regulations say that absence is reported by telephone to the shift manager. The manager replies that she must find someone for her shift herself, otherwise she will be penalised.

The employee calls the manager in the morning, before the shift, and says she is ill and expects to be absent for a few days. After a visit to the doctor, an e-ZLA is issued. She has fulfilled the obligation to notify. Finding cover is the employer's job (Article 94(2) of the Labour Code), and not arranging cover is not an offence under Article 108 of the Labour Code. If the employer imposed a penalty, she could object within 7 days.

The same person under a contract of mandate, with the clause "zleceniobiorca może wskazać zastępcę za zgodą zleceniodawcy" (the contractor may name a substitute with the principal's consent), should inform the principal of her illness immediately. She may name a substitute only with consent, and if consent is given, she must provide the substitute's details.

Documents and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

Can the employer demand that I hand over my work by telephone while on sick leave?

A brief handover of information necessary for the continuity of work may fall within the duty to look after the welfare of the workplace (Article 100 § 2(4) of the Labour Code). The provisions do not settle this explicitly. Performing work on the employer's instruction during sick leave is not, however, an incidental activity within the meaning of Article 17(1a) of the Act on sickness benefits and puts your benefit at risk.

Can the employer reduce my bonus because I did not arrange cover?

That depends on the bonus regulations and the bonus conditions. The Code contains no separate provision on this situation. Check whether the bonus is discretionary or due to you once the conditions are met. Free advice from the PIP can help with this.

Can the principal refuse to pay for the part of the mandate performed before my illness?

When the mandate is terminated, the principal pays the part of the fee corresponding to the work done so far (Article 746 § 1 KC). If you have not been paid, see Contract of mandate: I have not been paid. Where do I report it and how do I recover the money?.

Useful tools

• PIP complaint generator

Related guides

• Can my employer see what my sick note (L4) is for?
• What can an employer deduct from your wages and how much must it leave you?
• Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties
• Contract of mandate: I have not been paid. Where do I report it and how do I recover the money?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Rozporządzenie MPiPS z 15.05.1996 w sprawie sposobu usprawiedliwiania nieobecności w pracy oraz udzielania pracownikom zwolnień od pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2014 poz. 1632 (§ 2, § 3)
• Metryka ELI rozporządzenia (obowiązuje)
• Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 18, 87, 91, 92, 94, 100, 104(1), 108-112, 114-119, 122)
• Kodeks cywilny, tekst ujednolicony ISAP, stan 2026-06-25 (art. 471, 472, 483, 484, 738-740, 746, 750)
• Ustawa o świadczeniach pieniężnych z ubezpieczenia społecznego w razie choroby i macierzyństwa, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 854 (art. 17)

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

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.