Will I receive sickness benefit after my employment contract ends, and who will pay it?

Who this applies to

Former employees who fell ill just after the end of an employment contract (umowa o pracę) or are still ill after employment has ended. The same provisions apply to contractors under a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) with voluntary sickness insurance. The way the contract was terminated does not matter. What counts is the day the insurance title ended, i.e. the last day of employment.

What to do

1. Check the two conditions under Article 7 of the Sickness Benefits Act. First, the incapacity for work must arise no later than 14 days after employment ends. For an infectious disease with an incubation period longer than 14 days, or an illness whose symptoms appear after more than 14 days, the deadline is 3 months. Second, the incapacity must last for at least 30 days without interruption. A single 10-day sick note after the end of the contract gives no right to benefit. Subsequent sick notes must follow one another without a day's break.
2. Distinguish two situations. Article 7 concerns incapacity that arose only after employment ended. If the sick leave began while the contract was still running and continues after it ended, the 30-day condition under Article 7 does not apply to you. In both situations, benefit for the period after employment ends is paid by ZUS (Article 61(1)(2)(d)).
3. Check the exclusions under Article 13. Benefit after employment ends is not payable when:
   • you have an established right to a retirement pension or a disability pension for incapacity for work,
   • you continue or have taken up gainful activity that is a title to sickness insurance or gives the right to benefits for the time of illness (e.g. a new employment contract, a mandate with a sickness contribution),
   • you did not acquire the right to benefit during the insurance because the waiting period had not passed,
   • you have the right to unemployment benefit, a pre-retirement benefit or allowance, a supplementary parental benefit or a teachers' compensatory benefit,
   • you are covered by farmers' social insurance,
   • the insurance ended after the right to benefit was exhausted (Article 13(1)-(2)).

   Sickness benefit and unemployment benefit are mutually exclusive.

4. Take care of the e-ZLA. When ZUS is the benefit payer, it is you who deliver to ZUS the printout of the e-ZLA or a certificate issued in the alternative mode (Article 62(1)(1)). Tell the doctor that you no longer have an employer.
5. Ask your former employer for a Z-3 certificate. The contribution payer that employed you passes to ZUS a certificate with a list of the components of your pay, because ZUS establishes the benefit assessment basis on its basis (Article 61(3)). According to the ZUS service card, for employees this is form Z-3. Ask for it in writing and keep a copy.
6. Submit an application to ZUS. From 1 July 2026, benefit proceedings are initiated on application. When ZUS is the payer, you submit the application on paper or as an electronic document signed with a qualified, trusted or personal signature, or in the eZUS system (Article 61b(1)-(2)). According to the ZUS service card, the full set of documents is:
   • the ZAS-53 application for sickness benefit,
   • the Z-10 statement that there are no other insurance titles or benefits listed in Article 13,
   • the payer's Z-3 certificate,
   • the e-ZLA printout,
   • if needed, ZAS-2 (pregnancy), ZAS-7 or ZAS-8 (occupational disease, accident), the accident card or the accident report,
   • a bank account number and an identity document.

   You submit the documents in eZUS, in person or by post at the ZUS branch competent for your place of residence.

7. Wait for payment no longer than 30 days. ZUS pays the benefit after establishing entitlement, no later than 30 days from clarification of the last circumstance necessary to establish the right (Article 64(1)). Interest is due for delay (Article 64(2)).
8. When ZUS refuses, appeal. You appeal against a ZUS decision within one month of service, in writing to the ZUS branch that issued the decision, or orally for the record (Article 477(9) § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, KPC). Sickness benefit cases are heard by the district court (Article 477(8) § 2(1) KPC). The appeal is not subject to a fee (Article 96(1)(4) of the Act on court costs in civil cases). The division of cases between the PIP, ZUS and the court is described in the guide PIP, ZUS or labour court.

Exceptions and caveats

• 91-day limit. For a period of incapacity falling after employment ends, benefit is payable for no longer than 91 days. The limit does not apply to incapacity during pregnancy, tuberculosis or examinations for candidate donors of cells, tissues and organs (Article 8(2)). The general benefit period is 182 days, and 270 days for tuberculosis and during pregnancy (Article 8(1)).
• Amount. Basically 80% of the assessment basis. 100% is payable during pregnancy, after an accident on the way to or from work and for donor examinations (Article 11(1)-(2)). Benefit is paid for every day of incapacity, including days off work (Article 11(4)). Sick pay under Article 92 of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy) is paid only by the employer during employment. After the contract ends there is no more sick pay, only benefit.
• Limitation. A claim for payment of benefit becomes time-barred 6 months after the last day of the period for which the benefit is payable. If you did not submit an application for reasons beyond your control, the period runs from the end of the obstacle. When non-payment results from an error by the payer or ZUS, the period is 3 years (Article 67(1), (3), (4)).
• Checks. ZUS checks the proper use of sick notes also for people after employment has ended (Article 68(1) and (1c)). Gainful work during sick leave means loss of the benefit. The rules are described in the guide Can my employer see what my sick note (L4) is for?.
• Dismissal during illness. If the employer terminated the contract during your illness, check whether it did so lawfully: Dismissal during sick leave (L4). The way the contract ended does not change the rules on sickness benefit, but it matters for unemployment benefit, which we write about in the guide Termination by mutual agreement.

Example

Assumptions: an employment contract was terminated on 31 August by mutual agreement. The employee did not take up a new job and did not register with the labour office. On 8 September a doctor issued an e-ZLA for 14 days, followed without interruption by further sick notes until 20 October. The employee has no retirement or disability pension.

1. The incapacity arose on 8 September, i.e. within 14 days of employment ending. It lasted without interruption from 8 September to 20 October, i.e. longer than 30 days. Both conditions under Article 7 are met.
2. None of the exclusions under Article 13 applies. If on 15 September the employee had registered as unemployed with the right to benefit, sickness benefit would not be payable.
3. The employee asks the former employer for a Z-3 and himself submits to ZUS the ZAS-53 application, the Z-10 statement and the e-ZLA printouts. He can do this in eZUS.
4. ZUS establishes the assessment basis on the basis of the Z-3 and pays 80% for every day from 8 September, including weekends, no later than 30 days after the documents are complete.
5. If the illness continues, benefit for the period after employment ends will stop after 91 days, even if sick notes continue to be issued.

Documents and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

I fell ill 20 days after the end of my contract. Will I get benefit?

No, unless it is an infectious disease with an incubation period longer than 14 days, or an illness whose symptoms appear after more than 14 days. The deadline is then 3 months (Article 7(2)).

Can I receive unemployment benefit and sickness benefit at the same time?

No. The right to unemployment benefit excludes sickness benefit after employment ends (Article 13(1)). You make a statement about this on form Z-10.

Related guides

• Can an employer dismiss an employee during sick leave (L4)?
• Can my employer see what my sick note (L4) is for?
• Your employer wants you to sign a termination by mutual agreement. What should you check before signing?
• Your employer has not issued your employment certificate. What next?
• PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Ustawa z 25.06.1999 o świadczeniach pieniężnych z ubezpieczenia społecznego w razie choroby i macierzyństwa, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 854 (art. 7, 8, 11, 13, 61, 61b, 62, 64, 67, 68)
• Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 92)
• Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 468 (art. 477(8), 477(9))
• Ustawa o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych, t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1228 (art. 96 ust. 1 pkt 4)
• ZUS, karta usługi: Jak uzyskać zasiłek chorobowy z tytułu niezdolności po ustaniu tytułu ubezpieczenia chorobowego lub ubezpieczenia wypadkowego

Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Law as at 16 October 2026.

Change history

• 16 October 2026: First publication.