In brief

• An employer may respond to the abuse of sick leave, including terminating the employment contract when it has justified doubts.
• Passivity toward abuse may encourage its repetition.
• The details of the procedure follow from labour law and the rules for checking sick leave.

Sick leave does not always protect against termination

Being on sick leave does not give an employee a full guarantee that they will not be dismissed. If the employer has justified doubts about the use of sick leave (L4) in a way inconsistent with its purpose, it may respond, including by terminating the employment contract (Pracodawca może walczyć z nadużywaniem zwolnień – Rzeczpospolita).

The employer should not be passive

The authors of the material believe that an employer should not accept abuse passively. As indicated, these may be situations in which sick leave serves purposes other than treatment, and the company's passivity may encourage such behaviour to be repeated.

What an entrepreneur can do

The matter concerns primarily employers who employ workers under an employment contract. The key is to respond to signals of abuse, not merely to suspicion. Detailed rules of procedure and permissible actions follow from labour law and the rules for checking sick leave, which the material mentions only in general terms.