The territory Court of Łódź has issued a judgement that deals with crucial issues related to the usage of fictional employment contracts in order to get sick benefits and incorrect usage of medical exemptions. The case was dealt with by Łódź residents, whose employment contract with a one-man repair company was considered by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) to be concluded only for appearance. Key issues in this case were the assessment of the authenticity of employment and the correct usage of the medical exemption.
Employment only on paper?
Łódźanka was hired as a sales typical at a repair company, where she was to work part-time with a wage of PLN 3 thousand. However, the employment was short-lived – in the second period of work, the worker switched to medical leave and remained on it until the end of the 4th month. As ZUS pointed out, the employment contract was a fictional one, and its intent was only to get sickness benefit.
The territory Court in Łódź did not believe the evidence of employees who claimed that her journey to Malta was of a business nature and was associated with the creation of branches of the company abroad. However, it was not immediately considered that the agreement was fictional. It was crucial to find whether there was a real request for employment.
Court assessment – deficiency of real employment needs
In the explanatory memorandum of the judgment, the court pointed out that, in assessing the validity of the employment contract, conditions specified as the rationality of employment and the request for employment of an worker are relevant. The court did not believe the evidence of the owner of the company who claimed to have hired a boater due to the fact that he could not make online transactions or issue invoices. As indicated in the explanatory memorandum, the company only issued 1-2 invoices per month, and no 1 was issued after hiring. Moreover, the company besides had in its field of operations the repair of computers, which further raised doubts as to the authenticity of the request to hire a commercial representative.
In the end, the court reiterated ZUS's decision that the boat was not subject to compulsory social insurance during the period in question and that the employment contract was only intended to get sickness benefit.
Vacations on L4 and another cases of abuse of sick leave
There are besides issues relating to the correct usage of sick leave. At the time of her authoritative work, the boat was seen shopping, utilizing public transport, and went to the doctor. The Court of First Instance found that its actions did not comply with the rules applicable to persons on sick leave.
ZUS regularly conducts checks to verify that people on sick leave actually follow the doctor's instructions. Iwona Kowalska-Matis, regional press spokesperson for ZUS in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, emphasizes that the aim of the medical release is to supply social safety for the patient, who should focus on regaining his ability to work. However, any people usage this time inappropriately, e.g. for vacation trips or for additional work.
Examples of misuse of medical exemptions
ZUS monitors cases of fraud related to medical dismissals. The most common examples of misuse of this time include:
- Travel abroad for recreation or work.
- Participation in events and celebrations specified as weddings, christenings or concerts.
- Participation in public events, e.g. folding flowers or speeches.
- Take additional work “privately”, e.g. selling agricultural produce or services through social networking sites.
- Continuing business activity, despite being formally on sick leave.
Social safety checks frequently lead to the suspension of payments of sickness benefits. According to data, 260 000 checks were carried out in the first half of this year, leading to the issue of 18.6 000 decisions to suspend payments of benefits. Any patient must anticipate that ZUS can carry out an inspection at the address given on the medical release.
Summary
The judgement of the territory Court in Łódź and cases of fraud related to medical dismissals show how crucial it is to comply with social safety regulations. Fictional employment and misuse of sick leave not only exposure to legal consequences, but besides burden the social safety system. Therefore, both ZUS and employers regularly monitor compliance to prevent specified abuses.
Continued here:
What can you do and not do on L4? The Court of First Instance ruled in this case
