L4 for catching rabbit. Experts' concern grows

• Inspections reveal cases of physical work, renovations and recreational trips during sick leave.
• Abuse burdens employers with costs and disrupts the work of teams
• Experts call for better monitoring of sick leave and education of employees on responsibility

Instead of bed rest on L4:

• apartment renovation,
• catching a rabbit, or
• working a second job.

Although the summer season should bring a decrease in the number of sick leave, companies are increasingly observing the opposite trend. Data from the Conperio Sickness Absence Barometer for July and August 2024 indicate that the average level of absence in the audited companies was 6.55% and 6.77%, respectively. The problem? More and more sick leave is being used in a manner other than its intended purpose - as a way to extend vacation, avoid downtime or... other gainful work.

In an ideal scenario, sickness absence throughout the year should follow a natural curve - with a clear increase in autumn and winter, when flu and viral infections increase. In summer, when the weather conditions are good for health, the L4 level should decrease . However, as data from Conperio, a Polish consulting company dealing with sickness absence audits, shows, the reality looks different.

L4 growth during the holiday season

- During the holiday season, we observe an increase in sick leave, which unfortunately in many cases is not reflected in the actual health condition of employees . Leave is taken just before, during and even after the holiday, which indicates attempts to artificially extend it. Such practice often results from the belief that the employer does not monitor sick leave thoroughly at that time, which encourages abuse - comments Mikołaj Zając, president of Conperio, a labor market expert.

Companies are trying to plan summer production shutdowns and vacations in advance, but they are increasingly faced with a wave of unplanned absences. This phenomenon generates high operating costs, including the need to organize replacements, confusion in production planning, and accruing vacation time during sick leave.

List of abuses - absurdities from L4 checks. To catch a rabbit

Conperio experts, based on numerous inspections, noted a number of irregularities in July and August last year that are difficult to reconcile with a medical condition. Here are some examples:

• home renovations (painting the apartment, henhouse doors, moldings),
• vehicle repairs (tractors, scooters, cars),
• physical work on the properties (cutting grass, loading rubble),
• paid work (helping in a shop, working at a school),
• drinking alcohol during sick leave ("it's just beer, it's hot"),
• recreational trips (allotments, seaside towns, change of location by 500+ km).

In one case, an employee was caught catching a rabbit, despite a doctor's recommendation that "the patient should lie down" . Another used a pressure washer, explaining that he operated with his healthy hand. There were also cases of children being absent during L4 care and confusing sick leave with time off for so-called housework.

Costs and consequences for honest workers

– Such abuses not only generate costs, but also affect honest employees and trust in the entire system. Employers are becoming increasingly helpless in the face of this “summer absentee creativity” – they must react flexibly, secure production and avoid paralysis of teams – emphasizes Mikołaj Zając, president of Conperio.

And as he adds, there needs to be better control and greater employee awareness that abusing sick leave is not a "small clever trick" but a real problem for companies . Only by introducing effective procedures, monitoring sick leave in the workplace and educating staff will employers be able to maintain a balance between trust and control, reap organizational benefits and minimize financial losses.

According to data from the consulting company, the average annual L4 rate (excluding maternity leave) in the monitored companies amounted to 6.66% last year, reaching the highest value in October (7.53%) and the lowest in May (5.91%).

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