When you need time off work because you're sick, you're dealing with a zwolnienie lekarskie, formalny dokument wydawany przez lekarza, który potwierdza niezdolność do pracy z powodu stanu zdrowia. Also known as latawka, it is the only legal way to take sick leave in Poland without losing pay or facing consequences at work. To get one, you don’t need to be hospitalized — it’s enough to visit your family doctor, call for a home visit, or even see a specialist like a psychiatra, lekarski specjalista, który ocenia stan psychiczny i może wydać zwolnienie bez podawania szczegółowej diagnozy. Since 2025, Polish law protects your privacy: your employer sees only the dates of your absence, not the reason. They don’t know if it’s a broken leg, depression, or flu.
Not every doctor can issue a zwolnienie lekarskie, dokument potwierdzający niezdolność do pracy, wydawany przez uprawnionego lekarza w ramach systemu opieki zdrowotnej. Only doctors registered with the National Health Fund (NFZ) can issue it for free — that includes your family doctor, specialists in public clinics, and doctors on home visits covered by NFZ. If you go private, you might pay for the visit, but the zwolnienie lekarskie itself is still valid. The key thing? It must be issued in the national system — paper or electronic. A handwritten note from a private doctor won’t count unless it’s properly registered in e-ZUS.
What if you’re too sick to leave the house? You can call for a lekarz rodzinny, lekarz, który prowadzi dokumentację zdrowotną pacjenta i ma prawo wydawać zwolnienia lekarskie w ramach NFZ to come to your home. It’s free if you’re registered with them and your condition justifies it — fever, severe pain, recent surgery, or mental health crisis. You don’t need to prove you’re "sick enough" — if you feel too unwell to work, you have the right to ask. The doctor will assess you and decide. If they refuse, you can call another doctor or contact NFZ’s emergency line.
And what about mental health? Many people worry that if they get a zwolnienie od psychiatry, zwolnienie lekarskie wydane przez specjalistę zajmującego się chorobami psychicznymi, które nie wymaga ujawniania diagnozy pracodawcy, their employer will find out they have depression or anxiety. They won’t. The law doesn’t allow it. The electronic system shows only the start and end date. No diagnosis. No name of illness. Even if your psychiatrist writes "depression" on the paper copy, your employer never sees it. This isn’t a loophole — it’s your right under Polish labor law and GDPR.
There’s no limit to how many days you can take, but you can’t just stretch it. If your doctor suspects you’re abusing it, they can report you to NFZ. But if you’re genuinely unwell — whether it’s a back injury, migraine, panic attack, or post-surgery recovery — you’re protected. The system exists to help you recover, not to punish you for needing rest.
Below you’ll find real, practical guides on how to get a home visit from a doctor, what to expect when seeing a psychiatrist, how to handle your employer, and what’s truly covered by NFZ. No fluff. No jargon. Just what you need to know to protect your health and your job.
Jak wystawić zwolnienie lekarskie za granicą, by je przyjęto w Polsce? Wszystko o wymaganiach, tłumaczeniach, apostylu i procedurach dla pracowników za granicą. ZUS, pracodawca i prawa ubezpieczeniowe.