L4 online, e-sick leave
Express in 15 minutes!

In what circumstances will a doctor choose to issue an online sick leave to a patient? Most often, an online L4 will be issued by a doctor due to a seasonal illness, such as a cold. A doctor may also decide to issue an e-sick leave as a result of an accident (inpatient visit). A psychiatrist will be able to assess the legitimacy of issuing an L4 in the case of mental disorders (such as anxiety disorders and depression resulting from bullying at work). E sick leave can also be obtained to take care of another person, such as a child.

Yes, it is possible to obtain an L4 online. At the Med24 telemedicine platform, the patient has a choice of consultation with a specialist in the form of a phone call, online chat and video call via the Internet. Each time, it is the medical consultant who decides on the legitimacy of issuing sick leave.

The sick leave issued after consulting a doctor online is legal and safe on platforms that care about the health and safety of their patients, like Med24.

It is only possible to register for a consultation with a specialist with the possibility of receiving a sick leave online. Each time, it is the medical consultant who decides whether it is reasonable to issue a L4.

Fast L4 online is possible after registering for a consultation online. Online appointments are the fastest way to contact a doctor. The online doctor may (but does not have to!) decide whether to issue a sick leave.

The online L4 visit, e-sick leave at the Med24 platform is a consultation with a specialist with the possibility of receiving sick leave online, and it costs PLN 99.

Thanks to the development of telemedicine services, patients do not have to leave their homes to consult their health condition with a doctor. By registering for an online telemedicine consultation through the MED24 portal, you can discuss your ailments with an on-call internist, pediatrician (for children) or specialist (during a scheduled e-visit). During the consultation, the doctor will assess your condition based on the symptoms you present and the optional medical records you provide. If the doctor determines that the ailments presented prevent the patient from doing his/her job, he/she can issue an online L4. Such a document is automatically transmitted to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the employer. If necessary (and if there are medical indications for it), the doctor in MED24 can also extend the L4 online. Such a solution has many benefits, namely:

• the patient does not have to leave home to obtain a sick leave, which can be a challenge, for example in case of advanced infection, stomach problems or migraine attack,
• patient does not have to expose himself to other sick people staying at the clinic,
• MED24 offers quick contact with an internal medicine and pediatrician, e-visit in 15 minutes when choosing Express service.

L4 online at MED24 is a convenient and attractive alternative to a traditional visit to a doctor's office. The prices of our telemedicine services are also among the competitive ones on the market.

Sick leave is granted to an employee who is unable to perform his or her job duties due to illness. Remote work, i.e. work performed off-site, usually from home or another location designated by the employee, is subject to the same legal regulations as work at the employer's designated location. This means that an employee on L4, during sick leave, cannot undertake paid work - neither under an employment contract nor under civil law contracts.

If, during a Social Security inspection, it is found that an employee is performing remote work on L4, he or she may lose the right to sick pay, and in the event that this benefit has already been paid to him or her, the Social Security may seek reimbursement. In conclusion, a person who is on sick leave cannot work remotely. He should focus on rest and wait for his health to improve. If, on the other hand, the sick person feels up to returning to his professional duties, he can ask his doctor to shorten his sick leave. The doctor will make the final decision after assessing the patient's health.

An employee has the right to attend the funeral of a loved one, as long as he or she is on L4 with a code 2 (allowing you to leave home) and as long as the doctor sees no contraindications for the patient to go to such an event. However, it should be emphasized that this is an exceptional situation and reserved only for immediate relatives. A person who is on a L4 with a code 1, that is, one that forces the patient to stay at home, cannot go to the funeral.

A doctor may only issue a sick leave to a patient if he or she believes that the patient's health condition prevents him or her from effectively performing his or her professional duties. Therefore, there is no such thing as a "certain L4". A doctor has the right to refuse to issue sick leave if he or she believes that:

• there is no medical indication for the patient to take time off work,
• the patient is simulating, i.e. knowingly faking or exaggerating his or her ailments,
• the nature of the work is unrelated to the ailments reported by the patient (e.g. situation when an office worker reports a slight ankle injury to a doctor after a workout).

"Certain L4" can be obtained only if the symptoms of a somatic or mental illness actually and temporarily exclude the patient from working life.

The doctor may issue a L4 from physical education in a situation where the student's health condition currently does not allow him/her to participate in such activities. An L4 from P.E. is most often issued to students undergoing acute viral infections (e.g. flu, tonsillitis), which require rest and temporary restriction of physical activity.

To obtain an L4 from P.E., one must go to a doctor who will assess the patient's health and, based on this, determine whether an sick leave from physical education is necessary. You can use MED24's medical consultation for this purpose. If the doctor determines that the patient requires rest, he or she can issue a short L4 sick leave from P.E. for the duration of the illness.

Exemption from physical education for the entire school year is possible, but must be justified by appropriate medical indications. It is usually issued when a student's health condition requires a long-term restriction of physical activity. A year-round medical exemption from physical education is not standard and is issued only in the case of serious medical conditions that prevent a student from participating in sports activities for a long time. We are referring, for example,

• severe form of asthma,
• injuries that require months of rehabilitation,
• neurological diseases e.g. epilepsy, multiple sclerosis,
• psychiatric diseases e.g. anxiety disorders, social phobia.

In such cases, the doctor, based on the medical diagnosis, test results and symptoms of the patient, may recommend a long-term exemption from physical education to avoid deterioration of the student's health. Due to the need for a physical examination, it is impossible to obtain a full-year L4 from P.E. during an online medical consultation at MED24. However, the online doctor can issue a brief exemption from PE, for example, for a patient's contagious illness.

Disease can effectively exclude a student from academic life, but absence from classes must be properly justified. For most lecturers, the mere information that a student is ill is no excuse. Proof of illness and, at the same time, an excuse for absence from classes is a medical exemption. At MED24 you can obtain one without leaving home. To do so, you need to schedule an online internal medicine consultation. You can choose between Express (e-visit in 15 minutes, including at night) or Standard (scheduled e-visit). During the tele-visit, the doctor will assess the patient's condition and decide whether issuing a L4 is justified. It is worth mentioning that the doctor also has the option of issuing a retroactive exemption (the retroactive period cannot be more than 3 days), if the doctor believes that the patient's condition prevented him from showing up for academic classes.

A sick leave (L4) can be issued by doctors up to a maximum of 3 days back. Only psychiatrists have different rules in this regard.

The doctor makes an individual decision in this regard. Only a specialist can determine how long a patient needs sick leave for. Depending on the complexity and evaluation of the case, the doctor may make different decisions.

While on L4, the patient will receive 80% of his average salary. However, there are exceptions to this rule and some will receive 100% of their salary (e.g. pregnant women).

If the doctor, after consultation, decides to issue the L4 online, it will automatically appear on the employer's PUE (Electronic Services Platform of the Social Insurance Institution). Usually the posting process takes up to 72 hours.

Yes, students can also get a sick leave online, as long as the specialist decides to issue it.

A patient who is on sick leave marked with the number "2" may go out with his dog without any consequences. This type of L4 means that the patient does not have to adhere to the bed regime and can leave the place of residence in certain situations, such as going to the pharmacy, doctor, grocery shopping or for a short walk. Walking the dog undoubtedly falls into the above-mentioned circumstances.

Patients to whom a doctor has issued an L4 with the number "1" should stay at home. Only going to the pharmacy or doctor is excused. The exceptions are single people who have no one close to help them and who have to take care of their basic needs themselves. In their case, walking a dog on L4 may be treated as a necessity, since the animal must take care of its physiological needs outside.

This is at the discretion of the doctor who issues the patient an L4. On the sick leave, in addition to a letter code indicating the reason for inability to work, there is also a digital code. The digit "1" means that the patient should lie down and stay at home for the entire period of illness. Only going to the pharmacy or doctor is allowed. Patients who do not have anyone close to them to help them can also leave home to go grocery shopping on a sick leave marked with the digit "1", but this is an exceptional situation.

If the sick leave is marked with the number "2", it means that the patient can walk because the doctor has determined that going out of the house will not adversely affect the patient's health. However, this does not mean that the patient can use this time to go to visit family or do extra work. A person on L4 with the number "2" can go out to get groceries, to the pharmacy, to the doctor's office, as well as for a short walk.

If a doctor determines that a patient is unable to perform his or her professional duties due to illness, he or she issues a sick leave (L4) in written and/or electronic form (e-ZLA). The aforementioned document is automatically transmitted to the Social Insurance Institution and to the employer. What data does the employer see on the electronic sick leave? These are:

• the patient's personal data,
• the home address where the employee will be staying for the entire period of sick leave,
• the time for which the L4 was issued,
• a letter code that indicates the reason for the employee's absence, but without details of the diagnosis.

For example, suppose a patient has been diagnosed with tuberculosis. The code for this disease in IDC-10 (International Classification of Diseases) is A15. However, the employer will see a "D" designation on the electronic leave, and only after possible verification of this can he find out what the specific reason for the employee's absence is. However, if the employee wants complete privacy, he can request the doctor to hide the "D" code on the L4.

Labor law says that the time an employee is on sick leave counts as part of the working period that entitles him to vacation leave. In a situation where an employee is scheduled for vacation, but falls ill or has an accident during this time, he can ask the employer to reschedule his vacation to another date, after presenting him with a medical release. On this basis, the employer is obliged to set a new date for the leave, in consultation with the employee.

If an employee falls ill during a leave of absence and a doctor issues an L4, the leave is automatically canceled and the employee goes on sick leave. In such a situation, the employee has the right to use the unused vacation days at another time. Upon termination of the employment contract, regardless of the reason, the employee is entitled to cash compensation for all unused vacation days. This right also extends to situations where the employee has not had the opportunity to use leave due to being on sick leave.

Sick leave is granted to an employee who is unable to perform his professional duties due to illness. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine a sick person who is unwell planning a vacation. However, it should be remembered that illness can take different courses and affect different areas of the human body. It is one thing to have a somatic illness and another to have an addiction or mental illness. As a rule, an employee who is on an L4 with code 1, i.e. required to stay at home for the duration of the illness, cannot go on vacation, and there are no exceptions to this rule.

If you are diagnosed with a somatic illness (you complain of pain and physical ailments), but your doctor issues you an L4 with code 2, i.e. allowing you to leave home in certain situations, this is also not grounds for going on vacation. The situation is a little different with sick leave from a psychiatrist.

Patients with depression, anxiety disorders, neurosis or mood disorders are free to leave home on L4 - to meet with friends or attend family celebrations. In some cases, going on vacation is even recommended as a means of improving the patient's mental condition. However, an employee with an L4 from a psychiatrist cannot go on vacation just like that. She must inform Social Security and her employer of the temporary change of address.

A pregnant woman on L4 can also travel freely, as long as the doctor sees no health contraindications. However, it is also her responsibility to inform Social Security and her employer of a temporary change of address.

When an employer receives a sick leave from an employee, there is a designation on it that states in general terms the reason for his absence . This is because the employer is not obliged, or even entitled, to know the specific medical reason for his employee's absence, i.e. a detailed diagnosis. Accordingly, the following letter codes are used on electronic sick leave:

• code A denotes incapacity for work arising after a break of not more than 60 days, caused by the same illness that was the cause of incapacity before the break;
• code B denotes incapacity for work related to pregnancy;
• code C means incapacity due to alcohol abuse;
• code D means incapacity due to tuberculosis,
• Code E means incapacity for work caused by an infectious disease whose incubation period is longer than 14 days, or another disease whose disease symptoms manifest themselves more than 14 days after the onset of the disease.

Code A,B,C,D or E on sick leave helps the employer determine the amount of sick pay. However, the employer does not have access to the disease statistical code information on the IDC-10, which is the exact diagnosis made by the doctor writing the L4.

On the sick leave (e-ZLA), in addition to the letter code A,B,C,D or E, you can also find a digital code 1 or 2. It can be said that it defines the conditions under which convalescence should take place.

• L4 with code 1 means that during sick leave the patient is required to stay at home and recuperate there. Such a release is most often issued to patients who should be in bed.
• L4 with code 2 means that the patient, under reasonable circumstances, can stay away from home - he can go to the doctor, pharmacy, grocery shopping or for a walk, if the doctor sees no contraindications to this.

The digital code on the L4 not only conditions the patient's conduct while sick, but also provides important information for Social Security officials who conduct random or targeted (on employer orders) checks on employees. If a person who should be in bed is caught, for example, shopping for clothes in a shopping mall, he or she should expect to have his or her sick pay withheld, as well as to have to return the money collected, if it has already been paid.

Receipt of L4 online is not guaranteed - the decision to issue an sick leave always rests solely with the doctor and depends on the assessment of the patient's condition. The service available at our facility includes a professional medical consultation , during which a specialist will carefully assess whether the sick leave is justified.

After an e-visit is made, no refund is made, as the fee applies to the medical consultation itself, not to the guarantee of the issuance of documents such as a sick leave. The doctor, guided by concern for the patient's health, has the right to refuse to issue a sick leave if he feels that a visit to an in-patient facility is necessary for a full assessment of the condition.

The decision on the length of sick leave is made by the doctor during the consultation, based on medical indications and applicable regulations. In such a situation, there is no reimbursement, since the fee applies to the consultation itself, not to the length of sick leave issued.

Unfortunately, resuming the appointment is not possible. The doctor makes three attempts to contact the patient on the date of the scheduled consultation. If the patient does not respond, the doctor fails to connect, the appointment is considered to have been made. You are welcome to schedule another appointment through our app - after booking it and paying the fee, the doctor will contact you again.

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