Increased control activity by the Social Insurance Institution has led to a sharp rise in the number of court cases filed by pregnant women. Officials are increasingly questioning the validity of issued sick leave certificates and the reality of future mothers' employment. In response, Polish women are filing appeals en masse, fighting for the reinstatement of sickness and maternity benefits, which constitute their main source of income during the perinatal period.
Wave of Court Cases
The number of court cases in which pregnant women challenge ZUS decisions to suspend sickness and maternity benefit payments has drastically increased.
Employment Verification
Officials are meticulously examining the authenticity of employment contracts concluded shortly before childbirth, which is met with opposition from expectant mothers.
Challenging e-ZLAs
ZUS certifying doctors are increasingly questioning the diagnoses of attending physicians, declaring pregnant women fit for work despite contraindications.
The latest data from the turn of February 2026 indicates a growing conflict between the pension authority and insured women. Social Insurance Institution has intensified the verification of e-ZLAs and employment contracts concluded shortly before transitioning to benefits. ZUS argues its actions are necessary to protect public funds from abuse. However, this practice is controversial as it often affects women genuinely unable to work due to health complications, resulting in a sudden loss of their financial liquidity. The institution of sickness benefit during pregnancy stems from the constitutional principle of special care for mother and child, whose foundations in the Polish legal system were established after 1989 as part of the expansion of the welfare state.Analysis of proceedings shows that the number of appeals against negative decisions is growing exponentially. Women, supported by lawyers, are increasingly proving in courts that the controls are non-objective and their goal is budgetary savings, not a reliable verification of the factual situation. Electronic sick leave certificates are subjected to rigorous assessment by certifying doctors, who sometimes question the opinions of gynecologists managing the pregnancy, which in turn forces patients to pursue civil litigation. The situation becomes particularly tense in the context of field inspections, during which inspectors check the presence of women in their homes. Many cases reaching the courtroom end with victories for the insured, which according to experts casts a shadow on the quality of administrative decisions being issued. Maternity benefit becomes the subject of months-long disputes, which for many families means having to rely on savings or social assistance. Experts predict that if the adjudication system is not improved, social insurance departments in district courts will be paralyzed by a wave of new cases. ZUS's increased vigilance focuses especially on women running their own businesses. The pension authority checks whether declared contribution bases are not artificially inflated just before a planned work break. Although abuses do occur, the scale of current control actions is assessed by social organizations as hitting honest citizens as collateral damage.