On June 1, 2022, the Social Insurance Company introduced the electronic form of the sick leave documents.

Until now, ePN was on a voluntary basis. 

Doctors had the opportunity to try this new form and connect to the ePN system. 

Since June 1, 2023, the electronic PN is mandatory for general practitioners, doctors in the field of gynecology and obstetrics, and doctors in hospitals and other health care facilities. 

Since January 1, 2024, all doctors will be required to issue an ePN. 

  • The ePN replaces the previous five-page form 
  • Doctors inform the Social Insurance Agency about the patient’s incapacity for work through the NZIS 
  • The patient will not have to separately apply for a sickness compensation, issuing of an ePN itself is considered a request for a compensation. 

Both the employee and the employer continue to have the following obligations 

  • The employee immediately informs the employer about his sick leave 
  • The employer has the obligation to fill in the method of compensation for PN on the Social Insurance portal, i.e. enter the employee’s account number or mark the payment with a postal order and fill in the date of the last day the employee worked. 
  • The employer continues to pay the employee for the first 10 days, since the eleventh day the employee is entitled to compensation of wages for sick leave directly from the account of the Social Insurance Company. 
  • An action on the side of the employer is also necessary et the end of the sick leave

The cooperation of the employer (client) and the payroll accountant is necessary for the external processing of salary calculations. 

Social insurance does not send reminders nor contacts the employer. 

The employer has to log in to the Social Insurance portal and fill in the missing data. 

Therefore, it is necessary for companies that have external payroll processing to send this information immediately to the accounting firm. 

This is an administrative act in the field of HR, 

Therefore, count on the fact that accountants have this action in their price list. 

If you need advice in the field of labor law, 

contact us at for replies to questions such as: 

  • When is an employee entitled to sick leave compensation? 
  • How long can sick leave last? 
  • How long does the employer pay the employee during sick leave and in what amount? 
  • What can happen to him if the employee does not follow the treatment regime?