A number of reforms relating to incapacity benefits have been carried out in many European countries in recent years. As part of these reforms, there has been a strong emphasis on activating insured persons and using their retained capacity to work. Partial sick leave/graded sick leave/part time sick leave is also part of the issue of activating insured persons. The aim of the article was to review existing legal solutions in other European countries and compare this with the Polish regulation. In Poland, performing gainful employment while receiving sickness benefit (as well as rehabilitation benefit or sick pay paid by the employer) results in the loss of the right to this benefit. This is the very opposite strategy to the direction presented above of activating insured persons and using their retained capacity to work. Furthermore, the regulation referred to has raised a number of questions. The introduction of partial sick leave would be a major breakthrough for Polish social insurance science, and it would also have significance in the field of labour law. There are a number of compelling reasons in favour of such a direction.