Employment contract earthquake: 6 more days of vacation per year. The regulations will apply retroactively.

• The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is preparing changes to the Labour Code
• The project assumes that periods worked under a contract of mandate or self-employment will be included in the length of service
• The changes are hugely significant for employees. Some will gain more vacation time.

According to the draft, changes to the Labor Code will enter into force on 1 January 2026. At the end of May, the regulation was adopted by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers.

The head of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, stressed that the new regulations will be retroactive.

"Work is work—every work deserves respect and recognition! You're asking in the comments if the new regulations will be retroactive—YES!" she wrote on the X platform.

According to the project, the employment period will include, among others:

• periods of conducting non-agricultural business activities,
• periods of cooperation with a person running a business,
• the period of suspension of business activity in order to provide personal care for a child,
• periods of execution of contracts of mandate, for the provision of services or agency contracts and time as a collaborating person, periods of membership in an agricultural production cooperative and a cooperative of agricultural circles,
• documented periods of paid work abroad (other than employment).

New regulations in the Labor Code mean more leave

The Ministry noted that the periods mentioned will be confirmed by certificates issued by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). Periods of employment not subject to ZUS reporting and periods other than paid employment abroad will be confirmed according to general rules of evidence. Their inclusion in the length of service will require the submission of appropriate documents.

For example, an employee with 7 years of service who submits documents confirming 4 years of service under a mandate contract will be entitled to 26 days of annual leave after January 1, 2026, instead of the current 20. Under current law, annual leave entitlement is: 20 days if the employee has been employed for less than 10 years; 26 days if the employee has been employed for at least 10 years. Contracts of service and the period of running a business are not included in the length of service.

The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, citing the 2023 LFS survey, reported that the share of non-employee workers (i.e., those not employed under an employment contract) is 19.9%. This means that the changes could affect nearly 1.9 million people in the public and private sectors.

Source: PAP; Prepared by AN