Recruitment of companies for the pilot project on reduced working hours is ongoing for a few more days. It is the first initiative of its kind in this part of Europe, and according to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, it addresses the needs of both employees and employers. The Chief Labour Inspector describes the pilot as an excellent idea that will allow authorities to test the outcomes of shorter working hours. The State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) also considered joining the program, but in light of its ongoing reform, it concluded that this would mean too many changes at once.
“The pilot program on reducing working hours, prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, is, in my opinion, a brilliant solution. I really like the fact that, for the first time in 100 years – since the adoption of the eight-hour workday in Poland, Europe, and globally – we are experimenting with something new. I am very pleased that the ministry has proposed such a pilot program, which will allow us to test and verify over a longer period of time what the consequences of reducing working hours will be,” said Marcin Stanecki, Chief Labour Inspector, in an interview with Newseria.
He emphasized that this could mark the beginning of a new era in which people will actually work less. Labour Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk recently announced at a conference that the pilot marks a new era in labour law and is a response to the real needs of workers and employers. It is designed to improve work-life balance. Changes in the labour market are driving the search for new organizational solutions that make it easier to combine professional and family life. For employers, the initiative provides a tool to compete for skilled employees.
“Regardless of how we evaluate this idea, many companies already advertise that they have a four-day workweek. But in the fine print, they clarify that it means working four days at 10 hours each. Still, this shows that the four-day week has become a highly desirable benefit and a key incentive for prospective employees,” said Stanecki. “Local governments are also broadly adopting the four-day workweek. They struggle to attract specialists because salary ranges for public sector employees are not very high, so municipalities compete by offering shorter weeks. They report that this has improved efficiency. I strongly support this idea.”
He admitted that PIP considered joining the pilot, but the timing was not right.
“Let’s remember that this pilot is not free money – there are forms to fill out, reports to prepare, and productivity to measure. Since we are in the middle of reforming the State Labour Inspectorate, imposing additional obligations on directors to monitor productivity and assess the four-day system would complicate our reform. For now, we cannot participate. But once the reform is completed and internal issues are resolved, why not?” said the Chief Labour Inspector.
The PIP reform is one of the milestones outlined in Poland’s National Recovery Plan (KPO). The Inspectorate will gain new powers, including the authority to convert civil law contracts into employment contracts under certain conditions and the ability to conduct remote inspections. Organizational changes are also planned. The new regulations are scheduled to take effect in January 2026.
The recruitment for the shortened working hours pilot began on August 14 and will run until September 15. The participating companies will be selected within the following month. Interest among businesses and institutions is very high: in the first week alone, 116 applications were submitted, and another 661 were being completed.
The pilot program, which maintains employee wages despite reduced working hours, has a research character and is financed from the Labour Fund. Employers will receive financial support to cover training costs and organizational changes they would otherwise bear themselves. A single company can receive up to PLN 1 million, but not more than PLN 20,000 per employee. The total budget of the program is PLN 50 million. The pilot will last for more than a year.
