More than 13.1 million people employed in Poland’s private sector, including hundreds of thousands working under civil-law contracts and more than 3.15 million people running their own businesses, have been covered by changes that entered into force on 1 May 2026. The new rules may have a real impact on employee entitlements for this group, including the length of annual leave, severance pay and notice periods.
Although for many Poles the long May weekend was an opportunity to rest, for some workers 1 May 2026 also marked the symbolic beginning of changes that may affect their professional and financial situation. New regulations on calculating work seniority came into force, now covering not only the public sector but also the private sector.
Broader Definition of Professional Experience
The amendment introduced an important change in the way work seniority is calculated. From 1 May, the employment period includes not only years worked under an employment contract, but also other forms of professional activity. These include running a sole proprietorship, working under civil-law contracts, cooperating in the running of a business and documented experience gained abroad.
The January change, which had already covered 4.23 million public sector employees, has now been extended to an even larger group. According to Statistics Poland data, at the end of 2025, 13.115 million people worked in the private sector, accounting for 75.6% of all employed persons. At the same time, more than 3.15 million residents of Poland ran a business, while more than 1.5 million worked exclusively under mandate contracts and similar agreements. The latter group increased by 5.4% year on year, showing how large a part of the labour market operates outside the traditional employment contract — and therefore also outside the system of statutory paid leave — and how the importance of solutions regulating the right to rest for these people may grow in the future.
“The new rules in practice bring order to the reality of the labour market, which has long been more complex than a model based solely on an employment contract. For many people, this means formal recognition of experience that has so far not translated into employee rights. The labour market stopped being uniform a long time ago. The regulations are finally beginning to reflect this. This provides greater transparency of rules and a better fit with economic realities,” says Magda Dąbrowska, President of Grupa Progres.
More Than a Formality: Tangible Benefits
Changes in the calculation of work seniority may translate into a number of concrete benefits. The most important include longer annual leave, higher severance payments, more favourable notice periods, and access to seniority allowances and jubilee awards.
Some employees may reach the threshold of 10 years of work seniority more quickly, which entitles them to 26 days of annual leave instead of 20. Those who “fill in” missing years of experience may be able to obtain additional days off in the same year, gaining up to six extra days of rest.
“This is a change that in practice may resolve many injustices that have built up over the years. Until now, experience gained while running a business or working under civil-law contracts often did not translate into employee rights, even though in reality it meant fully fledged work. Now these periods are beginning to count toward seniority — and this means not only more days of leave, but also faster access to higher severance payments, allowances or more stable employment conditions. In the longer term, this may also influence the professional decisions of Poles by reducing differences between employment contracts and other forms of work,” Dąbrowska emphasises.
To benefit from the new rules, employees must document their previous professional activities. In many cases, it will be necessary to obtain an appropriate certificate from the Social Insurance Institution. Applications can be submitted electronically through the eZUS platform, which is intended to streamline the entire process.
New Rules and the 2026 Work Calendar
The regulatory changes coincide with a year in which employees have 14 statutory days off. Their distribution in the calendar is not always favourable for long weekends, as some holidays fall on Sundays and others on Saturdays, which means employers must designate another day off.
Among the nearest opportunities for rest after the May weekend is Corpus Christi, which in 2026 falls on 11 June and, as every year, encourages planning a longer weekend. Further opportunities will appear in the summer and towards the end of the year, including around Independence Day on 11 November, which falls on a Wednesday, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, falling on Thursday, 24 December, and Friday, 25 December. Many of these dates, especially when combined with weekends, are favourable for shorter trips and so-called micro-holidays.
Industry holidays and additional days off granted by employers are also becoming increasingly important. These include Miners’ Day, known as Barbórka, on 4 December; Firefighter’s Day and Steelworker’s Day on 4 May; Railway Worker’s Day on 25 November; Power Engineer’s Day on 14 August; and National Education Day on 14 October.
The calendar also includes numerous professional holidays that are being celebrated by a growing number of companies, such as Municipal Economy Worker’s Day on 10 May, Forester’s Day on 5 June and Aviation Day on 28 August.
A Change Reflecting a Broader Trend
The new regulations are another step in adapting labour law to a changing labour market. A growing number of people work in flexible models, combining different forms of employment or running their own businesses. Just a few years ago, such career paths existed alongside the traditional employment contract; today, they are becoming an equivalent alternative.
Professional experience is no longer defined solely by an employment contract. It is increasingly seen more broadly, as the sum of competences and professional activity. The introduced changes therefore fit into a wider trend of making the labour market more flexible and adapting regulations to the real career paths of employees.
