In 2026, new rules for calculating employment tenure will come into force. Under the revised framework, employees will be able to include not only years worked under an employment contract, but also years gained through other forms of professional activity. These are revolutionary amendments to the Labour Code. Dominika Domiańska-Drzazga, attorney-at-law at the employment agency Trenkwalder, explains what the changes will mean in practice and why employees should not delay handling their formalities.
The Act of 26 September 2025 (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1423) increases the length of employment periods counted in favour of employees. It is one of the most significant amendments to the Labour Code in the last decade and aims to equalise opportunities between standard employment-contract workers and those who are self-employed or working under civil-law contracts. The effective date of the new regulations will vary by sector: 1 January 2026 for the public sector and 1 May 2026 for the private sector. Confirmation of employment periods will be issued by ZUS (the Social Insurance Institution). If ZUS does not have the relevant data, employees will be allowed to prove their employment periods using other evidence.
What will—and will not—count toward the “new” employment tenure?
Under the new rules, the following periods will be counted toward employment tenure:
- Running a business and suspending business activity due to childcare,
- Cooperation with a person conducting business activity,
- Work under contracts of mandate and other service contracts,
- Work under agency contracts,
- Membership in agricultural production cooperatives and agricultural machinery cooperatives,
- Employment abroad.
The following periods will not count:
- Contracts for specific work (umowa o dzieło),
- Student internships,
- Volunteering.
It is also important to note that employment periods will not be added together if they overlap.
“If a person worked under an employment contract and simultaneously performed work under a contract of mandate, those periods will not be added together. Only one will be counted, usually the one that is most favourable for the employee,” explains Dominika Domiańska-Drzazga.
How will the new regulations work in practice?
The changes to how employment tenure is interpreted will provide employees with numerous benefits, such as:
- longer paid annual leave,
- longer notice periods for terminating an employment contract,
- higher severance pay when a contract is terminated for reasons not related to the employee,
- higher jubilee awards and length-of-service bonuses,
- faster career advancement,
- new eligibility for job opportunities if a specific employment tenure is required.
“Employees should protect their interests and obtain their certificates from ZUS as soon as possible. It is important to note that ZUS does not have data from before 1999, meaning it will not be able to issue certificates for periods worked before January of that year. Employees should therefore gather documents that can prove additional tenure—civil-law contracts, tax records, service acceptance reports, payment confirmations, etc. The law does not specify how far back one may go; all proven employment periods will count,” emphasises Domiańska-Drzazga.
The new rules will particularly benefit:
- individuals who previously ran a business before taking up employment,
- those who worked under contracts of mandate,
- self-employed individuals transitioning into employment contracts,
- employees returning to work after an extended break (e.g., maternity or parental leave).
Miss the deadline, lose your benefits
Applications to ZUS for certificates confirming contribution periods may be submitted only electronically via the ZUS Electronic Services Platform (PUE ZUS / eZUS). Certificates will also be issued electronically and can then be provided to employers so that confirmed employment periods can be included in the employee’s tenure.
Employees will have 24 months from the effective date of the act to submit certificates to their employer (either from 1 January 2026 or 1 May 2026, depending on the sector). At first glance, this may seem like a long deadline. However, according to estimates by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, up to 2 million people may apply. ZUS therefore expects a wave of applications that may extend processing times and, in practice, “clog the system.”
“It is certainly not worth waiting until the last minute. Checking your records in PUE ZUS, reviewing documents that prove periods of business activity or contract work (and sometimes recovering lost contracts) takes time,” warns Domiańska-Drzazga.
How should employers prepare for the changes?
The reform introduced by the new tenure-calculation law places new obligations on employers. The impact will be particularly strong for large organisations, which will face higher administrative and financial burdens.
“Employers will have to adjust payroll and HR systems, recalculate employment periods and update employee entitlements, review and amend internal regulations such as workplace rules, compensation policies, recruitment policies, and train HR teams. Considering that employees will not hesitate to request reassessment of their tenure, companies should begin internal preparations now so they are ready in 2026,” says Domiańska-Drzazga.
