Katarzyna Kanik for Rzeczpospolita: “Who will be able to take longer leave starting from January?”
From 1 January 2026, significant changes in the way employment tenure is calculated will come into force, which will affect the amount of annual leave for many employees. Additional forms of professional activity, such as civil law contracts, running a business or work abroad, will be included in the tenure. This may mean that many more people will gain the right to longer leave – 26 days instead of 20. The most important practical issues related to the amendment to the Labour Code are discussed in today’s issue of Rzeczpospolita by associate Katarzyna Kanik.
Gradual implementation of the new regulations
The amendment will not enter into force for everyone at the same time. The public sector – offices, state schools, public universities – must apply the new rules from 1 January 2026, provided that the employee submits appropriate documents confirming additional periods of service. Employers in the private sector, however, will have more time – the new rules will apply to them only from 1 May 2026. Employees employed on the date the changes take effect will have 24 months to provide documentation confirming additional periods.
How to document additional service?
The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) will play a key role in the process of documenting employment tenure, as it will issue special certificates at the employee’s request. Applications may be submitted electronically via the PUE/eZUS platform, but new forms will be made available only after the entry into force of the act. Certificates will be delivered electronically to the applicant’s information profile. If, for any reason, ZUS cannot issue such a document, the employee will still be able to prove their service using their own documents, such as contracts or confirmations of business activity.
Recalculation of leave and employer obligations
When the employee provides a certificate or other evidence confirming additional periods of service, the employer is obliged to recalculate their employment tenure. If the recalculation shows entitlement to a higher amount of leave, the missing number of days off must be compensated – the employee’s leave balance must be increased by the difference between the previous and the newly due amount. An important note: the new entitlements do not provide grounds for supplementing the leave for the years prior to the entry into force of the act (e.g. 2023–2025). The right to the new entitlements applies from the date they are acquired, but not earlier than from the date of entry into force of the amendment.
Broader context of the changes
The amendment is one of the most important changes in labour law in recent years. Expanding the list of periods counted toward employment tenure affects not only the amount of annual leave, but also many other entitlements related to the length of employment – including seniority bonuses, jubilee awards, notice periods, and severance pay. The editorial board of Rzeczpospolita has invited KWKR to provide a weekly commentary on the most important changes related to the new method of calculating tenure, which will allow employers and employees to stay informed about the practical aspects of applying the new regulations.
When exactly do the new rules come into force and do they apply to all employees immediately? How and where can one obtain a certificate of additional periods of service? What should an employer do when an employee provides documents confirming additional service?
These and many other questions are answered by Katarzyna Kanik in her article published in Rzeczpospolita.
