Poland Leave Laws & Holidays

A practical guide to statutory leave and time-off rights in Poland — annual leave, public holidays, sick pay, family leave and more. Entitlements come from the Polish Labour Code (Kodeks pracy) and official guidance from gov.pl, biznes.gov.pl, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) and the social-insurance institution ZUS. Most paid family and sickness benefits are funded by ZUS rather than the employer. Figures reflect the law in force in 2026.

At a Glance

Annual Leave (Urlop Wypoczynkowy)

Employees on an employment contract are entitled to paid annual leave, with the amount set by their total seniority (art. 154 of the Kodeks pracy):

• 20 days a year for employees with less than 10 years of seniority.
• 26 days a year for employees with 10 years or more.

How Seniority Is Counted

Periods of education count toward the 10-year threshold (art. 155), with a fixed number of years added depending on the school completed (these do not stack — the highest applicable figure is used):

• Basic vocational school — up to 3 years
• Secondary vocational school — up to 5 years
• Secondary general school — 4 years
• Post-secondary school — 6 years
• Higher education (university) — 8 years

Education and previous employment are combined to reach the 10-year mark, so many graduates qualify for 26 days relatively early in their careers.

Part-Time, Carry-Over and Leave on Demand

• Part-time employees receive leave in proportion to their working time, rounded up to a full day.
• Leave is paid by the employer at the employee's normal rate of pay.
• Up to 4 days a year can be taken as leave on demand (urlop na żądanie, art. 167²) — requested no later than the start of the working day. These 4 days are part of, not additional to, the annual entitlement.
• Unused leave must be granted by 30 September of the following calendar year (art. 168).

Public Holidays 2026 (Dni Ustawowo Wolne od Pracy)

Poland has 14 statutory non-working days. From 2025, 24 December (Christmas Eve / Wigilia) became a public holiday under the act of 6 December 2024, joining the previous 13.

Substitute days: there is no extra day off when a holiday falls on a Sunday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, however, the employer must give employees an additional day off within the working-time settlement period.

In 2026, four holidays fall on a Sunday (5 April, 3 May, 24 May, 1 November) with no substitute day, while two fall on a Saturday (15 August, 26 December) and generate an extra day off.

Working Time and Rest Periods

Maximum Working Hours

• Working time normally must not exceed 8 hours a day and an average of 40 hours in an average five-day working week (art. 129).
• Including overtime, average weekly working time must not exceed 48 hours in the settlement period (art. 131).

Rest Periods

• Daily rest: at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest in every 24-hour period (art. 132).
• Weekly rest: at least 35 hours of uninterrupted rest each week (art. 133).

Sick Leave — Sick Pay and Sickness Benefit

Sick leave is split between an employer-paid period and a ZUS-paid period.

• Employer-paid sick pay (wynagrodzenie chorobowe, art. 92): the first 33 days of incapacity in a calendar year, paid by the employer. For employees who have turned 50, the employer pays only the first 14 days.
• ZUS sickness benefit (zasiłek chorobowy): from day 34 (or day 15 for employees 50+) onward, paid by ZUS.

Rates

• 80% of base pay as the standard rate.
• 100% where the incapacity occurs during pregnancy, results from an accident on the way to or from work, or relates to medical exams for cell, tissue or organ donors.

Maximum Duration

• Benefit is payable for up to 182 days.
• This extends to 270 days if the incapacity is caused by tuberculosis or occurs during pregnancy.

Maternity Leave (Urlop Macierzyński)

Maternity leave duration depends on the number of children born at a single birth (art. 180):

• Up to 6 weeks may be taken before the expected due date.
• The mother must use a minimum of 14 weeks after the birth; the remainder can be transferred to the father.
• Pay: maternity benefit (zasiłek macierzyński) of 100%, paid by ZUS. If the combined maternity-plus-parental option is chosen up front, the whole period is averaged at 81.5% (see below).

Parental Leave (Urlop Rodzicielski)

After maternity leave, parents are entitled to parental leave, significantly reshaped by the 2023 work-life-balance reform (art. 182¹ᵃ):

• 41 weeks for one child; 43 weeks for a multiple birth.
• It includes a 9-week non-transferable part reserved for each parent — if one parent does not use their 9 weeks, those weeks are lost.
• Must be used by the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 6.

Pay

• Standard parental-leave benefit is 70% of base.
• Alternatively, if the mother declares within 21 days of the birth that she will take the whole maternity and parental period, the entire period is paid at the averaged 81.5% — though the 9-week part reserved for the second parent is still paid at 70%.
• Paid by ZUS.

Paternity Leave (Urlop Ojcowski)

• 2 weeks of leave, available exclusively to the father (art. 182³).
• Can be taken as one block or split into two 1-week parts.
• Must be used within 12 months of the child's birth.
• Pay: 100%, paid by ZUS.

Childcare Leave (Urlop Wychowawczy)

Separate from parental leave, this is longer-term unpaid leave to personally care for a child (art. 186):

• Up to 36 months, granted until the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 6.
• 1 month of the 36 is reserved for the other parent — one parent alone can use a maximum of 35 months.
• Unpaid, but the period counts toward employment seniority.
• For a child with a disability, an additional 36 months is available until the child turns 18.

Carer's Leave (Urlop Opiekuńczy)

Introduced by the 2023 reform (art. 173¹):

• 5 days per calendar year.
• Unpaid, though the period counts toward employment seniority.
• To provide personal care or support to a son, daughter, mother, father or spouse — or a person living in the same household — who needs care for a serious medical reason.

Time Off for Force Majeure (Zwolnienie z Powodu Siły Wyższej)

Also introduced by the 2023 reform (art. 148¹):

• 2 days or 16 hours per calendar year — the employee chooses days or hours in their first request of the year.
• For urgent family matters caused by illness or accident requiring the employee's immediate presence.
• Pay: 50% of remuneration, paid by the employer.

Time Off to Care for a Child (Art. 188)

• 2 days or 16 hours per calendar year for a parent or guardian raising a child under 14.
• Shared between both working parents — the combined limit is 2 days / 16 hours per year.
• Pay: 100%, paid by the employer.

Special-Occasion Leave (Urlop Okolicznościowy)

Paid time off for specific life events, at the employer's expense:

• 2 days: the employee's own wedding; the birth of the employee's child; the death and funeral of a spouse, child, father, mother, stepfather or stepmother.
• 1 day: the wedding of the employee's child; the death and funeral of a sibling, parent-in-law, grandparent, or another dependant under the employee's direct care.

Care Allowance (Zasiłek Opiekuńczy)

A ZUS benefit for employees who must care for a family member:

• Up to 60 days a year to care for a healthy child under 8 or a sick child under 14.
• Up to 14 days a year to care for an older child or another sick family member.
• Rate: 80%, paid by ZUS. The combined limit across all care situations cannot exceed 60 days a year.

Unpaid Leave (Urlop Bezpłatny)

• Granted at the employee's written request (art. 174); the employer is not obliged to agree.
• Unpaid, and the period generally does not count toward employment seniority.
• No statutory maximum length.

Recent and Upcoming Changes to Watch

• Christmas Eve public holiday (from 2025): 24 December is now a statutory non-working day, bringing Poland to 14 public holidays a year.
• The 2023 work-life-balance reform remains in force in 2026 — carer's leave (5 days), force-majeure time off (2 days / 16 hours), and the expanded parental leave (41/43 weeks with a 9-week non-transferable part per parent).
• A reform shifting more of the early sick-pay burden from employers to ZUS has been discussed but was not yet enacted as of 2026 — confirm the current position before relying on it.

Sources

All facts are taken from official Polish state sources:

• biznes.gov.pl — Annual leave (urlop wypoczynkowy)
• PIP — Christmas Eve as a non-working day
• gov.pl (MRPiPS) — Christmas Eve off work
• biznes.gov.pl — Working time and rest periods
• biznes.gov.pl — Employee sickness absence
• gov.pl — Sickness benefit (zasiłek chorobowy)
• biznes.gov.pl — Maternity, parental and paternity leave
• gov.pl — Amount of maternity benefit
• gov.pl — Parental leave (urlop rodzicielski)
• gov.pl — Leave and time off from work
• gov.pl — Care allowance (zasiłek opiekuńczy)
• biznes.gov.pl — Unpaid, training and special-occasion leave
• PIP — Employee leave (porady prawne)

This guide is for general information only and is not legal advice. Polish employment law changes regularly and many entitlements depend on individual circumstances. Always confirm the current rules on gov.pl, with ZUS, or with a qualified adviser before relying on any single entitlement.