What Are The Public Holidays in Poland in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Poland (2026)

Poland recognises 13 public holidays in 2026, most of which are non-working days for employees. Use this table to plan staffing, leave, and payroll for your Polish team.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, Polish labour law generally requires employers to provide paid time off on public holidays that fall on an employee’s normal working day. Public holidays are treated as non-working days with pay, and employees should not lose income because a holiday falls on a day they would usually work.

If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, employers must grant employees an additional day off in the same settlement period. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, common practice is also to grant a substitute day off during the same settlement period, although you should confirm the latest guidance or collective agreements, as interpretations can evolve.

Part-time employees are entitled to public holiday benefits proportionally, based on their work schedule. If the holiday falls on a day they are not scheduled to work, there is usually no additional entitlement, but if they are scheduled to work and the business closes, they are entitled to pay as if they had worked.

If your company requires employees to work on a public holiday, you must provide either another day off in lieu or appropriate premium pay in line with the Labour Code and any applicable collective agreements. You should document in writing how holiday work and compensatory time off are handled and communicate this clearly to your team.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failing to respect public holiday rules in Poland can expose your company to inspections and fines. The National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) is responsible for monitoring compliance with working time and holiday regulations. If inspectors find that you have not granted required days off, have not paid employees correctly for holidays, or have not provided compensatory rest for work on holidays, they can impose financial penalties.

Fines for breaches of labour law obligations, including public holiday rules, can typically range from several hundred to tens of thousands of Polish złoty, depending on the severity, scale, and recurrence of violations. In serious or repeated cases, non-compliance can also affect your company’s reputation and relationships with employees and unions.

Common employer mistakes include treating public holidays as normal working days without premium pay or time off in lieu, failing to track when holidays fall on Sundays or Saturdays and not granting substitute days, and misapplying rules to part-time or shift workers. To stay compliant, you should maintain accurate working time records, keep up to date with changes in the Labour Code, and ensure your local HR or payroll provider understands Polish public holiday rules.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

Public holidays in Poland interact closely with working time and overtime rules. Hours worked on a public holiday generally count toward the employee’s working time limits, and if they exceed the applicable daily or weekly norms, they may trigger overtime obligations.

When employees work on a public holiday, employers must usually provide a different day off in the same settlement period. If granting a substitute day off is not possible, the employee is typically entitled to premium pay on top of their normal wage. Polish law provides for higher pay rates for work on Sundays and public holidays, often at 100% of the normal hourly rate as a supplement, but you should always check the current Labour Code provisions and any collective agreements or internal regulations that may set more favourable terms.

Because public holidays reduce the number of working days in a settlement period, they can also affect how you calculate average weekly working time. You should adjust schedules and overtime calculations to reflect non-working holidays so that employees are not disadvantaged and your company does not inadvertently breach maximum working time limits.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing Polish public holidays, substitute days off, and premium pay can be complex, especially if you are coordinating teams across multiple countries. Playroll helps you handle these details so you can focus on running your business.

With Playroll, you can employ team members in Poland compliantly without setting up a local entity. Our platform and in-country experts track Polish labour law, including public holiday calendars, working time limits, and required premiums for work on Sundays and holidays. We build these rules into contracts, payroll calculations, and time-off workflows so your team gets the right entitlements every time.

Playroll can help you:

1. Hire employees in Poland on fully compliant local contracts.
2. Apply the correct public holiday calendar and substitute days automatically.
3. Calculate pay for holiday work and overtime in line with Polish law.
4. Keep accurate records for inspections by the National Labour Inspectorate.
5. Coordinate leave and staffing across countries from a single dashboard.

If you are planning to grow your team in Poland, Playroll gives you a simple, compliant way to manage public holidays, leave, and payroll without needing deep in-house expertise in Polish employment law.