The Ultimate Guide to Hiring Employees in Poland

In Poland, employees receive 20 days of paid leave per year for their first decade of work, which increases to 26 days after ten years. Any unused leave days carry over to the next year but expire after September 30th of the following year.

Female employees are entitled to fully paid maternity leave periods linked to the number of children born/adopted as follows:

• 20 weeks for the birth of one child/adoption of one child
• 31 weeks for two children, 33 weeks for three children, 35 weeks for four children
• 37 weeks for five or more children

Fathers can take two weeks of paid paternity leave within the child's first 24 months after birth or before the child turns seven if adopted. This leave can be split into two one-week periods. Similar to maternity leave, Social Security pays it at 100% of the employee's regular salary.

In Poland, sick leave is paid at 80% of the average salary for the past year, except for pregnancy or work-related accidents, where it's fully paid by the employer. For accidents at work or sick child/relative cases, ZUS pays 100%. The amount of sick leave varies based on age and employment contract details:

• Employees under 50 receive up to 33 days of paid sick leave from the employer, and Social Security (ZUS) covers days 34 onwards.
• Those over 50 get up to 14 days paid by the employer, with ZUS taking over from day 15.

Employees are entitled to two paid days off for close family member life events, such as a wedding, a child’s birth, or a funeral.

Employees with children up to 14 years old are entitled to two fully paid days off annually, provided by the employer. Moreover, employees with at least six months of service can take up to three years of unpaid childcare leave until the child turns five (or 18 if the child has a disability).

Employees are entitled to unpaid military leave to perform their duties.

A person classified as having a severe or moderate degree of disability is entitled to an additional ten days of annual leave after having worked for at least one year.

Employees can take parental leave for a duration ranging from 41 to 43 weeks, depending on the number of children born or adopted simultaneously. Key details regarding parental leave include:

• It can be divided into up to 5 segments and must be used by the end of the calendar year when the child turns 6.
• Employees should submit an application at least 21 days before the desired start date, in writing or electronically.
• For the first 6 weeks (8 weeks for multiple children or three weeks for adopting older children), the leave is paid at 100% of the employee's salary.