Leave Policies in Poland

Mandatory Leave Policies in Poland

The annual leave entitlement in Poland is 20 days for a full-time worker with less than 10 years of service, and 26 days for those with at least 10 years of service. These days are exclusive of public holidays, which are separate paid days off.

Public Holidays in Poland

Polish employees are also entitled to the following public holidays:

‍

As of 2025, Poland recognizes Christmas Eve (December 24) as a national public holiday. Additionally, employees are entitled to two extra days off for public holidays that fall on Saturday.

Types of Leave in Poland

Paid Time Off

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.

Maternity Leave

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 or 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

Paternity Leave

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.

Sick Leave

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.

Parental Leave

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.

Special Event Leave

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.

Childcare Leave

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).

Military Leave

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

Disability Leave

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.

Best Practices for Implementing Leave Policies in Poland

 
• Stay Informed: Regularly update policies to align with labor laws.
 
• Clear Communication: Ensure employees understand their leave rights.
 
• Documentation: Maintain accurate leave records.
 
• Flexibility: Accommodate reasonable leave requests to promote a positive work environment.

Providing Leave Benefits in Poland With an EOR

A competitive compensation package is critical to attract and retain the best talent, but every country different regulations, customs and expectations. That’s the advantage of using a trusted Employer of Record like Playroll to manage benefits for your global team. They can:

• ‍Handle the benefits admin: Playroll ensures compliant contracts with built-in statutory checks. Add region-specific premium benefits, while we handle administration and employee claims. Manage leave, expenses, and more – all in one easy dashboard.
• ‍Run global payroll: An EOR will act as your payroll provider, paying your employees on your behalf in the local currency. The company will also have in-depth knowledge of local tax codes, regulatory practices, and everything else that goes into managing global payroll.
• ‍Alleviate compliance concerns: Different countries each have their own federal and local laws governing employee payments. An EOR helps ensure that you are compliant with the unique set of laws for any country in which your company operates. This is extremely important since a compliance slip-up can result in heavy fines or even a lawsuit.