Leave entitlement 2026 — how many days you get

Introduction

Annual leave entitlement in Poland depends on length of service (including credited periods of education and previous employment) and on full-time equivalent. In 2026 the same rules apply: 20 days with less than 10 years service and 26 days with at least 10 years. This article explains how many days of leave you get and how to calculate entitlement for part-time work.

Legal basis: Labour Code, Art. 154 and 155 (leave entitlement and seniority).

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Leave entitlement for full-time

• Under 10 years service - 20 days of annual leave per year.
• 10 years service or more - 26 days per year.

Service is counted from your first job (and other periods credited by law). You do not need 10 years with your current employer - total leave seniority counts.

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What counts towards leave seniority?

Under Art. 155 of the Labour Code, leave seniority includes in particular:

• Previous employment under an employment contract (including with other employers).
• Periods of education - vocational school (max 3 years), secondary (max 4 years), higher (max 8 years). Parallel periods are not added together.
• Periods of receiving unemployment benefit (subject to statutory conditions).

So someone who e.g. worked for 3 years and before that attended secondary school for 5 years may have 8 years credited - and still 20 days leave. Once total service exceeds 10 years, entitlement increases to 26 days.

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Part-time - how to calculate leave

Leave entitlement is reduced in proportion to working time.

Examples:

• Half-time, under 10 years service: 20 x 1/2 = 10 days.
• Half-time, 10 years or more: 26 x 1/2 = 13 days.
• Three-quarter time, 10 years or more: 26 x 3/4 = 19.5 - 20 days (fractions of days are rounded up).

Details of rounding and accrual in a partial year are set out in regulations; in case of doubt ask the HR department.

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First job ever

With a first job ever, in the first year of employment the employee gains leave at the end of each month - after one month 1/12 of the annual entitlement (20 or 26), after two months 2/12, etc. In the first year there are not yet 10 years service, so the entitlement is 20 days (or proportionally less for part-time).

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Leave on demand

Leave on demand (e.g. 2 or 4 days a year, depending on rules) does not count towards the 20 or 26 days. It is an extra paid leave that the employee can take on demand (with some exceptions). The 20/26 days are ordinary annual leave.

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Cash equivalent for unused leave

For unused leave on termination or expiry of the employment contract, cash equivalent is due. It is calculated from pay and the equivalent coefficient set each year (e.g. 2026: 20.92). In practice: equivalent for 1 day = monthly pay / coefficient. To work out the full equivalent for several days you can use the leave calculator.

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Summary

• 20 days of leave - with under 10 years service; 26 days - with 10 years or more.
• Service includes previous employment and specified periods of education.
• For part-time, entitlement is proportionally lower.
• Leave on demand does not reduce the 20/26 days.
• Cash equivalent for unused leave is calculated using the annual coefficient (e.g. 2026: 20.92).