Longer holidays now for 5 million workers, higher salary allowances and bonuses. A revolution in high-level work guaranteed by the government

The Ministry of Labor announced the dates. Revolutionary changes to the Labor Code regarding length of service will take effect on January 1, 2026. The changes will benefit 5 million workers who will not increase their status while working on contracts or running businesses . In this way, they miss out on holidays, allowances, jubilee awards and other benefits of people under an employment contract.

This is certain, because the government will not bring it back down. The new rules for determining length of service, which benefit people who earn money from contracts and other civil contracts, the self-employed and those who run a business, will give them the right to leave. They will also improve the pension situation. Although the changes are controversial and employers are against them, they are going to be implemented. Since when?
From January 1, but unfortunately not in three months, but only from January 1, 2026. The government is doing everything to fulfill its election promises with as little delay as possible, if at all.

New length of service: as calculated according to the new provisions of the Labor Code

As Robert Lisicki, director of the Lewiatan labor department, said, the current situation is unfavorable for workers who, before establishing an employment relationship, carried out business activities in the specified forms or worked under civil law contracts, cooperated with people or members of agricultural production. cooperatives and agricultural cooperatives.
However, a dispute arises about the automatic agreement of work performed on the basis of an employment relationship with professional activity provided under other legal relationships.

– The introduction of changes that include partial equality of rights of workers and people previously employed under civil law contracts can recognize that these contracts are equivalent to an employment relationship, regardless of the topic and the way the collaboration works – says Robert. Lisicki, director of the labor department of the Lewiatan Confederation.
The special nature of the performance of work under an employment relationship is the basis for the separation of labor law. For the purposes of exercising rights under an employment relationship, activities performed as an entrepreneur cannot always be equated with work under an employment relationship in a given situation.
In addition, the draft law raises doubts regarding the inclusion of recorded periods of gainful activity as well as employment abroad as part of the length of service. How do you understand the concept of beneficial activity and how is it registered, especially in non-EU countries?
– The amendment of the Act will increase the number of cases where workers, after longer periods, even several years, present documents that affect the acquisition of certain rights. In such cases, they are responsible for obtaining certain rights for previous years. Employee rights should be established from the date the employer was given documents confirming previous periods of employment, for example the right to more annual leave – the expert’s opinion.

New height: it is clear who will benefit from changes in the labor code

The situation of the workers themselves is completely different: justice will be served. It is completely inappropriate to recognize in the service period only periods worked under an employment contract regulated in the Labor Code. Both those who run a sole proprietorship and those who earn money based on civil contracts are subject to compulsory ZUS contributions and tax on almost the same terms as code employees.
Unlike them, they do not have various benefits, such as holiday leave or protection against working outside the norm, but seniority can hardly be considered a privilege; it is something that is earned by adding to the budget and contributing to the maintenance costs of the state. Until now – reasonably – the procedure for determining seniority has been discriminatory and, in fact, it would be easy to prove that it is against the constitution.
In response to the petition regarding the inclusion of ownership only in the length of service, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy prepared a comprehensive explanation. What do they mean?

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A new seniority: how seniority is proven for the self-employed

As the Ministry of Labor explains, referring to the proposal to change the rules to include periods of running a sole proprietorship in the length of service, which confirming the employee’s rights arising from the employment relationship, Ministry of the Family, Labor and Social Affairs. Policy responds that this issue requires an analysis and balancing of the interests of different economic partners, including employers, employees and people who run businesses.
Therefore, in considering the legality of introducing the aforementioned legal changes, the Ministry of Labor asked other ministries to take a stand.
The positions received from the ministries subject to consultation show that the majority of them support the general direction proposed for changes in regulations regarding the provision including the period of running ownership only in the duration of the service. workers employed under an employment relationship.
At the same time, they say that possible legal changes in this area cannot be automatic and that advance, separately for each legal act should be changed, with an analysis giving attention to the benefits and consequences for workers and employers, especially including entrepreneurs.

Labor Code: how seniority is measured now, in 2024

The concept of “higher” is not defined by relevant labor law provisions. In practice it is used to determine the rights and benefits of employees, and the acquisition or amount depends on the working time.
However, there is no general principle regarding the entitlement to benefits and rights of all employees. However, there are regulations that specify the rules for determining the period of employment that determines obtaining or retaining the right to special entitlements and employee benefits; however, these rules are established separately for each of them in the provisions related to the right or privilege of an employee.

So these rules can be regulated separately for different categories of employees.
Therefore, the right to special benefits that are not universal in nature, such as an internship allowance or a jubilee award, is not governed by the provisions of the Labor Code, but by the provisions that apply to a specific group of workers -work (e.g. the Police Act – for officers of this creation, the Civil Service Act – for government administrative staff, where all previously completed work periods and other recorded periods are included in the periods of work eligible for long service allowance, if, under separate regulations, they are included in the working time on which workers’ rights depend.

Currently, the rule is that the working time on which workers’ rights depend only includes periods of employment, i.e. work done under an employment relationship, i.e. on the basis of an employment contract, occupation, occupation , selection, cooperation. employment contract, according to Art. 2 of the Labor Code.
Other periods that are not periods of employment are also included in the period required to obtain workers’ rights, but only if this results from specific regulations.

However, periods of running a business are not included in working time within the meaning of the applicable labor law provisions.
The employment relationship, according to the Labor Code, is a legal relationship in which the employee is obliged to perform a certain type of work, personally and continuously, recurrently, for and under the direction of the employer, at a place . and time specified by the employer, and the employer is obliged to hire a worker for wages, co results from art. 22 § 1 of the Labor Code.

The Ministry of Labor explains that if a draft act is prepared, according to the appropriate legislative path, the draft will be the subject of inter-ministerial arrangements and social consultations, meetings of relevant organizations, including Council of Ministers, and then it will be sent to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland.
At the same time, at the current level of work, it is not possible to determine the date when the new rules came into force.