Is 26-day leave a thing of the past? There was a proposal to extend it

Left MPs and trade unionists argue that the 26-day working week is obsolete and a solution that does not fit the needs of modern employees. The idea of extending annual leave to 35 days is back on the agenda. At the same time, discussions are underway to introduce a 35-hour working week. Employers believe that this cannot be reconciled.

Today, everyone employed under a full-time employment contract has 26 days of leave at their disposal – the right to it is acquired with appropriate experience. In the previous term, a citizens’ project to extend the leave to 35 days was submitted to the Sejm, but it was immediately lost in the legislative freeze.

35 days annual leave? This is what the Left wants

Now trade unionists from NSZZ “Solidarność” have reminded about it. They hope that the time has come to consider the idea: the slogan of a 35-day vacation was one of the election slogans of the Left, which is part of the government.

The Left – whose MP heads the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Policy, which increases the “strike power” in relation to projects that improve the lives of employees – has two proposals regarding changes in labor law.

shortening the working week – 35-hour working week while maintaining the current remuneration
introducing 35 days of annual leave and providing employees with the “right to disconnect” at the end of the working day.

Trade unionists and politicians from the Left argue that the 26-day working day is a thing of the past, a solution from years ago that does not meet the needs of today.

Employers who count their costs view such initiatives with concern. The organizations representing them convince the government that the company’s current efficiency cannot be maintained with a smaller staff. There are two options: limit the scale of operations (e.g. close the company for one day a week, give up serving some customers) or hire additional employees, which costs money.

These are only proposals for now and there is no certainty that they will gain the support of other parliamentary clubs.

Rules for granting leaves

The amount of leave depends on the overall length of service – i.e. all periods of employment. It is:

20 days if employment period is shorter than 10 years,
26 days with an employment period of at least 10 years.

In the case of part-time employment, the amount of leave is determined in proportion to the employment, e.g. in the case of half-time employment it is 10 or 13 days.

The period of employment that determines the amount of leave includes periods of previous employment, regardless of breaks in employment and the manner of termination of the employment relationship – as well as study time. University graduates start their first job with eight years of experience counted for leave purposes.

If the leave is not used in a calendar year, it is granted until September 30 of the following year.