Supplementary Leave of 6 Days: Who Qualifies for Additional Time Off During the Year?

Employees who reach a higher seniority threshold during the year are entitled to a supplementary leave of six days if they have already used their initial allocation.

The Duration of Leave Has Remained Unchanged for Years

The amount of annual leave for an employee hired under an employment contract is determined by Article 154 of the Labor Code of June 26, 1974. It is set at 20 days if the employee has been employed for less than 10 years, and 26 days if the employee has been employed for at least 10 years. This duration has not changed for years, despite public discussions regarding the need to adapt regulations to real employee needs.

Proposals have included a uniform leave duration regardless of work seniority or a regenerative leave after 7 years with a single employer. For now, nothing has changed, and employees retain the right to annual, uninterrupted, paid leave. First-time employees acquire leave rights with each month worked in their initial calendar year, amounting to 1/12 of the leave due after a full year of work.

Periods of Education and Annual Leave Entitlements

The employment period determining leave rights and duration includes previous employment periods, regardless of breaks or the manner of termination. In cases of concurrent employment, previous unfinished employment is also counted for the portion preceding the subsequent contract. Furthermore, completed periods of education influence the final leave entitlement.

The legislator specifies that completion of vocational schools, secondary vocational schools, general secondary schools, post-secondary schools, and higher education institutions counts toward the work period determining leave duration, ranging from 3 to 8 years depending on the school type. These periods do not accumulate, and if education occurred during employment, the more advantageous option for the employee is applied.

Supplementary Leave of 6 Days

Calculation issues can arise during the calendar year when an employee reaches the seniority threshold granting a higher leave entitlement due to education and employment periods. In such cases, if the employee has already used their leave for that year, they are entitled to a supplementary leave under Article 158 of the Labor Code. If they have not used their lower-tier leave, it simply increases accordingly.

For example, a full-time permanent employee with a 20-day leave entitlement who uses it during the summer and then reaches the 26-day threshold in October will have the right to 6 days of supplementary leave. If they had not used the leave over the summer, the total allocation would simply scale up to 26 days. Ultimately, the total leave dimension remains identical, making the distinction purely theoretical.

Legal Basis

Article 158 of the Act of June 26, 1974 – Labor Code (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2025, item 277).