Polish employees are entitled to paid time off for significant life events in 2026, including marriage, childbirth, and bereavement.
Occasional Leave in 2026: Who is Eligible?
Occasional leave is a special employee entitlement allowing for paid time off during important life events. The rules for granting this leave remain favorable for employees in 2026.
This leave provides additional days off related to events such as marriage, the birth of a child, or the death of a close family member.
Timing of Leave Usage
Regulations do not mandate a specific date for using occasional leave on the day of the event itself. However, the days must have a direct causal and temporal connection to the event.
For example, an employee may take leave a week before a wedding to handle formalities or several days after a funeral to settle estate matters.
Pay and Leave Duration
Occasional leave is independent of annual vacation leave and does not reduce its duration.
Employees retain their right to remuneration during this leave, calculated in the same manner as for annual vacation leave, considering the average value of variable salary components from the month of absence.
No Annual Limit
In 2026, there is still no upper limit on the number of days of occasional leave an employee can take within a calendar year. If an employee gets married and then has a child in the same year, they are entitled to the full allocation of days for each event separately.
Employee Obligations & Additional Support
It’s worth noting that other forms of support, such as care leave (5 unpaid days) and force majeure leave (2 days or 16 hours paid at 50%), are also available under the Labor Code, expanding the range of employee benefits in 2026.
