Polish Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy confirms current 14-day consecutive vacation requirement for holiday benefits will stay in place.
Parliamentary Inquiry Highlights Vacation Requirements
Polish MP Barbara Dolniak raised concerns about the requirement to use at least 14 consecutive calendar days of vacation leave as a condition for receiving holiday benefits, especially for employers who don’t create a Social Benefits Fund. She noted that regulations based on the 1994 Act on the Social Benefits Fund may not fully align with current employment models and growing need for flexibility in work time planning.
Guaranteed Nature of Vacation Leave
The Ministry of Labour emphasized that vacation leave has a systemic nature based on principles defined in the Labour Code. According to its provisions, employees have the right to annual, uninterrupted, paid vacation which cannot be waived. While leave can be divided into parts, at least one must include a minimum of 14 consecutive calendar days, with the employer obligated to ensure this continuity.
The Ministry stated this approach serves the fundamental purpose of vacation – actual regeneration of employees’ physical and mental strength, with longer, uninterrupted rest being an essential element of labor law’s protective function.
International and EU Standards
The Ministry noted Polish regulations don’t function in a normative vacuum, referring to international standards including ILO Convention No. 132, which provides for annual paid vacation rights and allows division with the provision of at least two weeks of uninterrupted rest.
Similar guarantees come from Directive 2003/88/EC, obliging Member States to ensure each employee receives a minimum of four weeks of paid leave annually. The Court of Justice of the EU treats this as a social right of particular importance in its case law.
Holiday Benefits and Social Benefits Fund
The Ministry’s response extensively addresses financial support mechanisms for employee vacations. The Act on the Social Benefits Fund provides two main solutions: creating a fund to finance social activities or paying holiday benefits instead of establishing a fund.
The condition for statutory holiday benefit payment is using at least 14 consecutive vacation days. For funds, detailed rules for granting holiday supplements are determined by regulations agreed with trade unions or employee representatives, leaving employers flexibility to adapt support forms to employee needs while respecting statutory social criteria.
Ministry’s Final Position
Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy unequivocally stated it has no plans to initiate legislative changes to provisions governing holiday benefit payment rules or supplements from the Social Benefits Fund for vacations.