Starting January 1, 2026, Polish labor law will count periods of self-employment as employment tenure for employee rights if social security contributions were paid.
New Labor Law Provisions
As of January 1, 2026, additional periods will be included in employment tenure when determining employee rights. The new regulations initially apply to public finance sector entities, with all other employers required to implement them by May 1, 2026.
Conditions for Including Self-Employment
Employees who were previously entrepreneurs or collaborators can increase their work tenure. According to Article 3021 § 1 of the Labor Code, periods of self-employment are included in employment tenure if social security contributions for pension, disability, or accident insurance were paid.
If an employee has outstanding contributions from previously conducted business activities, neither they nor their collaborators can add that period to their work tenure.
ZUS Certificates
ZUS confirms periods of business activity and cooperation through certificates issued under Article 83g of the Social Insurance System Act. Employees request these certificates through their ZUS PUE account, and ZUS delivers them to the same platform. The employee then downloads the certificate and submits it to their employer without additional confirmations.
Inclusion of Benefit Periods
ZUS certificates indicate periods when entrepreneurs did not pay contributions because they were receiving benefits: sick pay, maternity pay, or care benefits. According to Article 18, paragraphs 9-10 of the Social Insurance System Act, the monthly contribution base is reduced proportionally when benefits are due for certain days in a month. Therefore, contributions are not paid for periods of receiving sick pay, care benefits, or rehabilitation benefits.
Differently, when the state budget covers pension and disability contributions, periods of receiving maternity pay will also increase future pensions.
Sick Pay and Care Benefits
The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy stated in its position of January 21, 2026, that periods of receiving sick pay, care benefits, and rehabilitation benefits should be included in employment tenure under the Labor Code. The Ministry argues that excluding these periods would place these individuals in a less favorable position compared to entrepreneurs who benefit from the start-up allowance.
Maternity Pay
The Ministry did not take a position on periods of receiving maternity pay. However, there is no basis to treat this period differently than periods related to work incapacity or care for family members. Since contributions for such individuals are paid during maternity leave, this period should be included in employment tenure.
Scope of Application
The Ministry’s position applies not only to entrepreneurs as defined by the Entrepreneurs Law but to other persons recognized as conducting non-agricultural activities under Article 8, paragraph 6 of the Social Insurance System Act. This group also includes: persons conducting non-agricultural business activities on the basis of separate provisions, family members of the entrepreneur, and other persons cooperating with the entrepreneur based on a civil law contract.
Collaborators’ Work Tenure
The same rules apply to collaborators of persons conducting non-agricultural activities. Periods of receiving benefits and rehabilitation benefits should be included in their employment tenure. The same rules should apply to collaborators of persons using the start-up allowance, who do not have the status of persons conducting non-agricultural activities.
