The length of service no longer depends solely on work carried out under a contract of employment. The amendment to the Labour Code introduces significant changes, as work carried out under civil law contracts or as part of business activity will now also be included when calculating service, which affects employees’ rights. What will this mean for employees and employers?
What is changing in terms of length of service?
Until now, only periods of work under an employment contract were counted towards length of service.
The new regulations extend these criteria, putting an end to the long-standing differentiation between employees based on the form of their previous professional activity.
The length of service will now include the following periods:
- Working under a contractor agreement (umowa zlecenia) or a contract for services
- Running a sole proprietorship (B2B)
- Being a partner in a civil partnership
- Working abroad, provided it is properly documented
Key condition: pension and disability insurance contributions must have been paid during the given period.
However, the law provides for an exception to this rule.
The period during which individuals benefit from the so-called ‘start-up relief’ (Article 18(1) of the Entrepreneurs Law) will also count towards the length of service, even though it is not subject to pension and disability insurance coverage. This means that people starting a business will not be prevented from counting this period towards their length of service.
Total career tenure vs. job tenure – an important distinction
It is worth noting that the change primarily concerns length of service in the sense of total career tenure, which is important for a number of issues, including:
- The length of holiday leave (20 or 26 days)
- Entitlement to certain employee benefits
- Other entitlements dependent on ‘general’ professional experience
The change generally does not apply to job tenure, i.e. the length of service with a specific employer. This affects things like the length of the notice period.
The exception to this concerns periods of work carried out under a contractor agreement or B2B contract with the current employer. In such cases, these periods will also be included when calculating job tenure.
Which employee entitlements will change?
A longer length of service can impact specific employee rights – often more quickly than employers expect.
The most important effects are:
- 26 days of holiday leave instead of 20, achieved earlier than after 10 years of work under a contract of employment
- A longer notice period if previous civil law contracts were performed with the current employer
- Higher severance pay in the event of dismissal for reasons attributable to the employer for employees who previously worked for this employer under contractor agreements
- Seniority allowances and long-service awards, which is particularly important in the public sector and in companies with remuneration regulations
How should the length of service under a contractor agreement or B2B contract be documented?
The new length of service will not be calculated automatically. Employees must document previous periods of professional activity themselves.
In accordance with the transitional provisions, employees who are employed on the date the new regulations come into force will have 24 months from that date to provide their employer with documents confirming previous periods of employment under contractor agreements or as part of their business activity (in particular, certificates from the Social Insurance Institution, ZUS).
Only during this transitional period will it be possible to take these periods into account when calculating the length of service without the need to re-establish an employment relationship or change the terms and conditions of employment.
In practice, the documents that employees should provide include, without limitation:
- Certificates from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) confirming pension and disability insurance coverage
- Civil law contracts with proof of contribution payments
- Printouts from the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG) confirming the period of business activity
If these documents are not provided, the periods in question will not be counted towards length of service, as employers are not obliged to obtain information from ZUS or other registers themselves.
What cannot count towards length of service?
Despite the wide range of changes, the legislature has provided for significant exclusions.
The following types of works, among others, will not count towards length of service:
- Contracts for specific work (umowa o dzieło)
- Unregistered economic activity (działalność nierejestrowana)
- Volunteering and student internships
- Care for a sick or disabled person, if not covered by insurance
In practice, this also means that the periods of work carried out by school and university students up to the age of 26 under contractor agreements, for which social security contributions are generally not paid, will not count towards their length of service, even if the work was performed over a long period of time.
When will the changes come into force?
The new rules regarding the inclusion of work under contractor agreements and B2B contracts in length of service calculations will not apply to all employees simultaneously.
The legislature has provided for different implementation dates depending on the sector of employment:
- 1 January 2026 – the new regulations will come into effect for the public sector (including public administration, local government entities and public finance sector entities)
- 1 May 2026 – the regulations will come into effect for the private sector, six months after the Act is promulgated
This means that public sector employees will be able to count periods of self-employment towards their length of service sooner, while private sector employers will have more time to update their HR procedures and audit documents, and to assess the impact of the changes on employment costs.
Once the regulations come into force in a given sector, the 24-month period for submitting documents to confirm previous periods of professional activity will begin.
Consequences for employers: increased costs and responsibilities
For companies, the changes mean not only new employee entitlements, but also real organisational and financial challenges.
Issues that employers will have to deal with include:
- Increased labour costs (holidays, severance pay, seniority allowances)
- The need to audit personnel files and verify new documentation
- The risk of errors in determining length of service, which may lead to claims from employees
How should you prepare?
The change in the rules for calculating length of service is one of the most significant labour law reforms in recent years. Therefore, now is the time to:
- Prepare procedures for accepting and verifying documents
- Train HR and payroll departments
- Assess the impact of the changes on employment costs
Is your HR department ready for the new rules for calculating length of service?
If you need support in preparing procedures, auditing documents or assessing risks, please contact our labour law team.
Questions? Contact us
