How much vacation time are you entitled to in your first year of employment?

The basic rules for granting vacation leave are set forth in the Labor Code. According to Article 153, a person starting work for the first time acquires the right to vacation leave gradually, at the end of each month of employment. This means that signing the first employment contract does not automatically entitle the employee to use the entire annual allocation of vacation days. You must first earn the right to vacation, as the number of days increases with each passing month of employment.
Importantly, this rule applies only to the calendar year in which an employee first begins employment under an employment contract. It does not matter whether the employee starts work in January, June, or November. In each of these cases, the right to vacation accrues after each month of work, and unused vacation days accumulate. These rules apply to adult employees. For minors, the Labor Code provides separate regulations.
The situation changes at the start of the next calendar year. The employee then acquires the right to the next vacation under the general rules, without having to wait for the end of each month. If an employee remains employed on January 1, they generally acquire the right to the annual leave due for that year as of that date. This is a significant difference, especially for those starting their professional careers toward the end of the year.

The standard amount of annual leave in Poland is 20 or 26 days per year for a full-time employee. The length of service determines which limit applies to a given employee. With less than 10 years of service, an employee is entitled to 20 days of vacation; however, after reaching at least 10 years of service, the annual entitlement increases to 26 days.

This does not mean, however, that only periods worked under an employment contract count toward vacation service. The Labor Code also allows for certain periods of education to be included. For example, completing a college degree counts as eight years toward vacation eligibility, regardless of whether it was a bachelor’s, engineering, or master’s degree. However, periods of study at subsequent schools are not added together, and periods of study and employment occurring simultaneously are accounted for according to the rules set forth in the regulations.

For example, a college graduate who starts their first job under an employment contract already has eight years of vacation eligibility. As a general rule, it is only after an additional two years of qualifying service that they will reach the threshold entitling them to 26 days of vacation per year. This does not mean, however, that they are not entitled to vacation time during the first two years. In the first calendar year, vacation time accrues gradually, while in subsequent years it is granted in accordance with general rules.

It is also worth remembering that part-time employees have their vacation time calculated in proportion to their working hours. For example, a part-time employee whose full-time annual vacation entitlement would be 20 days is, as a general rule, entitled to 10 days of vacation per year.

Expanded rules for calculating length of service have been in effect since 2026. In the public sector, they took effect on January 1, and for employers outside the public finance sector, on May 1. The new regulations allow for the inclusion of specific periods of professional activity that were not previously counted toward length of service under the same rules.
The changes apply, among other things, to periods during which individuals performed contract work or operated a business. To have these periods counted, statutory requirements must be met, and the relevant period must be properly documented—most often by means of a certificate from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). The new regulations also cover specific periods of professional activity that occurred before the provisions took effect.
This is also important for individuals who are just starting their first job under an employment contract. If they previously ran a business or performed contract work for many years, their vacation entitlement may be higher than would be indicated by their full-time employment history alone.
In practice, a person starting their first job under an employment contract may therefore already have the required length of service entitling them to 26 days of annual leave. However, during the calendar year of their first employment, they will continue to accrue leave gradually, at a rate of 1/12 of the total entitlement for each completed month of work.
It is also important to properly document previous periods of professional activity. The regulations provide certain employees with a 24-month deadline to submit documents confirming periods eligible for inclusion under the new rules. Therefore, individuals who previously worked under civil law contracts or operated a business should verify which documents are required to recalculate their length of service.

One of the most common misunderstandings is treating the first year with a new employer the same as one’s very first job. However, the Labor Code clearly distinguishes between these situations.
If you are entering into an employment contract for the first time, you accrue vacation time in the calendar year you start work after each completed month. This rule also applies if you change employers within the same year. Simply moving to another company does not automatically mean that the rules for accruing vacation time change.
However, if you were already employed under an employment contract in the previous calendar year and are now changing companies, you do not restart the vacation accrual at the rate of 1/12 per month. In this case, the rules governing subsequent vacation accrual apply, including the proportional calculation of vacation entitlement across different employers.
Suppose an employee entitled to 20 days of annual leave begins employment with a new employer on July 1, 2026, and will work until the end of December. Their annual leave entitlement with this employer for that period will generally amount to 10 days, taking into account any leave taken earlier in the same year and other statutory calculation rules.
This is precisely why, when changing jobs, it is important to provide an employment certificate from the previous employer. This document helps determine, among other things, the length of previous employment and the number of vacation days taken in a given year.

An employee starting their first job does not automatically acquire the right to annual leave on the first day of employment. If the first month of employment has not yet elapsed, there is no statutory entitlement to annual leave under the terms set forth in Article 153 of the Labor Code. Therefore, the employee cannot assume that they will be able to take part of their annual leave during the first week of employment.
However, this does not mean that in every situation they must remain at work the entire time without the possibility of taking time off. They may take advantage of other legally provided options if they meet the conditions for their application. Under certain circumstances, it is also possible to arrange for unpaid leave with the employer. However, it is important to remember that unpaid leave does not entitle the employee to wages and, as a general rule, is not counted toward the period of employment on which employee entitlements depend.
After accruing the first portion of their vacation time, an employee may submit a request to take it. However, simply becoming entitled to days off does not mean that an employee can unilaterally choose the dates and simply not show up for work. Vacation time must be granted by the employer in accordance with applicable regulations and work organization.

Unused vacation time does not automatically expire at the end of the calendar year. If an employee has earned the right to a certain amount of vacation time but has not had the opportunity to use it, it generally carries over to the following year as accrued vacation.
For example, a person who starts work on November 1 may accrue 3 and 1/3 days of vacation by the end of December, assuming an annual entitlement of 20 days, and may not use it before the New Year. In this case, they retain the right to the unused portion, and starting in January—if they are still employed—they also become entitled to vacation for the next calendar year.
In principle, accrued vacation time should be granted no later than September 30 of the following calendar year. Exceeding this deadline does not automatically result in the loss of the right to vacation, although the employer is required to comply with the statutory rules governing its granting.
The situation is different when employment ends. If an employee has not used their accrued vacation time and it is not settled by granting time off in accordance with the regulations, they are generally entitled to a cash equivalent.
It is therefore a good idea to check your vacation balance regularly and plan your time off well in advance. The first year of employment often involves an intensive onboarding process, but that does not mean you should completely forgo rest.

During the first calendar year of employment, vacation leave is accrued gradually at the end of each month of employment. For an annual entitlement of 20 days, this amounts to 1 and 2/3 days per month, and for an entitlement of 26 days, it amounts to 2 and 1/6 days. In the following calendar year, the employee becomes entitled to vacation leave under general rules, and the amount of leave depends on the employee’s length of service and the employee’s full-time equivalent.
The changes taking effect in 2026 are also particularly significant, as they allow for additional periods of professional activity to be taken into account when determining length of service. Therefore, before planning your first vacation, it’s worth checking not only your start date but also all periods that may affect your entitlement.
Your first job does not mean you are not entitled to time off. It simply means that in your first calendar year, you accrue vacation time under different rules than employees taking their subsequent vacation.