Amendments to the Labour Code from January 2026: what employees and employers need to know

From 27 January 2026, amendments introduced by the Act of 4 December 2025 (published on 12 January 2026) come into force in Poland. They concern:

• the deadline for paying the cash equivalent for unused annual leave (ekwiwalent za urlop),
• the extension of the possibility to carry out certain HR activities in paper or electronic form,
• the rules of employee representation in matters related to ZFŚS (Zakładowy Fundusz Świadczeń Socjalnych — the company social benefits fund).

Clear regulation of payments for unused leave

One of the key changes is that, for the first time, the law clearly specifies when exactly the employer must pay the cash equivalent for unused leave upon the termination/expiry of an employment relationship.

Changes in the timing of compensation payments

General rule (from 27 January 2026): the cash equivalent is paid on the company’s regular payroll date (i.e. on the “payday”), not necessarily on the employee’s last working day.

Important exception: if the payroll date falls before the date of dismissal/expiry of the contract, the equivalent must be paid no later than 10 days from the date of termination of the employment relationship.

If the payment deadline falls on a non-working day or a public holiday: the payment must be made on the preceding working day.

Electronic document flow in HR matters

Another important change is the extension of the wording from “in writing” to “in paper or electronic form” for a number of actions in employment relations. This does not mean that everything in HR can now be done online, but the list of specific applications has indeed become more “electronically friendly”.

What can be done in electronic form (examples)

The Act and the explanations of the State Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) explicitly indicate that the following, among others, may be submitted/communicated in electronic form:

• an application for an individual working time schedule (indywidualny rozkład czasu pracy),
• an application for flexible/movable working time (ruchomy czas pracy),
• an application for time off in lieu of overtime (czas wolny za nadgodziny),
• an application for unpaid leave (urlop bezpłatny),
• certain employer notifications (e.g. regarding monitoring or the transfer of an undertaking to another employer) — which may also be communicated electronically.

Important clarification: PIP stresses that the term “electronic form” should be understood broadly — for example, it may include e-mail, provided that it is possible to identify the person submitting the application or giving consent.

What employers should do: define in internal policies/regulations which communication channels are accepted (HR system, e-mail, internal portal) and how authorship/identity is confirmed (corporate e-mail address, system login, etc.).

Employee representation in the social benefits fund (ZFŚS)

The third set of changes applies to employers without trade unions. Previously, in many ZFŚS-related matters it was sufficient to consult one employee representative. Under the new rules, employers must cooperate with at least two representatives, elected by the employees.

This is intended to strengthen the genuine representation of employees’ interests when agreeing, in particular, on the fund’s rules and other decisions that the law requires to be “consulted” with employee representatives.

Summary

From 27 January 2026, the amendments to Polish labour law make three key areas more precise and practical:

• they introduce clear deadlines for paying the cash equivalent for unused leave (with the “10-day” exception),
• they allow a range of HR actions to be carried out in paper or electronic form (with a specific list),
• they strengthen employee participation in ZFŚS matters — at least two representatives where no trade union operates.

Keywords: amendments to the Labour Code, compensation payment, cash equivalent for unused leave, electronic document flow, ZFŚS, employee representation, labour relations in Poland.