flash news: #work time
The draft Internship Act (UD307), prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, is causing increasing controversy among employer organisations. An assessment of the effect of the regulation is that mandatory remuneration and new formal requirements could mean that 47.8% of firms will cease offering internships.
Amendments to the Act on Cash Benefits from Social Insurance in the Event of Sickness and Maternity entered into force on 13 April. The amendment clarifies previous interpretative doubts and strengthens the system for monitoring sick leave. Below we discuss the most important changes.
On 7 January, the president signed two amendments that are significant for employers and employees. The Act of 4 December 2025 eases certain formal requirements in the Labour Code, whilst the changes of 18 December 2025 concern the Social Insurance Institution's (ZUS) adjudication system and the rules on sick leave.
In 2026, the annual working time will increase by 16 hours compared to 2025 (2,008 hours vs. 1,992 hours). This will have a direct impact on shift planning, payroll budgeting and working time limits within settlement periods. July is a particularly important month as it has the highest number of working hours in the year (184 hours). Incorrect planning could result in overtime at the scheduling stage.
As of 1 January 2026, rules for determining employment length in the public sector will change and have significant implications for employers. Employment length will include not only periods of employment under an employment contract, but also other forms of professional activity, provided that they are properly documented (in particular, by certificates issued by the Social Insurance Institution – ZUS). The law has not introduced any time limits, which means that earlier periods of professional activity may also be counted toward employment length.
On Friday, 26 September, Parliament adopted the changes proposed by the Senate to amendments to the law on calculating length of service The changes were mainly technical. However, one of the changes introduced the principle that for overlapping periods counted towards length of service, the period that is most favourable to the employee is to be included in the length of service.