The end of the year is, on the one hand, a time for reviews and, on the other, a time for making plans for the next year. This was the main topic of the press briefing held by members of the management of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

On 23 December 2025, Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk and Deputy Minister Sebastian Gajewski met with journalists to talk about the first day off on Christmas Eve and the changes in labour law and the social security system that will come into force at the beginning of 2026.

It's happening! Free Christmas Eve 2025

The first item on the agenda was the day off on Christmas Eve.

This is a change that we strongly advocated for last year, as we understand the importance of spending time with family.
We know how hard Polish women and men work, and how much they look forward to this period when they can take a breather, rest, relax and spend time as they wish – with their loved ones or in any other way. A work-free Christmas Eve was a demand often raised by politicians from various parties. It was mentioned and raised, but never implemented. Until now. Until we made this change, and tomorrow, on 24 December, Polish families will be able to spend more time together. It will be possible to get to the holidays a little earlier, and therefore a little safer. This is a good and important change that will affect as many as 13 million working Poles.

- Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk said during the press briefing of the Minister of Labour.

She added that even in industries that work on that day, additional entitlements are granted for a public holiday, e.g. a day off or additional remuneration, therefore this is a beneficial change for all working Poles.

The head of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy emphasised that although Christmas Eve was preceded by three shopping Sundays, this did not mean that retail workers had to spend all of them at work. The law guaranteed them a maximum of two working Sundays in December.

Seniority period recalculated

A few days after Christmas, the Act on Seniority will come into force – one of the most important changes in the labour market in recent years. Periods that have been completely ignored until now will also be included in the seniority period. These include contract work and self-employment.
 For years, the law treated thousands of people as if they were just starting their professional careers, even though they had been working honestly for 10, 15 or 20 years. The only difference was that they were not employed full-time, which was deeply unfair.

The new rules will come into force on 1 January 2026 in the public sector and six months after publication in the Journal of Laws in the private sector .

More seniority means longer holidays, seniority allowances, jubilee awards, but also access to job offers that require specific experience. This is particularly important in the public sector, which has to compete for specialists today.

The minister has also said that from 1 January 2026, we will launch the main part of the pilot programme on reduced working hours with no loss of pay.

Other changes effective from 1 January 2026

Deputy Minister Sebastian Gajewski discussed other important changes, including June pensions and an increase in funeral allowances.

June pensions

June pensions mean a problem for persons born after 1948 who retired between 2009 and 2019. If they submitted their application in June, their benefit is lower than in case of those who applied in April or May. The sum of the quarterly indexation rates that would apply to pension contributions and initial capital upon retirement in April or May is usually higher than the annual indexation rate used to determine pensions in June of a given year, hence the problem of lower benefits for this group of people. 

The solution prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy assumes that the Social Insurance Institution will automatically re-calculate the pensions and family pensions of persons who retired or received a family pension in June between 2009 and 2019.

This is an important and expected change. In the first quarter of 2026, the Social Insurance Institution will issue decisions to all pensioners affected by this change, increasing their benefits

- Deputy Minister, Sebastian Gajewski emphasised.

How does this look like in numbers? Around 103 thousand people (95.5 thousand pension recipients and 8 thousand survivors) will be affected by the regulations. The estimated average increase amounts to approximately PLN 220.

Higher funeral allowance

Also from 1 January 2026, the amount of the funeral allowance will increase for the first time in recent years.

Importantly, the amount of the funeral allowance will be subject to indexation and increased by the consumer price index if inflation in a given year exceeds 5 per cent.

We are deeply convinced that the state must provide swift and practical assistance in the face of the personal tragedy caused by the death of a close relative. Therefore, we are increasing the funeral allowance from PLN 4,000 to PLN 7,000.

- said Deputy Minister, Sebastian Gajewski.

In addition, the time of disbursement of the benefit has been reduced - from 30 to 14 days. The procedures for applying for the benefit have also been simplified.

The deputy head of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy added that from 1 January 2026, new social assistance benefits, not linked to the income criterion, would come into force, which are available, for example, when the funeral allowance is ineligible or when there are additional costs associated with, for example, bringing a body from abroad.