Not many people can really choose the type of contract they work under. A contract for specific work is also a work. A sole proprietorship is a work too. And they deserve to be appreciated. That is why it is necessary to amend the Labour Code to equalise opportunities in access to certain employee rights and positions requiring proven professional experience, said Minister of Labour Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk in the Sejm this September.

The draft bill, signed by the President of Poland on 16 October 2025, was drawn up by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

Periods from previous years will be included in the length of service

The Act stipulates that periods of running a business and working under mandate contracts will be included in the length of service.

But that is not all! But that's not all! Employees who have previously worked under the mandate contracts or run a business will receive new entitlements resulting from the inclusion of these periods in their length of service.

What will count towards seniority?

According to the Act, the following will be included in the length of service:

· periods of running a business in sectors other than agriculture and cooperation with a person running such a business,

· the period during which non-agricultural business activity was suspended to provide personal childcare.

· periods of performance of the mandate contract,

· periods of provision of services, an agency contract and the period of being a collaborating person,

· the period of affiliation to a farming cooperative and farmers cooperative association, and

· a documented period spent abroad performing work on basis other than an employment contract.

The certificate will be issued by ZUS

The certificate confirming these periods will be issued by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).

If, for some reason, the Social Insurance Institution will be unable to issue such a certificate (e.g., because the period of work was a long time ago), the employee will have the opportunity to prove length of service using his/her own documents, confirming the period worked.

The new provisions of the Act will come into force on 1 January 2026 for employers from the public finance sector, and on the first day of the month following the expiry of six months from the date of publication of the Act for employers from outside this sector.