Polish local government employees rush for anniversary bonuses as new rules drastically extend work seniority

Local government employees across Poland are massively submitting applications for the recalculation of work seniority and payment of overdue anniversary bonuses following a change in regulations that came into force on January 1, 2026. The amendment to the Labor Code of September 26, 2025, introduced Article 302^1, which mandates the inclusion of periods of work performed under civil law contracts and running a non-agricultural business activity into work seniority. This change has caused many officials to document seniority higher by a dozen or even several dozen years overnight, raising numerous interpretative doubts in municipal and county offices. Regional Audit Chambers (RIO) are receiving dozens of inquiries regarding the rules for paying benefits in situations where an employee acquires the right to a higher-level bonus immediately after the new regulations take effect. anniversary bonuses

Key clarifications on this matter were issued by the Regional Audit Chamber in Olsztyn, analyzing the case of an employee who, before the change in regulations, had 19 years of seniority, and after adding periods of work under commission contracts, documented 46 years of work. According to the Chamber's opinion, such an employee should be paid the bonus for 45 years of seniority, even though they formally acquired the right to it on the day the act entered into force, i.e., January 1, 2026. RIO experts emphasize that if, on the day of documenting the seniority, an employee acquires the right to a higher-level bonus, it must be paid to them immediately. Importantly, this payment is due even in a situation where the employee recently received a lower-level bonus under the old rules. For decades, the system for calculating work seniority in Poland was based almost exclusively on periods of employment under an employment relationship. Civil law contracts, such as commission contracts or contracts for specific work, and periods of running one's own business activity were not taken into account when determining employee entitlements, such as vacation length or the right to anniversary bonuses. The 2025 reform, introducing Art. 302^1 to the Labor Code, constitutes a fundamental change in the treatment of various forms of professional activity in the Polish legal system.

Local governments feared that a sudden increase in spending on employee benefits could be considered a breach of budgetary discipline, but the RIO reassures officials. The payment of due anniversary bonuses resulting from the new regulations does not constitute a violation of public finance discipline, provided it is based on reliably documented work seniority. Local government employers are obliged to recalculate seniority upon an employee's request and pay adjustments from the day the right to entitlements is acquired, but not earlier than from the beginning of 2026. This situation generates a significant burden for HR departments, which must verify old commission contracts and certificates from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) from many years ago. Change in work seniority calculation rules: Periods included: Only employment relationship (employment contract) → Employment relationship, civil law contracts, business activity; Legal basis: Labor Code without Art. 302^1 → Art. 302^1 of the Labor Code (amendment of 26.09.2025)