Leave from work due to force majeure: when are you entitled to it and how do you request it?
Short answer
You have the right to leave from work of 2 days or 16 hours in a calendar year due to force majeure in urgent family matters caused by illness or accident, if your immediate presence is necessary (Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy). For this time you keep the right to half your pay. You submit the request no later than on the day you take the leave, and the employer is obliged to grant it (Article 148(1) § 3 of the Labour Code). This is a separate entitlement, independent of annual leave and leave on demand.
In this guide: Article 148(1) of the Labour Code: 2 days or 16 hours a year for urgent family matters (illness, accident), 50% pay, request on the day at the latest.
Who this applies to
Employees employed under an employment contract (umowa o pracę), regardless of length of service and type of contract, and their employers. The provision has applied since 26 April 2023 (Article 1(21) of the Act of 9.03.2023 amending the Labour Code). Contractors under a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) and people on B2B do not have this entitlement.
The leave concerns a situation which meets three conditions together: an urgent family matter, caused by illness or accident, requiring your immediate presence. Examples: a child fell ill in the night and you have to stay with them until care is arranged, a parent was taken to hospital after a fall. A planned check-up or an administrative matter does not fall within the provision, because they are not sudden.
What to do
- Choose how to use it: days or hours. You decide this in the first request submitted in a given year (Article 148(1) § 2 of the Labour Code). The choice binds for the whole calendar year. With hours, you can use e.g. 4 hours for a trip to hospital and keep 12 for later. With days, each use consumes a whole day.
- Submit the request no later than on the day of use. So says Article 148(1) § 3 of the Labour Code. The provision does not specify the form. The request may be oral, by telephone, by text message or by e-mail. Choose a method that leaves a trace, and submit it before the absence begins, if possible.
- State the legal basis and the general reason. It is enough to indicate that it concerns an urgent family matter caused by illness or accident which requires your immediate presence. The provision does not require details or documents. In the first request of the year, add your choice: days or hours. You can base the letter on the template from the leave request generator, entering Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code as the legal basis.
- The employer grants the leave. It is obliged to grant leave on a request submitted in time. There is no provision that would allow it to refuse on account of the needs of the workplace, as with leave on demand.
- Check your pay. For the time of the leave you keep the right to half your pay (Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code). If you chose hours, pay is reduced only for the hours of leave.
- Return to your position. After the leave, the employer lets you return to work in your previous position (Article 148(1) § 6 in conjunction with Article 186(4) of the Labour Code).
- When the employer refuses or does not pay. Remind it of the content of Article 148(1) § 3 of the Labour Code in writing. If this does not help, file a complaint with the PIP. You can prepare the complaint in the generator, and the rules are described in the guide How to file a complaint to the PIP. If in doubt, use the free PIP advice service.
Differences from leave on demand
| Feature | Leave due to force majeure | Leave on demand |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Article 148(1) of the Labour Code | Article 167(2) of the Labour Code |
| Amount | 2 days or 16 hours a year | 4 days a year |
| Where it comes from | a separate pool | part of annual leave |
| Reason | an urgent family matter due to illness or accident | no reason given |
| Pay | 50% | 100% (as for leave) |
| Deadline for the request | no later than on the day of use | no later than on the day the leave starts, before work begins |
| Refusal by the employer | the employer is obliged to grant it | according to the Supreme Court, possible in special circumstances |
| Unused pool | lapses at the end of the year | the days remain in annual leave |
Leave under Article 148(1) of the Labour Code gives certainty that the employer will not refuse, but costs half your pay. Leave on demand keeps full pay, but uses up annual leave and depends on the employer granting it. Details in the guide Can an employer refuse leave on demand?.
Exceptions and caveats
- Part-time work. If you choose hours, the amount is set in proportion to your working time, and an incomplete hour is rounded up (Article 148(1) § 4 of the Labour Code). On half-time you have 8 hours. If you choose days, 2 days remain.
- Shorter daily norm. When separate provisions provide for a daily norm lower than 8 hours, the amount is applied accordingly (Article 148(1) § 5 of the Labour Code).
- Annual pool. Unused leave does not carry over to the next year. There is no provision that would give payment in lieu of it. The provision does not make the pool dependent on length of service.
- Employment certificate. The employer enters in the employment certificate (świadectwo pracy) information on the leave used under Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code (§ 2(1) of the regulation on the employment certificate). The next employer in the same year therefore knows how much you have already used. See No employment certificate, correction.
- Your own illness. The provision concerns family matters. Your own illness is sick leave. The rules on notifying absence are described in the guide I am ill. Do I have to find someone to cover for me?.
- Employers: grant leave on every request submitted no later than on the day of use and keep records of the days or hours used. Article 148(1) of the Labour Code is in the section on working time, so a breach of it may be assessed as a petty offence against the provisions on working time (Article 281 § 1(5) of the Labour Code), although the Code does not say so expressly.
Example
Assumptions: a full-time employee works from 8:00 to 16:00. This year she has not yet used leave under Article 148(1) of the Labour Code. At 6:30 she learns that her father has fallen at home and an ambulance is taking him to hospital. She has to go with him and deal with matters at the hospital.
- At 7:00 she sends her superior a text message: she requests leave from work due to force majeure under Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code for today in connection with an accident involving a family member, and chooses to use the leave in hours.
- The request is submitted on the day of use, so the employer must grant it.
- At 13:00 the situation at the hospital is under control. The employee returns to work for 14:00 and works until 16:00. She has used 6 hours. For these hours she will receive half her pay, and for the 2 hours worked full pay.
- She has 10 hours of leave left until the end of the year. Because in the first request she chose hours, she cannot change the method to days until the end of the year.
Documents and deadlines
| What | Deadline or rule | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | 2 days or 16 hours in a calendar year | Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code |
| Choice of days or hours | in the first request in a given year | Article 148(1) § 2 of the Labour Code |
| Request | no later than on the day of taking the leave, any form | Article 148(1) § 3 of the Labour Code |
| Pay | 50% | Article 148(1) § 1 of the Labour Code |
| Part-time work | hours in proportion, rounded up | Article 148(1) § 4 of the Labour Code |
| Return to work | to the previous position | Article 148(1) § 6 of the Labour Code |
| Entry in the employment certificate | leave used in the year employment ends | § 2(1) of the regulation |
| Evidence | text message, e-mail, employer's confirmation |
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to present a medical certificate or another document?
No. Article 148(1) of the Labour Code does not require documents or a detailed description of the situation. It is enough to indicate that it concerns an urgent family matter caused by illness or accident.
Can I submit the request after the fact, the next day?
The provision requires the request to be submitted no later than on the day of taking the leave. A request submitted the next day does not meet this condition. Submit it on the day of absence, even by a short text message.
Useful tools
Related guides
- Can an employer refuse leave on demand?
- I am ill. Do I have to find someone to cover for me?
- Your employer has not issued your employment certificate. What next?
- How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?
- How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?
Sources (documents in Polish)
- Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 148(1), 167(2), 186(4), 281)
- Ustawa z 9.03.2023 o zmianie ustawy - Kodeks pracy oraz niektórych innych ustaw, Dz.U. 2023 poz. 641 (art. 1 pkt 21)
- Rozporządzenie MRPiPS z 30.12.2016 w sprawie świadectwa pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1016 (§ 2 ust. 1)
Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Law as at 16 October 2026.
Change history
- 16 October 2026: First publication.
This guide is for information only. The current legal provisions and the information of the National Labour Inspectorate apply. An independent information website. We are not the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy).