Mandate contracts and self-employment in length of service: how to get your leave recalculated

Who this applies to

Employees with an employment contract (umowa o pracę) who previously worked under a contract of mandate, ran a sole proprietorship, collaborated in a family member's business or worked abroad on a basis other than an employment contract. Most often the aim is to reach 26 days of leave sooner instead of 20.

What to do

1. Check which periods count. The Code lists (Article 302(1) of the Labour Code):
   • non-agricultural business activity and collaboration in it, for which pension, disability or accident insurance contributions were paid (§ 1),
   • a contract of mandate, another contract for the provision of services to which the provisions on mandate apply, an agency contract, collaboration under these contracts, and membership of an agricultural production cooperative or an agricultural circles cooperative, if you were covered by pension and disability insurance at the time (§ 2),
   • documented periods under § 1 and 2 in which you were not covered by that insurance under separate provisions (§ 3),
   • the first months of business activity without pension and disability contributions under Article 18(1) of the Entrepreneurs' Law, i.e. the so-called start-up relief (ulga na start) (§ 4),
   • suspension of business activity or collaboration in order to personally care for a child, for which contributions were paid (§ 5 and 6),
   • documented gainful work abroad on a basis other than an employment relationship (§ 7).
2. Submit a request to ZUS. The request for a certificate is submitted by the person whose periods are to be counted, only electronically through the ZUS information profile (Article 302(2) of the Labour Code). ZUS calls it the "wniosek o wydanie zaświadczenia o ubezpieczeniu dla celów doliczenia okresów do stażu pracy" (request for a certificate of insurance for the purpose of counting periods towards length of service), with the symbol USP. You will find it in your eZUS account, in the "Kreator wniosku «stażowe»" (length-of-service request wizard). There is no paper version.
3. Report periods before 1999 separately. According to ZUS, periods before 1 January 1999 are not in the insured person's account, so you request them with form US-7. If a period began before 1999 and continued afterwards, you submit two requests: US-7 and USP.
4. Collect the certificate. ZUS prepares and delivers certificates and decisions in these matters electronically on the information profile, and notifies you that they have been posted by email, text message or in the app (Article 83g of the Act on the social insurance system, added by the Act in Dz.U. 2025 item 1423).
5. If ZUS refuses. If your account contains no information about registration for insurance, ZUS will issue a refusal decision. According to ZUS, you can then submit a request for explanatory proceedings with documents: through eZUS (general request POG), by post or in person at a branch.
6. Document periods without contributions yourself. ZUS will not issue a certificate, for example, for a mandate performed as a school pupil or student, because you were not covered by pension and disability insurance at that time. Such periods count if they are documented (Article 302(1) § 3 of the Labour Code). The District Labour Inspectorate (OIP) in Kielce gives as examples the contract, invoices or bills, or a certificate from the principal. You document work abroad in the same way (§ 7).
7. Give the documents to your employer on time. An employee employed on the day from which the provisions apply to their employer has 24 months from that day to document the periods (Article 5(1) and (2) of the Act). In a private company the deadline runs from 1 May 2026, in a public finance sector unit from 1 January 2026. Periods not documented on time are not counted by that employer (Article 5(3)). Keep proof of when you submitted the documents.
8. Check whether the employer has recalculated your entitlements. Most often this concerns the amount of leave: 20 days for employment of less than 10 years, 26 days for at least 10 years (Article 154 § 1 of the Labour Code). If you have already used your leave for a given year and during the year became entitled to a higher amount, you are entitled to supplementary leave (Article 158 of the Labour Code).

What the added length of service affects

Exceptions and caveats

• No backdated adjustment. Entitlements resulting from counting the periods apply from the day the right is acquired, but not earlier than 1 January 2026 (public finance sector) or 1 May 2026 (other employers) (Article 6 of the Act). Nothing is recalculated for earlier years. The Act does not say explicitly whether, for documents submitted later, the higher leave is due from 1 May 2026 or from the day they are presented. Submit them as soon as possible.
• Notice period in progress. The new periods do not affect a notice period that was running on the day from which the provisions apply to your employer (Article 8 of the Act).
• Recruitment in progress. In recruitment for positions started and not completed before that day, the new periods are not counted towards the required length of service (Article 7 of the Act).
• Overlapping periods. When periods overlap, including with an employment contract, the period most favourable to the employee is counted (Article 302(1) § 10 of the Labour Code). The same time does not count twice.
• Contract for specific work. The Code does not list it, so periods of a contract for specific work (umowa o dzieło) alone are not covered by the provision.
• Employed after 1 May 2026. The 24-month deadline in Article 5 of the Act concerns people employed on the day from which the provisions apply to their employer. For people employed later, the Act does not provide such a deadline. It is worth presenting the documents right away when you are hired.
• Dispute with the employer. If the employer refuses to recalculate your leave despite the documents, you can file a complaint with the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) or a claim with the labour court. See PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?.

Example

Assumptions: since 2020 an employee has worked under an employment contract in a private company, full-time throughout. Before that, for 4 years from 2016 to 2019, she performed contracts of mandate under which she was covered by pension and disability insurance. She completed general secondary school, which under Article 155 § 1(4) of the Labour Code gives 4 years towards length of service for leave purposes. The periods of education and mandate do not overlap.

Up to 30 April 2026, her length of service for leave purposes is 4 years of school and more than 6 years of the employment contract, i.e. more than 10 years. She therefore already had 26 days of leave. Adding the mandate will change nothing in her leave. It would be different if, without the mandate, she were short of 10 years. Then, after submitting the USP request in eZUS and giving the certificate to her employer within 24 months of 1 May 2026, she would obtain the higher amount, but not earlier than from 1 May 2026. The mandate periods will not, however, affect her notice period, because she performed the mandates for a different company.

Documents and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to provide the certificate if the employer can check with ZUS itself?

Yes. The Act makes counting the periods conditional on the employee documenting them (Article 5 of the Act). You submit the request to ZUS, not the employer (Article 302(2) of the Labour Code).

Does a business for which I paid only the health insurance contribution count?

As a rule, the period counts if pension, disability or accident insurance contributions were paid for it (Article 302(1) § 1 of the Labour Code). The exception is the start-up relief period under Article 18 of the Entrepreneurs' Law (§ 4). For that period, ZUS issues a certificate of registration for health insurance (§ 13).

Will I get payment in lieu of "missing" leave from previous years?

No. Entitlements apply at the earliest from 1 January or 1 May 2026 (Article 6 of the Act). Payment in lieu of unused leave when you leave your job is described in the guide Payment in lieu of unused leave: when you are entitled to it, how to calculate it and when it must be paid.

Related guides

• Payment in lieu of unused leave: when you are entitled to it, how to calculate it and when it must be paid
• Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties
• B2B contracting and the employment contract: when self-employment is really a job
• How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?
• PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Ustawa z 26.09.2025 o zmianie ustawy Kodeks pracy oraz niektórych innych ustaw, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1423 (art. 1, 3, 5-10)
• Metryka ELI ustawy Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1423 (ogłoszenie 21.10.2025, wejście w życie 1.01.2026)
• Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 36, 93, 154, 154(1), 155, 158, 302(1), 302(2))
• ZUS: „Stażowe” - nowe regulacje i zaświadczenia od 2026 r. (29.12.2025)
• MRPiPS, gov.pl: Staż pracy na nowo. Złóż wniosek do ZUS i uzyskaj zaświadczenie dla pracodawcy (5.01.2026)
• OIP Kielce: Staż pracy na nowo - pytania i odpowiedzi
• Ustawa o szczególnych zasadach rozwiązywania z pracownikami stosunków pracy z przyczyn niedotyczących pracowników, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1195 (art. 8)

Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.