Your boss wants to cut your pay and replace it with a bonus. Do you have to agree?

Author: inspekcja-pracy.pl editorial teamChecked: 15 October 2026

Short answer

You do not have to agree. The employer can reduce the pay set in your contract in two ways: with your consent (an agreement, i.e. an annex) or by a notice of change of terms (wypowiedzenie zmieniające) under Article 42 of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy, KP). A notice of change of terms gives you a choice: you accept the new terms, or you refuse by halfway through the notice period, in which case the contract terminates at the end of that period. You can appeal against the notice to the labour court within 21 days of the letter being served. Pay after the change, together with other components, may not give less than the minimum wage for full-time work, PLN 4,806 gross in 2026.

This matter usually requires an individual legal assessment. The guide explains the rules, but the outcome depends on documents and circumstances. Before an important decision, consult a lawyer or a trade union, or use free PIP advice. PIP legal advice.

In this guide: An annex vs a notice of change of terms (Article 42 KP), refusal and its effects, minimum wage, special protection and 21 days to appeal to the labour court.

Who this applies to

This guide is for employees on an employment contract (umowa o pracę) whose employer proposes lower basic pay, usually in exchange for a bonus, an allowance or a "variable component". If the employer is already paying less than the contract provides, without an annex and without a notice, see also Your employer did not pay your wages on time. What can you do?

What to do

Establish what you have been offered. An annex for signature is a proposal for an agreement. A letter in which the employer terminates the current pay terms and proposes new ones is a notice of change of terms. The notice is deemed to have been given when the new terms were proposed to you in writing (Article 42 § 2 of the Labour Code).
Read the rules of the new bonus. Before you sign anything, ask for the rules or a provision stating what the bonus depends on and how much it is. A bonus with specific, verifiable conditions gives you a claim once they are met. A payment that depends solely on the boss's discretion is often in practice an award (nagroda), which cannot be claimed. More in the guide Your employer promised a bonus or a higher rate and then backed out. What can you do?
If it is an annex: you can sign it, negotiate or not sign it. Refusing to sign an annex does not in itself change the contract. A change to the terms of the contract requires written form (Article 29 § 4 of the Labour Code), so keep a copy.
If it is a notice of change of terms, check the letter. The provisions on termination of the contract apply accordingly (Article 42 § 1 of the Labour Code). Check:
- whether a reason was given (Article 30 § 4 of the Labour Code),
- whether there is information about the right to appeal to the labour court (Article 30 § 5 of the Labour Code),
- whether there is information that not refusing by halfway through the notice period means acceptance (Article 42 § 3 of the Labour Code),
- whether the employer notified the company trade union, if it represents you (Article 38 of the Labour Code),
- the length of the notice period: 2 weeks, 1 month or 3 months, depending on your length of service with the employer (Article 36 § 1 of the Labour Code).
Decide in time. If you do not submit a refusal before halfway through the notice period, you are deemed to have accepted the new terms. If the letter does not contain the required information, you may refuse until the end of the notice period (Article 42 § 3 of the Labour Code). Submit your refusal in writing and keep proof of receipt.
Consider an appeal to the labour court. You have 21 days from service of the letter (Article 264 § 1 in conjunction with Article 42 § 1 of the Labour Code). You can calculate the deadline in the appeal deadline calculator. The court may declare the notice ineffective and, if the contract has already terminated, reinstate you on the previous terms or award compensation (Article 45 § 1 of the Labour Code). Cases for restoring previous terms of work or pay belong to the district court (sąd rejonowy) (Article 461 § 1(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure, KPC). As a rule, an employee does not pay court fees (Article 96(1)(4) of the Act on Court Costs).
If the employer cut your pay without an annex and without a notice, demand the difference up to the amount in the contract. Unjustifiably reducing pay is a petty offence under Article 282 § 1(1) of the Labour Code. You can file a complaint to the PIP or a claim for payment.

Exceptions and caveats

Minimum wage. The Act does not require basic pay alone to be equal to the minimum wage. For the comparison, components counted as personal remuneration are included, so as a rule the bonus as well (Article 6(4) of the Minimum Wage Act). Not included are, among other things, pay and supplements for overtime, the night work supplement, the seniority allowance and the allowance for special working conditions (Article 6(5)). If in a given month the sum of the components for full-time work is lower than PLN 4,806, the employer pays the difference together with the pay (Article 7). For part-time work, the minimum is calculated proportionally (Article 8). From 1 January 2027 the minimum wage will be PLN 4,950.

Special protection. For an employee who is no more than 4 years away from retirement age (Article 39 of the Labour Code), the employer may give notice of change of pay terms only if this is necessary because of new pay rules for all employees or a group of them, or because the employee has lost the capacity or qualifications for their current work (Article 43 of the Labour Code). The employer may not give notice during leave or another excused absence (Article 41 of the Labour Code). Because the provisions on termination apply accordingly to a notice of change of terms (Article 42 § 1 of the Labour Code), other provisions on special protection, e.g. during pregnancy, also as a rule restrict such a change. The Act on dismissals for reasons not related to employees provides exceptions: in collective dismissals, and also in individual dismissals for reasons not related to employees (where these are the sole reason), in a company employing at least 20 people, the employer may give protected employees notice of change of terms of work and pay, and if this reduces pay, a compensatory allowance is due until the end of the protection period (Article 5(5)-(6) and Article 10(1)).

Change to the rules for everyone. When the employer changes the remuneration rules to the employees' disadvantage, it introduces these provisions by a notice of change of terms. For such a notice, the provisions restricting the termination of contract terms do not apply (Article 16(5) of the Act on Collective Labour Agreements, applied accordingly under Article 77(2) § 5 of the Labour Code). How this provision affects the protection of a particular person is worth assessing with a lawyer.

Refusal and what next. If you refuse to accept the new terms, the contract will terminate when the notice period expires (Article 42 § 3 of the Labour Code). Whether you are then entitled to severance pay under the Act on dismissals for reasons not related to employees (Articles 8 and 10 of that Act) depends, among other things, on the number of employees and the reason for the change. This requires an individual assessment.

Short-term other work. No notice is required when the employer, for no more than 3 months a year, assigns you other work corresponding to your qualifications, without reducing your pay (Article 42 § 4 of the Labour Code). So this exception does not allow pay to be cut.

When to see a lawyer. Before signing an annex with a large variable component, when you are covered by special protection, when the change concerns the whole company, or when you are considering a refusal that will end in termination of the contract.

Example

Assumptions: a full-time employee, employed for 2 years on an indefinite-term contract, earns PLN 6,000 gross basic pay. They are not covered by special protection. On 15 October 2026 they receive a letter: from 1 December, basic pay of PLN 4,806 plus a monthly bonus "up to PLN 1,200 according to the manager's assessment". The letter contains the reason and the required information.

The notice period is 1 month (Article 36 § 1(2) of the Labour Code). A monthly period ends on the last day of the month (Article 30 § 2(1) of the Labour Code), here 30 November 2026.
The employee has time to refuse before halfway through the notice period. It is safe to submit the refusal in writing earlier, e.g. in the first week of November.
Deadline for an appeal to the labour court: 21 days from 15 October 2026, i.e. until 5 November 2026.
Assessment of the proposal: basic pay equals the minimum wage, so the minimum will be maintained even without the bonus. However, a bonus "according to the manager's assessment" without verifiable criteria may not give rise to a claim. In real terms, the employee may lose up to PLN 1,194 a month.
If they accept the terms, the new contract applies from 1 December. If they refuse, the contract will terminate on 30 November 2026.

Documents and deadlines

What	Deadline or rule	Legal basis
Notice of change of terms	in writing, with the reason and the required information	Article 42 § 2-3, Article 30 § 3-5 of the Labour Code
Refusal to accept the new terms	before halfway through the notice period (without the required information: until the end of the period)	Article 42 § 3 of the Labour Code
Notice period	2 weeks, 1 month or 3 months	Article 36 § 1 of the Labour Code
Appeal to the labour court	21 days from service of the letter	Article 264 § 1 of the Labour Code
Annex	written form	Article 29 § 4 of the Labour Code
Minimum wage	PLN 4,806 (2026), PLN 4,950 (from 1.01.2027)	Dz.U. 2025 item 1242, Dz.U. 2026 item 1213

Frequently asked questions

Can I sign the notice of change of terms "as received" and appeal to the court?

A signature on the letter usually only confirms receipt. You submit your refusal to accept the terms as a separate statement. You file an appeal to the court within 21 days of service, regardless of whether you refused.

Can the employer dismiss me for not signing the annex?

Refusing to sign an annex does not in itself change the contract. The employer may, however, then give you a notice of change of terms or a notice of termination of the contract, stating a reason, which the court can assess if you appeal.

Does a bonus instead of part of my pay reduce my sick pay or holiday pay?

It depends on the bonus rules and the provisions on the basis for these payments. Ask the employer for an explanation in writing before signing any changes.

Useful tools

Related guides

Sources (documents in Polish)

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

Change history

15 October 2026: First publication.

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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).