Payment in lieu of unused leave: when you are entitled to it, how to calculate it and when it must be paid
Short answer
You are entitled to payment in lieu of unused leave (ekwiwalent za urlop) when you do not use your annual leave in full or in part because the employment relationship is terminated or expires (Article 171 § 1 of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy, KP). From 27 January 2026 the employer pays it on the wage payment date set in accordance with Article 85 of the Labour Code. If that date falls before the day the contract ends, the employer has 10 days from the termination or expiry of the employment relationship. The amount is calculated using the three-step formula from the 1997 leave regulation, with a coefficient set for each year.
In this guide: Payment in lieu of leave after a contract ends: when it is due, the formula from the regulation, the 2026 coefficient, payment date from 27.01.2026, time limit.
Who this applies to
- Employees employed under an employment contract (umowa o pracę) whose contract is ending (notice, agreement, expiry of the term, expiry by law) and who have days of leave left, including outstanding leave from previous years.
- Employers and payroll staff who must calculate and pay the payment in lieu of leave.
Payment in lieu of leave is a benefit under an employment contract. With a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia), the Labour Code provisions on leave do not apply.
What to do
- Establish how many days of leave are left. In the year in which the contract ends, leave with the current employer is due in proportion to the period worked in that year (Article 155(1) § 1(1) of the Labour Code). Add any unused outstanding leave.
- Check whether the leave will be used during the notice period. If the employer grants you leave during the notice period, you must take it (Article 167(1) of the Labour Code). In that case there will be no payment in lieu for those days.
- Convert days into hours. One day of leave corresponds to 8 hours of work (Article 154(2) § 2 of the Labour Code). 5 days is 40 hours.
- Establish the base. Fixed monthly components are taken in the amount due in the month in which the right to payment in lieu arose (§ 15 of the regulation). Variable components for periods of up to 1 month are taken as the average of the 3 months before that month (§ 16), and components for periods longer than a month as the average of 12 months (§ 17). Some payments are not included, e.g. one-off bonuses for a specific achievement, long-service awards, pay for time of illness and for time on leave (§ 6 in conjunction with § 14).
- Calculate the payment in lieu under § 18 of the regulation:
- total monthly pay : coefficient = payment in lieu for 1 day of leave,
- payment in lieu for 1 day : the employee's daily working time standard (usually 8) = payment in lieu for 1 hour,
- payment in lieu for 1 hour × number of hours of unused leave = payment in lieu.
- Use the coefficient for the year in which the right to payment in lieu arose. The coefficient is set separately for each calendar year (§ 19(1)). For 2026 we give our own calculation below.
- Watch the payment deadline. The employer pays the payment in lieu on the wage payment date set in accordance with Article 85 of the Labour Code (Article 171 § 4). If that date falls before the day the contract is terminated or expires, payment is made within 10 days of termination or expiry. If that tenth day is a day off work, the payment in lieu is paid one day earlier (Article 171 § 5).
- If the money does not come. Send the employer a written demand for payment (wezwanie do zapłaty). You can also file a complaint with the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) or bring a claim before the labour court. Failure to pay a benefit due to an employee on time is a petty offence under Article 282 § 1(1) of the Labour Code (fine from PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000).
Leave coefficient for 2026 (our calculation)
No legal act announces the value of the coefficient. Under § 19(2) of the regulation, Sundays, public holidays and days off resulting from the working time schedule in an average five-day working week are subtracted from the number of days in the year, and the result is divided by 12.
Data for 2026:
| Element | Number |
|---|---|
| Days in the year | 365 |
| Sundays | 52 |
| Saturdays | 52 |
| Public holidays falling Monday to Friday | 8 |
| Public holidays falling on Saturdays (15 August, 26 December) | 2 |
| Public holidays falling on Sundays (5 April, 3 May, 24 May, 1 November) | 4, already included in Sundays |
Public holidays falling Monday to Friday in 2026: 1 January, 6 January, 6 April, 1 May, 4 June, 11 November, 24 December and 25 December. From 1 February 2025, 24 December (Christmas Eve) is a public holiday (Act on Public Holidays, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 296).
Calculation: 365 - 52 Sundays - 52 Saturdays - 8 public holidays on working days - 2 days off for public holidays on Saturdays = 251 days. 251 : 12 = 20.92 (exactly 20.9166...).
Why subtract 2 days for public holidays on Saturdays? Each public holiday falling on a day other than Sunday reduces working time by 8 hours (Article 130 § 2 of the Labour Code). In a five-day working week, a public holiday on a Saturday therefore means an additional scheduled day off. A coefficient calculated this way corresponds to the number of working days in 2026 (251).
Caveat: if someone subtracts only the 52 Saturdays and does not take into account the additional days off for public holidays on Saturdays, they get 253 : 12 = 21.08. The provision does not settle this expressly. We have used 20.92 because of Article 130 § 2 of the Labour Code. The regulation also does not say to how many decimal places to round.
Exceptions and caveats
- A further contract with the same employer. The employer does not have to pay the payment in lieu if the parties agree that the leave will be used under a further employment contract concluded with the same employer immediately after the previous one ends (Article 171 § 3 of the Labour Code). The provision concerns the same employer, not a new one.
- Leave taken "in advance". If before leaving you took more leave than your proportional entitlement, there is no payment in lieu (Article 155(1) § 1(1) of the Labour Code).
- Part-time work. The coefficient is reduced in proportion to working time (§ 19(3) of the regulation). For half-time in 2026 it is 20.92 × 0.5 = 10.46.
- Payment in lieu cannot be "taken" during employment. It is due only because the employment relationship is terminated or expires.
- Limitation period. A claim for payment in lieu becomes time-barred 3 years from the day it became due (Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code). We consider the due date to be the day on which the payment in lieu should have been paid under Article 171 § 4 or § 5. This is our conclusion; the provision does not say so expressly.
- Other working time systems. If your daily working time standard is lower than 8 hours (e.g. under special provisions), in the second step you divide by that lower standard (§ 18(2) of the regulation).
Example
Assumptions: a full-time employee, daily standard of 8 hours, contract terminated in 2026, fixed basic pay of PLN 6,000 gross per month, no variable components, 5 days of leave left (40 hours), coefficient of 20.92 according to our calculation.
- PLN 6,000 : 20.92 = PLN 286.81 for 1 day of leave.
- PLN 286.81 : 8 = PLN 35.85 for 1 hour.
- PLN 35.85 × 40 hours = PLN 1,434.00 gross.
Without rounding intermediate results, the figure is PLN 1,434.03. The difference results only from rounding.
The same employee working half-time with pay of PLN 3,000 and 3 days of leave (24 hours): PLN 3,000 : 10.46 = PLN 286.81, then PLN 286.81 : 8 = PLN 35.85, and PLN 35.85 × 24 = PLN 860.40 gross.
Documents and deadlines
| What | Deadline or legal basis |
|---|---|
| Payment of the payment in lieu | on the wage payment date (Article 85 of the Labour Code), from 27.01.2026 |
| When the payment date falls before the end of the contract | 10 days from termination or expiry of the contract |
| Wages payable once a month | in arrears, no later than within the first 10 days of the following month (Article 85 § 2 of the Labour Code) |
| Limitation period for the claim | 3 years from the due date (Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code) |
| Evidence | contract, employment certificate, payslips, leave records, bank statement |
Frequently asked questions
Can the employer make me take leave during the notice period?
Yes. If the employer grants you leave during the notice period, you must take it (Article 167(1) of the Labour Code). The amount of such leave, apart from outstanding leave, may not exceed the proportional amount under Article 155(1) of the Labour Code.
Am I entitled to payment in lieu if I immediately sign a new contract with the same employer?
The employer does not have to pay it in that case if you agree that you will use the leave under the new contract concluded immediately after the previous one (Article 171 § 3 of the Labour Code). Without such an agreement, payment in lieu is due on the usual terms.
Where can I report that I did not receive the payment in lieu?
You can file a complaint with the District Labour Inspectorate (OIP) or bring a claim before the labour court. See How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?, Your employer did not pay your wages on time. What can you do? and How do you prepare a demand for payment of outstanding wages? If you do not know where to take the matter, check PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?
Useful tools
Related guides
- Your employer did not pay your wages on time. What can you do?
- How do you prepare a demand for payment of outstanding wages?
- How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?
- PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?
Sources (documents in Polish)
- Kodeks pracy, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 85, 154, 154(2), 155(1), 167(1), 171, 282, 291)
- Rozporządzenie MPiPS z 8.01.1997 w sprawie urlopu wypoczynkowego i ekwiwalentu (Dz.U. 1997 nr 2 poz. 14), tekst pierwotny
- Zmiana rozporządzenia urlopowego z 16.12.2003 (§ 18 i § 19 ust. 2)
- Zmiana rozporządzenia urlopowego z 8.10.2009 (§ 18 pkt 2, § 19 ust. 3)
- Ustawa o dniach wolnych od pracy, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2025 poz. 296
- Metryka ELI ustawy o dniach wolnych od pracy (akty zmieniające)
Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.
Change history
- 15 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).