Your employer wants you to sign a termination by mutual agreement. What should you check before signing?

Who this applies to

Employees with an employment contract (umowa o pracę) whose employer proposes terminating the contract by mutual agreement, often asking for a signature "on the spot". This guide does not concern contracts of mandate (umowa zlecenia) or B2B.

What to do

1. Check what kind of document it is. A notice of termination is a unilateral statement by one party (Article 30 § 1(2) of the Labour Code). Your signature with the note "received" and a date only confirms receipt, not consent. A mutual agreement is something else: your signature on it means you consent to terminating the contract.
2. Do not sign straight away. You can ask for a copy and time to think. The Code does not require the agreement to be concluded on the day the employer proposed it.
3. Compare it with a notice of termination. When the employer gives notice, a notice period applies (2 weeks, 1 month or 3 months depending on the length of employment, Article 36 § 1 of the Labour Code), the letter must state the reason and include information about the right to appeal (Article 30 § 4 and 5 of the Labour Code), and you can appeal to the labour court. With a mutual agreement these guarantees do not exist, because there is no dispute: you both agree.
4. Check the date. In a mutual agreement the parties choose the termination date themselves. It may be earlier or later than the end of the notice period. Make sure you will receive your pay up to that date.
5. Check the reason stated in the agreement. It matters for severance pay and unemployment benefit (points 6 and 7). If the initiative came from the employer because of a position being abolished, a reduction in staff or bankruptcy, it is worth the agreement saying so explicitly.
6. Check severance pay. If the employer employs at least 20 employees and reasons not concerning the employee are the sole reason for terminating the contract by mutual agreement, a severance payment is due (Article 10(1) in conjunction with Article 8 of the Act on collective redundancies): 1 month's pay for employment with that employer of less than 2 years, 2 months' pay for employment of 2 to 8 years, 3 months' pay for employment of more than 8 years. Severance pay may not exceed 15 times the minimum wage on the date the employment relationship ends (Article 8(4)); in 2026 this is PLN 72,090 (15 × PLN 4,806).
7. Check the effects on unemployment benefit. Since 1 June 2025 the Act of 20 March 2025 on the labour market and employment services has been in force. Under Article 220(1)(5) and (2)(3) of that Act, if you terminated your last employment relationship by mutual agreement, benefit is payable only after 90 days from registration at the district (powiat) labour office. The benefit period is also shortened by those 90 days (Article 225(3)). Exception: an agreement concluded because of a change of place of residence, or because of the employer's bankruptcy or liquidation, or a reduction in staff for reasons relating to the workplace. For comparison: if you give notice yourself, benefit is as a rule not payable at all (Article 219(1)(1)), with exceptions for a change of place of residence and termination of the contract through the employer's fault under Article 55 of the Labour Code.
8. Settle your leave. For unused leave you are entitled to payment in lieu (Article 171 of the Labour Code). You can also agree that you will use up your leave before the termination date. Details: payment in lieu of unused leave.
9. Keep a copy. After the contract ends, the employer issues an employment certificate (świadectwo pracy), in which it enters the mode and legal basis of termination (§ 2(1)(4) of the regulation on the employment certificate). Check that it matches the agreement. See employment certificate.

Exceptions and caveats

• Pre-retirement protection. Article 39 of the Labour Code prohibits the employer from giving notice to an employee who is no more than 4 years away from retirement age, if their period of employment will allow them to obtain a pension. The provision does not apply to a mutual agreement. By signing an agreement, you therefore in practice give up this protection. The protection itself also has exceptions: it does not apply after obtaining a disability pension for total incapacity for work (Article 40 of the Labour Code), or if the employer is declared bankrupt or liquidated (Article 41(1) § 1 of the Labour Code). In a collective redundancy, the employer may only give such an employee notice changing the terms of work and pay (Article 5(5)(1) of the Act on collective redundancies).
• Other special protection. Similarly, a mutual agreement "bypasses" the ban on giving notice during sick leave, pregnancy or leave, because these bans concern unilateral statements by the employer. See sick leave (L4).
• Pressure, threat, mistake. The Civil Code (KC) provisions on defects in declarations of intent apply accordingly to a mutual agreement (Article 300 of the Labour Code). You can withdraw from the effects of your signature if you gave it under an unlawful threat, when you could have feared serious personal or financial danger (Article 87 KC), or under a material mistake caused by the employer (Articles 84 and 86 KC). You submit the withdrawal to the employer in writing (Article 88 § 1 KC). You have one year to do so: in the case of a threat from when the state of fear ended, in the case of a mistake from its discovery (Article 88 § 2 KC). A declaration made in a state that excludes a conscious or free decision is invalid (Article 82 KC). An unpleasant conversation or an announcement of a lawful notice of termination is usually not an "unlawful threat". This is an assessment that a guide cannot make for you.
• Deadline for court. The 21-day deadline under Article 264 of the Labour Code concerns appeals against a notice of termination, termination without notice and expiry of the contract. The provision does not mention a mutual agreement. If the dispute concerns whether the withdrawal from the agreement was effective, the route and deadline require individual assessment, so act quickly.
• Notice with an earlier date. If the employer has already given you notice, you can agree an earlier termination date. Such an arrangement does not change the mode: it is still a notice of termination given by the employer (Article 36 § 6 of the Labour Code). This is a different situation from signing a mutual agreement instead of a notice.

When to see a lawyer

Consult before you sign if you are in a protected period (pregnancy, pre-retirement age, sick leave, trade union activity), if severance pay or other benefits under the regulations or a collective agreement are at stake, and if you signed an agreement under pressure and want to withdraw from it. You can ask free of charge at the PIP advice service.

Example

Assumptions: an employee has worked for 5 years in a company employing 60 people. The company is abolishing his position and proposes a mutual agreement terminating the contract in 2 weeks. The draft agreement contains neither a reason nor severance pay.

The employee does not have to sign. He can propose changes: stating that the agreement was concluded on the employer's initiative because the position is being abolished, payment of severance pay equal to 2 months' pay (Article 8(1)(2) of the Act on collective redundancies) and settlement of leave. If the agreement was concluded because of a reduction in staff for reasons relating to the workplace, the Act on the labour market does not provide for a 90-day wait for benefit. Whether abolishing a single position falls within this exception is assessed by the labour office on the basis of documents, so a clear statement of the reason in the agreement and in the employment certificate matters. If the parties do not reach agreement, the employer may give notice with a 3-month period (employment of at least 3 years), and the employee may appeal against it.

Documents and deadlines

You can calculate the deadline to appeal against a notice of termination in the deadline calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Can the employer dismiss me if I do not sign the agreement?

It can give you notice, but it must comply with the provisions: state the reason, observe the notice period and respect special protection, e.g. Article 39 or 41 of the Labour Code. You appeal against a notice of termination to the labour court within 21 days.

Will I get unemployment benefit after a termination by mutual agreement?

Yes, if you meet the general conditions of Article 218 of the Act on the labour market (including at least 365 days of employment or other work with the appropriate contributions in the 18 months before registration). After a mutual agreement, however, benefit is payable only after 90 days from registration, unless the agreement was concluded because of a change of place of residence, bankruptcy, liquidation of the employer or a reduction in staff for reasons relating to the workplace.

I signed because I was told to sign immediately. Can I withdraw?

Surprise alone is usually not enough. You can withdraw from your signature if you acted under an unlawful threat or a material mistake. You submit the statement to the employer in writing. Gather evidence of the circumstances of signing and get advice, because the dispute is decided by the labour court.

Useful tools

• Appeal deadline calculator

Related guides

• Can an employer dismiss an employee during sick leave (L4)?
• Your employer has not issued your employment certificate. What next?
• Payment in lieu of unused leave: when you are entitled to it, how to calculate it and when it must be paid
• PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?
• How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 30, 32, 36, 39, 40, 41(1), 171, 264, 300)
• Kodeks cywilny, tekst ujednolicony ISAP (art. 82-88)
• Ustawa o szczególnych zasadach rozwiązywania z pracownikami stosunków pracy z przyczyn niedotyczących pracowników, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1195 (art. 1, 5, 8, 10)
• Ustawa z 20.03.2025 o rynku pracy i służbach zatrudnienia, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 620 (art. 218-220, 225)
• Metryka ELI ustawy o rynku pracy (wejście w życie, akty zmieniające)
• Rozporządzenie w sprawie świadectwa pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1016 (§ 2)
• Rozporządzenie RM w sprawie minimalnego wynagrodzenia na 2026 r., Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242

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

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.