26 December 2026 falls on Saturday. If you have an employment contract and work Monday to Friday, with Saturday off under the average five-day working week, your employer should designate another day off. If that date falls within your planned annual leave, it does not use up your leave entitlement. The employer chooses the date within the working-time reference period.
1. Who is entitled to time off?
Art. 130 § 2 of the Labour Code reduces required working time by 8 hours for a public holiday falling on a day other than Sunday. For full-time employees working 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday, this means an additional day off. Legal basis: Labour Code, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245, as amended.
However, different schedules can produce different results. If you normally work Tuesday to Saturday, the holiday may simply free you from work on Saturday. For part-time work or an equivalent working-time system, required hours and working days must be calculated using the actual schedule; an extra 8 hours off should not automatically be added for everyone.
Nationality does not remove these rights. Foreign employees whose employment contracts are governed by the Polish Labour Code follow the same rules. A genuine contract of mandate does not automatically provide a statutory replacement day off for a public holiday — its contractual terms matter.
2. When will the employer designate the day?
The day off must fall within the same working-time reference period as 26 December. With a monthly period, this means December 2026; it cannot be moved to January 2027. For a longer period, its actual start and end dates determine the deadline. The day off can precede or follow the holiday. This follows in practice from art. 129 and art. 130 of the Labour Code.
You may suggest a date, but you cannot unilaterally decide to be absent. The employer can set one date for everyone or different dates for individual employees. Ask HR which reference period applies to you and where the day off was announced.
28 December 2026 has been designated a day off for members of the civil service corps. It is not automatically a day off for every company or every employee of a public office. Christmas Eve, 24 December, is already a separate statutory holiday; in a normal Monday-to-Friday schedule it does not replace the day off due for 26 December.
3. Should you cancel your leave request?
There is no need to cancel the entire leave period merely because one of its dates becomes a replacement day off. Under art. 154² § 1 of the Labour Code, annual leave is granted on scheduled working days. HR should adjust the leave calculation and hours balance accordingly; if the system requires an amendment, it concerns that day.
Example: you work 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday and have approved annual leave from 28 to 31 December 2026. Your company designates 28 December as the day off for the Saturday holiday. Your leave balance should be reduced by 24 hours for 29–31 December, rather than 32 hours for four days. The remaining 8 hours can be used on an agreed date — your leave does not extend automatically.
4. What about sickness or no day off?
Sick leave covering the designated day off does not entitle you to another replacement day. PIP distinguishes this from annual leave. The rule restoring annual-leave hours should not be applied to a day off during which you were ill.
Failure to provide time off when required may breach working-time rules. Art. 281 § 1 pkt 5 of the Labour Code provides for a fine of 2000 zł to 60 000 zł for this offence. This is a penalty for the offender, not money paid to the employee. Keep your schedule and the employer's announcement; if the calculation is incorrect, ask HR for a written explanation.
5. What does this mean for you?
Before planning a trip, establish your contract type, schedule, reference-period dates and the announced day off. Then compare your leave balance with the schedule. Booking a trip or suggesting a date does not itself authorise absence from work.
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Book a free consultationLegal notice: general information, not individual legal advice. Legal position as at 6 November 2026.
How this text was prepared: the COSC editorial assistant (AI) developed this guide from the supplied press article, legislation and official explanations. Legal sources were checked through ELI and PIP. Editorial responsibility: Dariusz Włodarczyk Kancelaria TRC.