Poland: Key Changes in Recognizing Civil Law Contracts and B2B Engagements in Length of Service

As of 1 January 2026, Articles 302¹ and 302² of the Labour Code of 26 June 1974 have come into force, introducing the inclusion of previously unrecognized periods of professional activity into an employee’s length of service.

The amendment aims to ensure equal access to certain employee rights and positions requiring verified professional experience. It is intended to eliminate inequalities in the treatment of employees based on the type of their prior professional activity.

From 1 January 2026, periods of work performed under civil law contracts, including mandate contracts, as well as periods of self-employment (B2B), will be counted towards length of service.

The new regulations apply from:

• 1 May 2026 in the private sector.
• 1 January 2026 in the public finance sector,

Table of contents:

• What do the changes in calculating length of service involve?
• Which periods will be included in length of service after the regulatory changes?
• How should length of service be documented?
• How to obtain a certificate of insurance for the purpose of including periods in length of service (USP)?
• Summary: key changes in calculating length of service

What Do the Changes in Calculating Length of Service Involve?

Under the new rules, length of service will include not only employment contracts but also other forms of professional activity. The total length of service has a direct impact on a number of employee entitlements.

Additional periods included in length of service will affect, among others:

• the amount of annual leave (easier and faster attainment of the 10-year threshold entitling employees to 26 days of leave),
• seniority allowances and long-service awards (particularly relevant in the public sector),
• notice periods (service with a given employer, including periods of B2B cooperation prior to employment, may impact the length of the notice period),
• access to a broader range of job opportunities (in cases where a specific length of service is required).

Which Periods Will Be Included in Length of Service After the Regulatory Changes?

Length of service will include periods during which the employee was covered by pension and disability insurance or paid contributions to these schemes, or to accident insurance.

Based on separate regulations, certain exceptions are also provided, allowing for the inclusion of periods of professional activity during which the employee was not subject to pension and disability insurance.

These include periods of work or activity that generally constitute a basis for social security coverage. As explained by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, this may include, for example, cases where an entrepreneur was not subject to mandatory social insurance due to the “start-up relief,” or where secondary school pupils or students under the age of 26 were not subject to social insurance while performing work under agency agreements, mandate contracts, or other service agreements governed by civil law provisions applicable to mandate contracts.

In cases where periods of professional activity overlap, for example, where multiple mandate contracts were performed simultaneously or where employment and civil law contracts coexisted, the period most beneficial to the employee will be counted towards length of service. Such periods will not be counted twice.

How to Document Length of Service?

The burden of proving periods included in length of service rests with the employee.

Under the new regulations, the employee has 24 months to provide their current employer with documents confirming additional periods to be included in length of service, such as those resulting from mandate contracts or self-employment.

This deadline is calculated from the date the regulations come into force, i.e. from 1 January 2026 in the public sector and from 1 May 2026 in the private sector.

The employer is required to update employee entitlements if they have documentation confirming additional periods of service—either provided by the employee or already held by the employer (for example, if the employee had previously worked for the same employer under a contract that now qualifies for inclusion). Otherwise, the employee is responsible for documenting their entitlements, and the employer is not obliged to reconstruct documentation.

The documents submitted may relate not only to periods after the new regulations come into force but also to earlier periods. The law does not impose specific time limits on how far back such periods may be recognized.

The employer determines the inclusion of periods based on the documents provided by the employee and may refuse to accept them if there are justified doubts as to their validity. Any disputes in this area are resolved by labour courts.

Additional periods may be included in length of service upon submission of documents such as:

Mandate Contract (Civil Law Contract)

• a certificate from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) confirming periods of coverage under pension and disability insurance related to the performance of the contract (the most reliable document),
• confirmation of contributions paid (e.g. IMIR reports), if the ZUS certificate is not available,
• a certificate from the contracting party (while not mandatory, the contracting party may issue a document confirming the duration of the mandate contract),
• the mandate contract together with invoices or settlement statements (to confirm the timeframe of cooperation).

The contract itself does not confirm that the work was performed for the entire period it was concluded for. Documents confirming the actual duration of the engagement may include copies of issued invoices or settlement statements, email records through which such documents were sent, and payment confirmations (bank transfer records)..

Business Activity (B2B)

• a certificate from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) confirming periods of payment of social security contributions related to non-agricultural business activity,
• an extract from the CEIDG (Central Register and Information on Economic Activity) confirming the dates of commencement, suspension, or termination of the business activity.

If an employee provides documents other than a ZUS certificate, they should attach a written statement describing the submitted documents and specifying the periods and types of employment they relate to.

How to Obtain a Certificate of Insurance for the Purpose of Including Periods in Length of Service (USP)?

Submitting the application

The USP application has been available since 1 January 2026 and must be submitted exclusively in electronic form via a dedicated form through a user account on the Electronic Services Platform (PUE/eZUS) of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

No additional documents should be attached to the application. ZUS issues certificates solely based on the data recorded in the insured person’s account.

The USP application allows the applicant to request certificates:

• covering all insurance titles listed in Article 302¹ of the Labour Code (for which certificates may be issued by ZUS) for the entire period of the applicant’s insured activity, by selecting a single option,
• covering a selected insurance title, with the possibility to indicate the specific period and contribution payer.

If the applicant has multiple insurance titles or, for example, performed mandate contracts across different periods and for multiple entities, they may submit a single application indicating the broadest possible scope of requested data.

If the certificate concerns periods before 1 January 1999, the US-7 form must still be used. These periods are not recorded in the individual insured account and therefore cannot be included in the USP application.

If the period of insurance spans both before and after 1 January 1999, two separate applications must be submitted:

• US-7 form for periods before 1 January 1999,
• USP form for periods from 1 January 1999 onwards.

ZUS response: certificate or refusal

Applicants will be notified about the status of their USP application via SMS, email, or a notification in the mZUS mobile application—depending on the communication preferences set in their account.

The response can be accessed by logging into the eZUS account in the “Documents and Messages” section.

Refusal to issue a certificate

If there is no record of insurance coverage in the applicant’s account, ZUS will issue a refusal. In such cases, the applicant should submit a request for clarification proceedings and provide supporting documents.

This can be done electronically (general letter to ZUS – POG), by post (to the nearest ZUS office), or in person at any ZUS branch.

Summary: Key Changes in Calculating Length of Service

The new system for calculating length of service introduces a significant shift in the approach to employee entitlements. It levels the playing field and accelerates the acquisition of rights for individuals who previously worked under mandate contracts or operated as self-employed (B2B).

From the employer’s perspective, this means the need to update HR systems, revise internal procedures, and recalculate employee entitlements accordingly.