The eight-hour working day has been in place for over a hundred years. Governments and employers around the world are increasingly asking whether this model still reflects the realities of modern work. Poland has joined this conversation in a very concrete way: since 1 January 2026, nearly eighty companies and institutions have been testing various reduced working hours models as part of a government pilot programme.
We are halfway through the programme, a good moment to start examining the results.
Table of contents:
- Where did the pilot come from?
- The pilot in numbers
- How does the pilot work in practice?
- Early findings: what can we say about the programme so far?
- The employer’s perspective: what to watch out for?
- Reduced working hours and HR & payroll outsourcing
Where did the pilot come from?
The initiative came from the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk explained the rationale behind the programme as early as September 2025:
The eight-hour working day has been with us for 107 years. It is time to move forward. An increasing number of workers are older. More and more women want to combine professional and family life. Shorter working hours will be a significant support for them. There is no single correct model for reducing working time, solutions must be tailored to specific industries.
The programme was inspired by encouraging results from other countries. Earlier pilots in Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Finland yielded a range of positive outcomes, including higher productivity, lower absenteeism, and improved employee retention. The government wanted to find out whether similar results were achievable in the Polish context.
The pilot in numbers
A total of 1,994 companies and institutions applied to participate. A selection committee identified 90 eligible entities; ultimately, agreements were signed with 81 employers, as the remaining nine were ruled out due to formal or legal issues or exceeding the de minimis aid threshold.
The programme covers more than 5,000 employees in total. The average subsidy awarded was over PLN 500,000 per organisation, with a maximum of PLN 1 million per project (and no more than PLN 20,000 per employee). The programme is financed from the Labour Fund reserve, with a budget of PLN 50 million for the period 2025–2027.
Participants are almost evenly split between public and private entities: half are municipalities, cities, counties, and their subordinate units and municipal companies, including district offices, social welfare centres, and cultural institutions. The other half comprises private companies from the services, IT, finance, and accounting sectors, as well as non-governmental organisations.
How does the pilot work in practice?
The programme is divided into three stages:
- by 31 December 2025: preparation for implementation — updating internal regulations, schedules, and tools,
- 1 January – 31 December 2026: the core testing phase,
- by 15 May 2027: submission of the final report and quarterly surveys.
The pilot operates on a two-step mechanism: from January to June 2026, employers reduce working time by 10% (to approximately 36 hours per week); from July to December, the reduction increases to 20% (to approximately 32 hours per week).
The form of reduction is not prescribed. Employers may choose the model that best suits their organisation, in agreement with employees or trade unions. Models currently in use include:
- a shorter working day (6–7 hours instead of 8),
- a four-day working week (with the same number of hours maintained, or an actual reduction),
- a rotational model, in which different employees have different days off,
- additional days off accounted for over a longer settlement period.
Employer obligations throughout the pilot:
- at least 50% of employees must be covered by the programme,
- headcount must be maintained at no less than 90% of the initial level,
- employee remuneration must be maintained at least at the level in place on the start date of the pilot,
- working and pay conditions must not be deteriorated.
Early findings: what can we say about the programme so far?
Halfway through the programme, the first participant assessments have emerged. The conclusions are cautiously optimistic: companies, offices, and institutions report higher employee satisfaction, a better work-life balance, and, at least in some cases, a reduction in sick leave.
What has been observed so far?
From the employee side: Employees are making active use of additional days off, often combining them with annual leave to extend weekends; organisations report more time for rest and recovery. There are signals of a decline in sick leave and greater focus on task completion.
From the employer side: Scheduling requires greater effort and flexibility, particularly when it comes to ensuring cover and continuity. At the same time, this is generating a positive effect: knowledge about clients and processes is no longer held by a single person but shared across the team.
Where it is more challenging: Reduced working hours are proving particularly difficult for cultural institutions, public administration, and organisations operating on a continuous basis. Where the scope of responsibilities has remained unchanged but available time has decreased, employees report a faster pace and greater pressure. Implementation also requires updates to internal regulations, legal interpretation, new digital tools, and management training.
In summary: after six months, there is no clear-cut answer yet. But the pilot is delivering exactly what is needed, hard data from Polish organisations, not theory.
The employer’s perspective: what to watch out for?
For companies that are not participating in the pilot but wish to stay informed, we recommend monitoring the following areas:
Documentation and internal regulations. Pilot participants were required to update their work regulations, schedules, and internal procedures. Any company considering a reduction in working hours — even outside the programme — should understand how to do so in compliance with the Labour Code and what provisions are required in agreements with trade unions or employee representatives.
HR and payroll systems. A change in working time affects time recording, overtime calculations, equivalent payments, and remuneration. Introducing a new model without an appropriate HR system creates a real risk of payroll errors.
Labour costs. Maintaining remuneration while reducing hours means a higher unit cost of labour. Pilot participants receive a subsidy to offset this; those outside the programme must assess the financial viability independently.
Retention and employer branding. Companies that are already experimenting with reduced or flexible working models are strengthening their position as employers of choice. In a tight labour market, this is a tangible competitive advantage.
Reduced working hours and HR & payroll outsourcing
Changes to working time arrangements — whether arising from the pilot or from an employer’s own decision — have a direct impact on HR and payroll processes. Payroll calculation, working time recording, updating contracts and internal regulations, handling leave requests under a new hours regime — all of this falls on the HR department or an external provider.
At BPiON, we provide HR and payroll services to clients across Poland and the CEE region. Changes such as modifications to working time or updates to internal regulations are a standard part of our scope: we respond to them as an operational partner, not as a provider that waits for completed documents to arrive.
If you are considering introducing flexible or reduced working hours in your organisation and would like to understand the HR and legal implications, we are happy to talk.
