Length of service under the new rules: counting mandate contracts and B2B (from May 2026)
From 1 May 2026 the period of employment includes, among other things, running your own business with contributions paid and contracts of mandate under which the person was covered by insurance. These are confirmed by a ZUS certificate; current employees have 24 months to document them.
For decades Polish labour law had one certainty: only an employment contract counted towards length of service. Twenty years on a mandate contract or B2B, even with the same employer, gave “zero” length of service in negotiations on leave, severance pay or a long-service award. This is changed by the 2025 amendment to the Labour Code (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1423). For employers outside the public finance sector the rules apply from 1 May 2026.
The change is a response to a changing labour market. For people working on mandate contracts or B2B the new rules mean real benefits: longer leave, higher severance pay, access to long-service awards.
What “length of service” is: three different definitions
Before we go into the details of the changes, an important distinction: “length of service” in Polish law is several different concepts.
Pension record (contribution period)
It counts towards a pension from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). It covers all periods with pension contributions paid: an employment contract, a mandate contract with contributions, a sole trader business with contributions paid. It does not change from May 2026.
Company service (length of service with one employer)
It counts towards: a long-service award, a seniority allowance (in the public sector), and promotion “for years of service”. Until now, only an employment contract.
General service (length of service for the purposes of leave and other entitlements)
It counts towards: the number of days of annual leave (20 or 26), severance pay on dismissal, and the right to unemployment benefit. Until now: an employment contract + periods of receiving benefits + study at some schools.
The amendment concerns the period of employment on which employee entitlements depend (company service and general service), not the pension record. The new Article 30²¹ of the Labour Code adds, among other things, mandate contracts and running your own business to that period.
What changes from 1 May 2026
Under Article 30²¹ of the Labour Code the period of employment includes, among other things:
Mandate contracts
Periods of mandate contracts and agency contracts under which the person was covered by insurance. Documented periods of such contracts without insurance also count (Article 30²¹ § 3).
B2B (cooperation under a contract for services with a business entity)
Periods of running a sole trader business (JDG) for which pension and disability, or accident, insurance contributions were paid. So what counts is periods with contributions paid, not the number of invoices issued.
Contract for specific work
Until now, and still, it does not count towards length of service. A contract for specific work is a result-based civil-law contract and as a rule does not give a title to length of service.
Examples: who gains
A programmer with 15 years of B2B
Anna has worked for 15 years as a programmer on B2B for various companies. After 1 May 2026 she moves to an employment contract at a new company outside the public finance sector. Until now her years on B2B did not count towards length of service for leave (the period of study counted, among others). After the amendment:
- She will document 15 years of business with a ZUS certificate (periods with contributions paid)
- Length of service = 15 years
- The right to 26 days of leave (the 10-year threshold)
- Possible long-service awards (the 20-year anniversary of work in 5 years!)
A salesperson with an 8-year mandate contract
For 8 years Michael has worked on a mandate contract (full ZUS, 40 hours a week). Until now an employment contract at a new employer would have given 20 days of leave. After the change:
- Length of service = 8 years of mandate contracts + 0 of employment = 8 years
- Still 20 days of leave (the 26-day threshold is 10 years)
- In 2 years, a jump to 26 days
A freelance graphic designer
Tomek works on B2B, with projects in various companies and agencies. 12 years in business, but with breaks of 3–6 months between jobs.
- Periods of running the business with contributions paid count, not the number of jobs
- Periods for which contributions were not paid do not count
- How many years the employer recognises will be shown by the ZUS certificate
How to document your length of service: in practice
Periods of mandate contracts and of your own business are confirmed by a ZUS certificate (Article 30²¹ §§ 11–13 and Article 30²² of the Labour Code). You present the certificate to your employer.
Mandate contracts
- A ZUS certificate: confirms the periods in which you were covered by insurance
- A mandate contract without insurance: counts if the period is documented (Article 30²¹ § 3)
B2B
- A ZUS certificate: confirms the periods of running the business with pension and disability, or accident, insurance contributions paid
What this means for the employer
Costs
- Longer leave for employees with a history of mandate contracts or their own business (from 20 to 26 days when the total period of employment exceeds 10 years)
- Long-service awards in the public sector and in some industries with collective agreements
- Higher severance pay on dismissal, where its amount depends on length of service
Procedures
- The recruitment process: verifying the service history of new employees
- Documentation: ZUS certificates from employees must be kept in their files
- Leave settlement: an update in the HR and payroll system
Opportunities
- Employee retention: people with long service on mandate contracts gain the motivation to stay with an employment-contract employer (they do not lose their service)
- Attractiveness of the offer: employers who recognise service from B2B and mandate contracts have an advantage in recruiting IT and creative specialists
- Cleaner relations: fewer attempts to “hide” service in job advertisements
What this means for the employee
A person gains who
- Worked for many years on a mandate contract or B2B
- Is now (or in future) moving to an employment contract
- Has paid contributions for those periods and can confirm them with a ZUS certificate
A person does not gain who
- Worked only on an employment contract for the whole period (nothing changes for them)
- Works undeclared (no documentation = no service)
- Has only contracts for specific work (they remain outside the system)
Strategy
- Ask ZUS for a certificate of the periods of mandate contracts and business
- When changing jobs always present your full service history (the employer will not add it up themselves)
- For periods before 1 May 2026: remember the 24 months to document
- Entitlements from the added periods are due no earlier than from the day the rules start to apply
A practical example: calculating leave
Marta started in December 2025 in company X on an employment contract. Length of service under the old rules: 2 years from employment contracts with another employer. Leave: 20 days (< 10 years of service).
After 1 May 2026 Marta submits documentation:
- 5 years of B2B (from 2020 to 2025), confirmed by a ZUS certificate
- 2 years of previous employment contracts, confirmed by employment certificates
In total: 7 years of service. Still < 10 years, so 20 days of leave. But in 3 years (the full 10 years) she automatically jumps to 26 days.
Without the amendment Marta would have 26 days only after another 8 years of employment. The difference: 5 years saved in the progression of leave.
The amendment is long-awaited justice for Polish freelancers and the self-employed. Working on B2B for 10 years is work, and there is no reason for it not to count towards service like a “classic” employment-contract job. It is good that the legislator has finally noticed it.
Summary
Counting mandate contracts and B2B towards length of service from May 2026 is one of the most important changes in labour law in recent years. Employees with a history of self-employment gain longer leave, severance pay and long-service awards. Employers must update their recruitment procedures and HR systems. At Profais we help clients with HR and payroll, including determining employees’ entitlements arising from the new rules.
Sources: The 2025 Act amending the Labour Code (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1423), Labour Code Articles 30²¹ and 30²² and Article 154, pip.gov.pl, gov.pl/web/rodzina.