Overtime Rights and Extra Pay in Poland 2026 — What You Are Owed | Liczbnik

In Poland, the standard overtime supplement is 50% of your normal hourly rate for overtime worked on weekdays (beyond 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week) and Saturdays. The enhanced 100% supplement applies to overtime worked on Sundays, public holidays and night shifts designated as Sunday or holiday work. In both cases, you receive your normal hourly rate PLUS the supplement — so weekday overtime pays 150% of your normal rate, and Sunday or holiday overtime pays 200% of your normal rate. These are minimum legal rates; your contract or collective agreement may provide more.

Within legal limits, yes. An employer can require overtime when there is a special need (szczegolne potrzeby pracodawcy), to rescue human life or property, or to address an emergency. However, overtime cannot exceed 150 hours per calendar year without the employee's agreement, and total weekly working time (regular + overtime) cannot exceed 48 hours averaged over the reference period. Certain groups are protected from compulsory overtime: pregnant women, employees caring for a child under 4 (without their consent), and employees with confirmed medical contraindications. Refusing unlawful overtime cannot be the basis for dismissal.

Yes, overtime can be compensated with time off in lieu (czas wolny) instead of a cash supplement. If the employee requests time off in lieu, they receive 1 hour off for every 1 hour of overtime — no additional cash supplement. If the employer grants time off without the employee's request (at the employer's initiative), the employee receives 1.5 hours off for every 1 hour of overtime, compensating for the lost supplement. The time off must be granted within the same or following reference period. Employees can always request cash payment if the employer has not yet granted compensatory time off.

The statutory limit is 150 hours of overtime per calendar year. Company internal regulations or collective agreements can raise this to a maximum of 416 hours per year, but only if this is explicitly provided for in the company's regulamin pracy (work regulations) or zbiorowy uklad pracy (collective labour agreement). Additionally, total working time including overtime cannot exceed an average of 48 hours per week over the applicable reference period. Working beyond the 150-hour limit without an expanded company regulation in place is a Labour Code violation.

Yes. If you are required to work on a Polish public holiday (swiety), you are entitled to a day off in lieu on another day within the settlement period, plus the 100% overtime supplement for each hour worked on the public holiday. If the employer cannot grant a day off in lieu within the reference period, they must pay you the equivalent of one day's salary as additional compensation, on top of the 100% supplement. There are 13 public holidays in Poland annually — working any of them triggers these protections.

To calculate your overtime hourly rate from your monthly gross salary, divide the monthly salary by the number of working hours in that month. The standard calculation uses the monthly working hours norm from the Labour Code — typically 160 hours in a standard 4-week month, but it varies by month due to public holidays and calendar differences. For example, if you earn 6 000 PLN gross per month and work 168 hours in a given month, your hourly rate is 6 000 / 168 = 35.71 PLN. A weekday overtime hour adds 50% supplement = 17.86 PLN extra = 53.57 PLN total for that overtime hour.

Employees working night hours (pora nocna — 8 consecutive hours between 21:00 and 07:00 as defined in the company's work regulations) receive a supplement of 20% of the hourly minimum wage for each hour worked during the night window. In 2026, with a minimum wage of 4 666 PLN/month and 160 standard monthly hours, the minimum hourly rate is 29.16 PLN, so the night supplement is approximately 5.83 PLN per night hour. This applies on top of regular pay and applies regardless of whether those hours are also overtime hours.

If your employer has not paid overtime supplements owed, start with a written demand (wezwanie do zaplaty) specifying the dates, hours and amounts owed. If this fails, you can file a complaint with the State Labour Inspectorate (Panstwowa Inspekcja Pracy — PIP), which has the power to order employers to pay. Alternatively, file a claim in the Labour Court (sad pracy) within 3 years of the unpaid overtime. The court process is free for employees claiming up to 50 000 PLN, and you do not need a lawyer. Keep records: timesheets, access logs, email timestamps — any evidence of actual working hours.

Employees designated as "managing employees" (pracownicy zarzadzajacy) — defined as those managing the workplace or a department on behalf of the employer — do not receive overtime supplements for excess daily hours. However, even these employees must receive compensation for work on Sundays and public holidays, and they are still protected by the 48-hour average weekly maximum. The "manager" label in a job title alone is not sufficient — the exemption applies only to employees genuinely exercising managerial authority over a team or facility.

Proving overtime in a Labour Court dispute requires evidence of the actual hours worked. Useful evidence includes: electronic access control logs (wejscia/wyjscia) showing building entry and exit times; email timestamps showing work activity outside contracted hours; project management tool logs (Jira, Asana, GitHub commits); phone records for calls made from a work device; witness testimony from colleagues; and written or electronic messages from your manager assigning work outside hours. Polish Labour Code places the burden of proof for working time records on the employer — employers are legally required to maintain working time records (ewidencja czasu pracy) and you can request a copy.