Disability and work in Poland: 7-hour day, 10 extra leave days
Short answer: With a significant or moderate certificate you work at most 7 hours a day and 35 a week, get 10 extra leave days after a year, and keep your monthly pay.
An employee in Poland who has a disability certificate gets extra rights at work on top of the normal Labour Code. Some depend only on having the certificate, others only on the significant or moderate degree. This guide follows the guidance of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) for employers on employing people with disabilities, read on 18 October 2026. The page carries no publication date, so check the current Act on vocational and social rehabilitation before you make a decision that costs money.
Equal treatment first
According to the PIP, people with a certificate are subject to the same rules on taking up work as everyone else, and an employer may not discriminate because of disability. Employees at the significant or moderate degree can work for an employer that does not offer protected-workplace conditions if the employer adapts the workplace or if the job is done remotely.
Shorter working time
* All employees with a certificate: no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. * Significant or moderate degree: no more than 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week. * The PIP says these norms are rigid. * The employer may set the schedule on any days within a five-day week, including weekends.
Employees with a certificate cannot be employed at night or in overtime, whatever the degree. The reduced norm and the ban do not apply to people employed as guards, or when the employee asks for it and the occupational doctor (or the treating doctor if there is none) agrees.
The right to the shorter norm starts on the day the employee shows the certificate to the employer.
Pay does not drop
The PIP states that a shorter norm cannot lower a fixed monthly salary. Its example: someone paid 4,000 zł a month on an 8-hour norm keeps 4,000 zł after moving to the 7-hour norm. Hourly base rates go up in the proportion between the old and new working time.
Extra leave
The additional leave is 10 working days a year for employees at the significant or moderate degree. According to the PIP, it does not apply to a person who already has more than 26 working days of leave or extra leave under other rules. The right is first earned after one year of work counted from the day of being classified to the significant or moderate degree. The year does not have to be with one employer, and periods of work are added together. Once earned, the right stays when the employee changes employer. A new right arises on 1 January of each year.
Extra break and time off
* An additional paid break of 15 minutes for exercise or rest, counted as working time, for every employee with a certificate. It comes on top of the normal 15-minute break for people working at least 6 hours a day. * Up to 21 working days of paid time off for a rehabilitation stay, not more than once a year, at the request of the treating doctor, for the significant or moderate degree. * Paid time off for specialist tests, treatment or orthopaedic equipment, if these cannot be done outside working hours.
The extra leave and the time off for a rehabilitation stay together cannot exceed 21 working days in a calendar year.
Foreign employees
The PIP page speaks about people with a certificate and does not address foreigners. The certificate is issued by a Polish county board on the basis of the place of residence, so the first step for a foreign worker is the certificate itself.
What to do in practice
Show the employer the certificate, in writing, and keep a copy. Ask in writing for the shorter norm and the extra break, and say which degree is on the certificate. If the employer refuses, you can ask the labour inspectorate (PIP) for free advice.
* Photos: Warsaw office buildings, Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
Frequently asked questions
How long is the working day with a moderate disability certificate?
At most 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week, according to the PIP. A salary fixed per month does not go down.
Can an employee with a certificate work overtime or at night?
Not as a rule. The ban does not apply to guards, or when the employee asks and the doctor agrees.
When do I get the 10 days of extra leave?
After one year of work counted from the day you were classified to the significant or moderate degree. Time with different employers counts together.
Does the extra break come from my normal break?
No. The 15-minute extra break is on top of the normal break, and it counts as working time.
