A fixed-term employment contract is one of the basic forms of employment in Poland, characterised by the temporary nature of the employment relationship. Unlike open-ended contracts, fixed-term contracts have a clearly defined end date, which does not mean, however, that they cannot be terminated earlier. Terminating a fixed-term contract with notice is governed by legal rules which, after the changes of 2016 and 2023, are mostly the same as for open-ended contracts – the differences result mainly from the temporary nature of the contract. The employer's procedure is described step by step in our guide to terminating an employment contract.
Knowing the rules on terminating fixed-term contracts is essential for both employers and employees. Carrying out the termination process incorrectly may have serious financial and legal consequences. The changes introduced in 2023 are particularly important, as they obliged employers to state the reason in the written notice terminating a fixed-term contract.
As a rule, a fixed-term employment contract may not last longer than 33 months, and no more than three such contracts may be concluded within that period (Article 25¹ § 1 of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy); exceptions, such as replacement of an absent employee or seasonal work, are set out in § 4). These limits are intended to prevent employers from abusing this form of employment
Characteristics of a fixed-term employment contract
A fixed-term employment contract stands out above all because of its temporary nature. It is concluded for a specific period set in advance, after which it ends automatically without either party having to make any declaration. This feature fundamentally distinguishes it from an open-ended contract, which lasts until it is terminated with or without notice.
The legislator has introduced significant limits on concluding fixed-term contracts. The maximum duration of such a contract is 33 months, and no more than three contracts may be concluded with the same employer during this time. These limits are intended to prevent situations in which employers use fixed-term contracts to avoid the obligations arising from open-ended employment.
Exceeding the time or number limits automatically converts the fixed-term contract into an open-ended contract. This applies where the total duration of the contracts exceeds 33 months or where more than three contracts have been concluded with the same employer
Fixed-term contracts are often used when the employer has a temporary need for an employee, is carrying out a project with a set end date or wants to check an employee's skills before offering permanent employment. They can also be used to replace employees on long-term leave.
Ways of terminating a fixed-term contract
A fixed-term employment contract can be ended in several ways, each subject to separate legal rules. The most common way such a contract ends is its natural expiry at the end of the period for which it was concluded. In practice, however, there is often a need to end the employment relationship earlier.
The first way of terminating the contract is mutual agreement. In this case, both the employer and the employee agree to end the contract early. The Labour Code does not require an agreement to be in writing, but it is worth putting it in writing for evidence purposes. The agreement can set a specific termination date and any terms of termination, such as payment of severance pay or settlement of unused leave. We include pay in lieu of unused leave and any severance in the payroll – this is part of our HR and payroll services.
Termination by mutual agreement is often the most convenient way of ending an employment relationship, because it limits the risk of legal disputes and allows the terms of separation to be set flexibly. The parties can also agree that the employee will be released from the duty to work earlier
The second way is termination with notice by one of the parties. This form of termination requires compliance with specific time limits and procedures. The third way is termination without notice, which may take place due to the employee's fault (Article 52), because of the employee's long-term incapacity for work or absence (Article 53) or at the employee's initiative – where the employer has seriously breached its basic duties or the work is harmful to the employee's health (Article 55 of the Labour Code).
Notice periods for fixed-term contracts
Notice periods for a fixed-term employment contract are the same as those for open-ended contracts. The length of the notice period depends on the period of employment with the given employer and is intended to give both parties enough time to prepare for the end of the employment relationship. When it is the employee who gives notice, the employer must keep track of the deadline for issuing documents – we cover this in our article on resignation by the employee and the employment certificate.
The shortest notice period is 2 weeks and applies to employees employed by the given employer for less than 6 months. This period applies to relatively short employment, when the parties have not yet had time to build a long-term working relationship.
When determining the notice period, all periods of employment with the given employer are taken into account, regardless of the type of employment contracts concluded. From 2026 (for employers outside the public finance sector, from 1 May 2026), periods of a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) or of business activity during which the employee worked for that employer also count, if documented with a certificate from ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) (Article 302¹ § 8 of the Labour Code). The provision does not cover periods of a contract for specific work (umowa o dzieło)
A notice period of 1 month applies to employees employed by the given employer for at least 6 months. It gives both parties a reasonable amount of time to prepare for the change.
The longest notice period is 3 months and applies to employees employed by the given employer for at least 3 years. This period reflects the fact that long-serving employees need more time to find a new job, and the employer needs more time to find a suitable replacement.
| Period of employment | Notice period | Applies to | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 6 months | 2 weeks | New employees | Shortest period |
| At least 6 months | 1 month | Standard period | From 6 months to 3 years of service |
| At least 3 years | 3 months | Long-serving employees | Longest period |
The duty to justify termination
One of the most important features of terminating a fixed-term contract is the obligation to state the reason for doing so. This requirement applies only to the employer (Article 30 § 4 of the Labour Code) – an employee who terminates the contract does not have to give a reason. The obligation to justify termination is intended to ensure transparency of the process and protect against arbitrary decisions. The full procedure is discussed in our article on the rules for terminating a fixed-term contract.
Since 26 April 2023, the reason for terminating a fixed-term employment contract has to be stated in the notice of termination itself (Article 30 § 4), which should be in writing (Article 30 § 3). This means the employer cannot simply inform the employee orally of the reasons for termination.
The reason for termination is stated in the notice of termination itself, together with information on the right to appeal to the labour court (Article 30 § 4–5). The absence of a reason in the notice may be grounds for challenging it before the labour court
The reasons for termination must be real and justified. They can be organisational, economic, technological or related to the employee personally. The employer may not terminate a contract for discriminatory reasons or in order to circumvent labour law.
Examples of justified reasons for terminating a fixed-term contract:
- Reorganisation of the company's organisational structure
- Reduction of business activity for economic reasons
- Introduction of new technologies that eliminate the need for the position
- Failure by the employee to perform their duties
- Loss of qualifications necessary to do the job
- Completion of the project for which the employee was hired
Defective termination of a fixed-term contract
Defective termination of a fixed-term employment contract can occur for various reasons, such as a missing justification, an incorrect procedure, a breach of anti-discrimination rules or termination during a protected period. Since 22 February 2016, the consequences of defective termination have, as a rule, been the same as for open-ended contracts (Article 45 § 1 of the Labour Code), with differences resulting from the temporary nature of the contract.
The employee may demand that the notice be declared ineffective or, if the contract has already ended, reinstatement on the previous terms or compensation. The former Article 50 § 3 of the Labour Code, which provided only for compensation in the case of fixed-term contracts, was repealed with effect from 22 February 2016. Today, only compensation is available where the term for which the contract was to last expired before the judgment, or where reinstatement would be inadvisable because only a short time remains until that term expires (Article 45 § 2).
If the term of a fixed-term contract expired before the judgment or little time remains until it expires, the employee can only obtain compensation. Its amount is then limited to remuneration for the period until the contract was to last, but for no more than three months (Article 47¹)
In other cases, compensation ranges from 2 weeks' to 3 months' remuneration, and is not less than remuneration for the notice period – the same as for open-ended contracts. The maximum amount of compensation is therefore limited to three months' remuneration. This means that even if more than three months remained until the end of the contract, the employee will not receive compensation for a longer period.
An employee on a fixed-term contract until the end of December received notice in March without a reason being given. Instead of reinstatement, he claimed compensation. The labour court found the termination defective and awarded him compensation at the maximum amount of three months' remuneration, even though nine months remained until the end of the contract.
Special cases of protection on termination
As a rule, the labour court may refuse reinstatement if it considers it impossible or pointless, and award compensation instead (Article 45 § 2). The law provides exceptions to this rule. They concern specially protected groups of employees who enjoy stronger protection of their employment – among others, employees of pre-retirement age (Article 39) and pregnant employees (Article 177); for them, the court cannot replace reinstatement with compensation on the grounds that reinstatement would be pointless (Article 45 § 3).
The first group is employees during pregnancy and maternity leave. Terminating with notice the fixed-term contract of an employee who is pregnant or on maternity leave is, as a rule, prohibited (Article 177 § 1), and a breach of this prohibition may be grounds for a claim for reinstatement. In addition, a fixed-term contract that would end after the third month of pregnancy is extended until the day of birth (Article 177 § 3, except for a contract concluded to replace an absent employee). This protection stems from constitutional and international standards on the protection of motherhood.
The protection of employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave also covers employees on paternity leave and parental leave (urlop rodzicielski) – from the day the leave application is submitted. The employer may terminate the contract of such a person with notice only if the employer is declared bankrupt or liquidated (Article 177 § 4)
The second protected group is employees protected under the Trade Unions Act. This mainly concerns trade union activists indicated by a resolution of the board of the company trade union, whose contracts the employer may not terminate without the consent of that board (Article 32(1) of the Trade Unions Act, consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2026, item 549).
The procedure for reinstatement after defective termination of the fixed-term contract of a protected employee:
- Filing an appeal with the labour court within 21 days of the notice being delivered (Article 264 § 1)
- Proving that the termination was defective or unjustified
- Showing that the employee belonged to a specially protected group
- A court ruling on reinstatement; after returning to work, a specially protected employee is entitled to remuneration for the entire period of unemployment (Article 47)
- Enforcement of the judgment by the employer or payment of compensation if reinstatement is impossible
Procedure for terminating a fixed-term contract
Carrying out the procedure for terminating a fixed-term contract correctly requires the steps to be taken in a specific order and the formal requirements to be met. Procedural errors may lead to the termination being found defective and to compensation having to be paid.
The first step is preparing a written notice of termination. The notice must contain all the required elements, such as the details of the parties, the contract number, the date of the notice, the notice period, the justification and information on the right to appeal to the labour court (Article 30 § 4–5). If the employee is represented by a company trade union, the employer first notifies the union of the intention to terminate and the reason, and the union may raise objections within 5 days (Article 38 – since 26 April 2023 also for fixed-term contracts). Particular attention should be paid to the accuracy of personal details and consistency with the employment contract.
The notice of termination should be drawn up in writing and signed by a person authorised to represent the employer. Oral notice or notice signed by an unauthorised person breaches the rules, and the employee can successfully challenge it before the labour court
The second step is preparing a written justification for the termination, which is included in the notice itself. Since 2023 this has been an absolute obligation, and the absence of a justification makes the termination defective. The justification should be specific, factual and refer to the actual reasons for the decision to terminate.
Further stages of the termination procedure:
- Drawing up the notice of termination with all the required details
- Preparing the written justification for the termination
- Delivering the notice to the employee in a way that allows receipt to be confirmed
- Including the justification in the notice itself – not as a separate, later letter
- Calculating the notice period – a period counted in weeks ends on a Saturday, and one counted in months on the last day of the month (Article 30 § 2¹)
- Preparing the documents related to the end of the employment relationship
Differences between terminating fixed-term and open-ended contracts
The procedures for terminating fixed-term and open-ended contracts are almost the same today, and the former significant differences have largely disappeared. Knowing these changes is essential for carrying out the termination process correctly.
The first former difference was the obligation to justify termination. For open-ended contracts, the employer has had to state the reason for termination for many years, while for fixed-term contracts this obligation has applied since 26 April 2023. Today, in both cases it follows from the same provision (Article 30 § 4 of the Labour Code).
The reason for terminating a fixed-term contract is assessed in the same way as for an open-ended contract: it must be real and specific, and the employee can have it reviewed by the labour court
The second difference – now only partial – is the consequences of defective termination. In both cases, the employee may demand that the notice be declared ineffective, reinstatement or compensation (Article 45 § 1) and, after reinstatement, remuneration for the period of unemployment, as a rule for no more than 2 months, or 1 month where the notice period was three months (Article 47). For a fixed-term contract whose term expired before the judgment, or which had only a short time left to run, the claim is limited to compensation for a maximum of three months (Article 45 § 2, Article 47¹).
Comparison of terminating fixed-term and open-ended contracts:
- Obligation to justify: fixed-term – required since 26 April 2023, open-ended – required
- Form of justification: in both cases – in the written notice of termination
- Claims in the event of defective termination: in both cases – ineffectiveness, reinstatement or compensation; fixed-term – only compensation after the contract term has expired or when little time remains until it expires
- Maximum compensation: in both cases – from 2 weeks' to 3 months' remuneration; fixed-term after the term has expired – for the period until the end of the contract, at most three months
- Notice periods: the same in both cases
- Delivery procedure: the same in both cases
Documenting the termination process
Proper documentation of the termination of a fixed-term contract is crucial for protecting the employer against possible claims by the employee. All documents related to the termination should be drawn up in accordance with legal requirements and kept in the personnel records.
The basic document is the notice of termination of the contract. It should contain the employee's full identification details, the number and date of the contract being terminated, the date of the notice, the last day of work and the signature of a person authorised to represent the employer.
The notice of termination should be drawn up in at least two copies – one for the employee and one for the employer's records. It is also advisable to prepare a third copy with the employee's acknowledgement of receipt
The second essential element is the written justification for the termination. It must be included in the notice of termination itself (Article 30 § 4) – a later, separate letter cannot replace stating the reason in the notice. The justification should be specific, factual and refer to the actual reasons for the decision.
Documents accompanying the termination process:
- The notice of termination with all the required details
- The written justification for the termination (in the notice itself)
- Confirmation that the notice was delivered to the employee
- A copy of the employment contract being terminated
- Documentation supporting the reasons for termination (for example, reports, internal notes)
- Calculation of the amounts due to the employee on the date the contract ends
Practical aspects of ending the contract
Ending a fixed-term employment contract involves a number of administrative and settlement tasks. The employer must ensure that the employee is settled correctly and that all documents required by law are prepared.
One of the most important documents is the employment certificate (świadectwo pracy), which the employer must issue to the employee on the day the employment relationship ends, unless it intends to employ them again within 7 days (Article 97 § 1 of the Labour Code). The certificate must contain information on the period of employment, the type of work performed, the position held and the method of termination.
The employment certificate must state the correct legal basis for termination. In the case of termination of a fixed-term contract with notice, this will be the relevant article of the Labour Code on termination with notice, not the provisions on the contract ending on expiry of its term
The employer must also carry out the financial settlement with the employee. This includes paying remuneration for the period worked, cash in lieu of unused annual leave, any bonuses and allowances, and other amounts due under the employment contract or the work regulations.
An employee on a fixed-term contract received notice with a one-month notice period. The employer had to pay him remuneration for the notice period, cash in lieu of 10 days of unused leave and – in line with the remuneration regulations – a pro rata quarterly bonus for the period worked.
Settling up with the employee also includes social insurance matters. The employer must submit the relevant documents to ZUS, including the deregistration from insurance (ZUS ZWUA form) within 7 days of the end of employment (Article 36(11) of the Social Insurance System Act) and the settlement of contributions for the last month of employment.
