A jubilee award (nagroda jubileuszowa) is a significant cash benefit paid to employees once they reach a certain length of service. Contrary to popular belief, not every employee is entitled to it, because the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy) does not regulate this matter directly. The right to a jubilee award arises from separate legal provisions covering specific professional groups, or from the employer's internal regulations. The award should not be confused with severance pay – our article on severance pay and its amount explains when that is due.
The system of jubilee awards in Poland varies considerably depending on the sector of employment. Different professional groups are subject to different legal rules, which means different award amounts and different periods of service that give the right to them. For many employees the jubilee award remains unclear, especially when it comes to calculating length of service and payment dates.
The Labour Code does not require jubilee awards to be paid to all employees. The right to this award arises from separate provisions governing the status of particular professional groups, or from a collective labour agreement or the employer's regulations. This means that most private-sector employees have no automatic right to a jubilee award unless the employer provides for such a benefit in its internal regulations
Legal basis for the jubilee award
The rules on jubilee awards are found in various legal acts that set out the rules and procedure for paying them to specific professional groups. The most important acts governing this matter are the Teachers' Charter (Karta Nauczyciela, Article 47), the Civil Service Act (Article 91), the Act on Local Government Employees (Article 38 section 2) and – for officers of the Customs and Tax Service – the Act on KAS (National Revenue Administration) (Article 241).
Each of these acts sets out the rules for granting the jubilee award, including the amounts and the periods of service that give the right to it, while the details (establishing length of service, the basis, payment) are governed by implementing regulations. In addition, under a pay regulation, employees of cultural institutions, including public libraries, are also entitled to a jubilee award.
Employees of cultural institutions are entitled to a jubilee award under the Regulation of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of 22 October 2015 on the remuneration of employees of cultural institutions (Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2015 item 1798). Such provisions may set different award amounts and different periods of service than those in the main acts governing other professional groups
For other professional groups not covered by the above rules, employers can set their own provisions on jubilee awards. Such provisions should be included in the company's internal rules, such as the remuneration regulations, the employment contract or a collective labour agreement.
Calculating length of service for the jubilee award
The length of service that gives the right to a jubilee award includes (for example in the civil service – Article 91 section 2 of the Civil Service Act) the current employment, all previous completed periods of employment and other periods which, under the law, count towards the period of work on which employee entitlements depend. Calculating length of service correctly is crucial for establishing the right to a jubilee award.
The following periods count towards the length of service for the jubilee award:
- all completed periods of employment under an employment relationship
- running an individual farm or working on such a farm
- receiving unemployment benefit
- being on parental leave (urlop wychowawczy) (Article 186⁵ of the Labour Code)
- from 2026 – periods of running a business, performing a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) or an agency contract and other periods listed in Article 302¹ of the Labour Code
From 1 January 2026 (at employers in the public finance sector) and from 1 May 2026 (at other employers), the period of employment on which employee entitlements depend also includes, among others, periods of running a business for which pension, disability or accident insurance contributions were paid, and periods of performing a contract of mandate during which the employee was covered by pension and disability insurance (Article 302¹ of the Labour Code, Act of 26 September 2025, Dz.U. 2025 item 1423). These periods are confirmed by a certificate from ZUS (Social Insurance Institution), and an employee employed on the date the provisions came into force has 24 months to document them. Entitlements resulting from counting these periods apply no earlier than from the dates indicated (Article 6 of that Act). It is disputed whether an award is due where, after counting these periods, the right to it "would have arisen" before those dates – the District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) in Łomża, in a judgment of 8 May 2026 (IV P 31/26), awarded such a jubilee award to a local government employee, but this is a single first-instance judgment, not an established line of case law
It is particularly important that, under the rules on jubilee awards in the public sector, all periods of employment count towards length of service regardless of where they were completed. This means that employees can add up periods of employment with different employers, which often has a significant impact on the final length of service giving the right to a jubilee award.
Documenting length of service
According to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 4 June 2008 (II PK 292/07), a jubilee award is due on account of the length of service objectively achieved. This means that its payment should not depend on having a specific document confirming that period, such as an employment certificate (świadectwo pracy).
Despite this position of the court, the employment certificate remains the main means of documenting periods of employment. It contains data that affect whether a period of employment is recognised for the purposes of the jubilee award. In practice, employers often require the relevant documents confirming length of service to be presented. Length of service also includes, among other things, unpaid leave granted to work for another employer – we cover this under working during unpaid leave.
The lack of an employment certificate cannot be a reason to refuse to pay a jubilee award if the employee can prove their length of service in another way. The employer should accept other documents confirming periods of employment, such as certificates from ZUS, employment contracts or other official documents
The employee is obliged to provide documents confirming their length of service with other employers. Once these documents are provided, the employer needs time to calculate the award correctly, which may affect the payment date.
Jubilee award payment dates
A jubilee award is paid once the employee reaches the required length of service. This is usually the day on which the employee acquires the right to it. Implementing regulations state that the right to the award is acquired on the day the qualifying period expires (for example § 8 section 1 of the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 25 October 2021 on the remuneration of local government employees, Dz.U. 2024 item 1638), and in practice this is taken to be the day immediately preceding the day which by name or date corresponds to the day on which the employee started work.
The practice of paying jubilee awards does, however, take into account the need to calculate the amount correctly once the employee has provided the documents confirming their length of service. The rules for local government employees state that the award is paid promptly after the right to it is acquired (§ 8 section 4 of that regulation); at private employers the payment date is set by the regulations or a collective labour agreement.
The payment date of a jubilee award may be postponed if the documents confirming length of service need to be verified. The employer has the right to check the documents provided and to calculate the amount of the award correctly before paying it
Rules for calculating the amount of the jubilee award
For local government employees, the basis for calculating the jubilee award is the pay due on the day the right to the award is acquired. However, if the award is paid later and would be higher if calculated on a higher salary, it is calculated on that higher pay (§ 8 section 5 of the regulation on the remuneration of local government employees). The award is therefore based on the employee's own pay, not on the average salary in the economy.
Special rules apply when working hours change. If working hours change, the basis for calculating the award is the pay due on the day the right to it was acquired (§ 8 section 6 of that regulation). If the right to the award arose before the change in working hours and the award is to be paid while the employee is working under the new arrangement, the basis for calculating the award is the pay before the change in working hours.
- Establish the date on which the right to the jubilee award was acquired
- Determine the amount of pay on the day the right was acquired
- Check whether pay changed before the award was paid
- Choose the higher pay as the basis for calculating the award
- Apply the relevant multiplier under the applicable rules
- Calculate the final amount of the jubilee award
If pay increases between the day the right to the jubilee award is acquired and the day it is paid, the higher pay will be the basis for calculating the award (provided working hours have not changed in the meantime). This rule is intended to give the employee a more favourable settlement of the jubilee award
Jubilee award amounts in different professional groups
Jubilee award amounts differ considerably between professional groups. For civil service employees the following system applies (Article 91 section 1 of the Civil Service Act; Article 38 section 2 of the Act on Local Government Employees provides for the same amounts):
| Length of service | Civil service award |
|---|---|
| 20 years | 75% of monthly pay |
| 25 years | 100% of monthly pay |
| 30 years | 150% of monthly pay |
| 35 years | 200% of monthly pay |
| 40 years | 300% of monthly pay |
| 45 years | 400% of monthly pay |
For comparison, teachers receive jubilee awards under Article 47 section 1 of the Teachers' Charter – from 1 January 2026 in the following amounts:
| Length of service | Award for teachers |
|---|---|
| 20 years | 75% of monthly pay |
| 25 years | 100% of monthly pay |
| 30 years | 150% of monthly pay |
| 35 years | 200% of monthly pay |
| 40 years | 300% of monthly pay |
Differences in jubilee award amounts between professional groups result from separate legal rules. Until 31 December 2025, teachers received a lower award for 40 years of service than civil service employees (250% instead of 300% of monthly pay) and had no award for 45 years. From 1 January 2026, they are entitled to 300% for 40 years and 400% of monthly pay for 45 years (Act of 25 July 2025 amending the Teachers' Charter and certain other acts, Dz.U. 2025 item 1160)
Tax and social security aspects of jubilee awards
Jubilee awards are subject to special tax and social security rules. They are exempt from social insurance contributions provided they are due no more often than every 5 years (§ 2 section 1 point 1 of the Regulation on the detailed rules for determining the basis for pension and disability insurance contributions, Dz.U. 2025 item 316). This rule is important for employers when accounting for the costs of paying jubilee awards.
The exemption from ZUS contributions applies only to jubilee awards paid under the law or internal regulations that provide for them to be granted no more often than every 5 years. This means that employers do not charge social insurance contributions on jubilee awards if they meet these conditions. We settle jubilee awards and the contributions on pay as part of our HR and payroll services.
The exemption of jubilee awards from ZUS contributions applies only if they are paid no more often than every 5 years. If the employer's internal regulations provide for jubilee awards more often, for example every 3 years, they will be subject to social insurance contributions
Practical aspects of introducing a jubilee award system
Employers that are not legally required to pay jubilee awards can introduce their own system of such awards. This, however, requires appropriate provisions in the company's internal rules.
The documents most often used to regulate jubilee awards are:
- the remuneration regulations
- the employment contract
- a collective labour agreement
- the work regulations
- separate jubilee award regulations
A manufacturing company with 200 employees decided to introduce a jubilee award system for all its staff. In its remuneration regulations it provided that jubilee awards would be paid for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of work at 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150%, 175% and 200% of monthly pay respectively. As a result, all the awards meet the conditions for exemption from ZUS contributions, because they are paid no more often than every 5 years.
Administrative procedures for jubilee awards
Paying a jubilee award requires certain administrative procedures. The first step is for the employee or the HR department to establish the date on which the right to the award was acquired, based on the personnel records and the documents the employee has provided to confirm their length of service.
Next, the amount of the award must be calculated in line with the applicable law or internal regulations. The calculation should take into account all pay components that, under the rules, form the basis for calculating the jubilee award.
The next stage is preparing the documentation for paying the award, including the relevant tax and social security settlements. The jubilee award should be properly classified in the accounting records and in the settlements with the tax office (urząd skarbowy) and ZUS.
The documentation for paying a jubilee award should contain everything that confirms the employee's right to the award and that it was calculated correctly. This includes copies of the documents confirming length of service, the calculation of the award and the settlement documents with the authorities
Resolving disputes over jubilee awards
In disputes over the right to a jubilee award or its amount, the employee can use various forms of legal protection. The first step should be a written request to the employer to pay the award, together with the documents confirming length of service.
If the employer refuses to pay the award or disputes its amount, the employee can take the case to a labour court. Labour courts resolve disputes over jubilee awards on the basis of the applicable law and the employer's internal regulations.
In court proceedings, proving the length of service that gives the right to the jubilee award is crucial. The employee should present all available documents confirming periods of employment, including employment certificates, certificates from ZUS, employment contracts or other official documents.
