The working time of managerial staff is one of the most complex areas of labour law and is often misinterpreted by employers. The differences between the rules for managers and for other employees are significant and have far-reaching legal and practical consequences. The Labour Code (Kodeks pracy) introduces special arrangements for people in managerial roles that depart from the standard working time rules. How long to keep such employees' files is covered in our article on archiving employee records.
This issue is becoming particularly important as demands on managers grow and business processes intensify. Employers often wrongly assume that anyone whose job title suggests a managerial role is automatically covered by the special working time rules. Such an interpretation can lead to serious breaches of labour law and the related financial consequences.
Wrongly classifying an employee as a manager may mean having to pay outstanding overtime pay and supplements for work on days off. The employer bears full responsibility for applying the working time rules correctly to different categories of employees
Understanding the working time rules for managers properly requires a detailed analysis not only of the letter of the law, but also of case law and the practice of applying these rules. It is crucial to distinguish between the different categories of managers and to understand the specific nature of their duties and powers regarding the organisation of working time.
Definition and scope of managerial staff
The Labour Code distinguishes two basic categories of employees who are subject to special working time rules. The first group consists of employees managing the workplace on behalf of the employer, which includes the person managing the workplace single-handedly (for example a director), their deputies, members of the collective body managing the workplace and the chief accountant (Article 128 § 2 point 2 of the Labour Code). This category enjoys the broadest exceptions from the standard working time and rest rules. We explain how to confirm staff attendance at the company in our guide to keeping an attendance list correctly.
The second group consists of heads of separate organisational units (in the Labour Code: heads of separate organisational cells), who manage the teams of employees reporting to them. This category is subject to less liberal rules than the first group, but still benefits from certain exceptions to the general working time rules. This distinction is fundamental to applying the rules in practice.
In its judgment of 13 January 2005 (II PK 114/04), the Supreme Court held that the provision on managers working outside normal hours without additional pay (then Article 135, now Article 151⁴ of the Labour Code) does not cover heads whose duties are not limited to organising, checking and supervising the work of their unit but consist of doing the same work as their subordinates. Classification as a manager therefore cannot be based solely on the job title – what matters is the function the employee actually performs, the essential element of which must be managing people
The key element of the definition of a head of a separate organisational unit is actually managing a team of people. Formally entrusting managerial duties or giving the job an appropriate title is not enough. The employee must actually supervise other employees, make decisions on how their work is organised and be responsible for the team's results.
Problems arise particularly with people whose job titles suggest a managerial role but who have no actual managerial powers. Examples include project managers, sales managers or heads of one-person departments, who despite their job titles do not manage teams of employees. In its judgment of 4 June 2008 (II PK 326/07), the Supreme Court held that the head of a one-person marketing department with no subordinates held a specialist and independent position, but not a managerial one within the meaning of Article 151⁴ of the Labour Code.
| Manager category | Scope of powers | Working time limits | Right to overtime pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director and deputy | Managing the whole workplace | Working time norms; no 48-hour limit and no 11-hour daily rest | No right |
| Chief accountant | Managing finances | Working time norms; no 48-hour limit and no 11-hour daily rest | No right |
| Head of unit | Managing a team | Standard norms | Only on Sundays/public holidays |
| Ordinary employee | Performing tasks | Full limits | Full right |
Classifying an employee correctly requires a detailed analysis of their actual duties and powers. The employer should document the manager's scope of responsibility, the organisational structure of the area reporting to them and the way they perform their supervisory functions.
Daily and weekly rest for managers
The standard provisions of the Labour Code require the employer to give every employee 11 hours of uninterrupted daily rest and at least 35 hours of weekly rest. These fundamental rules are intended to protect employees' health and safety and give them enough time to recover.
However, for employees managing the workplace on behalf of the employer these rules are relaxed. The 11-hour daily rest does not apply to them (Article 132 § 2 point 1 of the Labour Code), nor does the limit of an average of 48 hours of work per week including overtime (Article 131 § 2), and their weekly rest may be shorter than 35 hours, but not shorter than 24 hours (Article 133 § 2). In return, they are entitled to an equivalent rest period within the settlement period (Article 132 § 3). The director, their deputy and the chief accountant can therefore work without observing the standard rest rules, which results from the special nature of their duties of ensuring that the whole business runs properly.
The absence of an obligation to provide 11-hour daily rest and the possibility of shortening weekly rest to 24 hours apply – apart from rescue operations and repairing breakdowns – only to employees managing the workplace on behalf of the employer. Heads of separate organisational units remain subject to the standard rest rules, except in emergencies
Heads of separate organisational units remain protected by the standard rest rules. The employer must give them 11-hour daily rest and 35-hour weekly rest. The only exceptions are exceptional, emergency situations – the need to carry out a rescue operation to protect human life or health, property or the environment, or to repair a breakdown (Article 132 § 2 point 2 of the Labour Code) – which are incidental and cannot become the rule.
If the rest of heads of organisational units is shortened in such emergencies, the employer must provide an equivalent rest period. This means that the shortened rest must be made up within the same settlement period (Article 132 § 3 of the Labour Code), and the weekly rest cannot then be shorter than 24 hours (Article 133 § 2).
Particular attention should be paid to the definition of a settlement week under the Labour Code. It does not coincide with the calendar week from Monday to Sunday but means 7 consecutive calendar days starting from the first day of the settlement period (Article 128 § 3 point 2 of the Labour Code). This difference is crucial for calculating weekly rest correctly.
Consider a practical example of a breach of the rest rules:
The head of the marketing department was preparing an advertising campaign and worked for 6 consecutive days from Tuesday to Sunday, finishing work at 16:00 on Sunday. The settlement period started on a Tuesday. He then had Monday and Tuesday off. Despite this seemingly logical arrangement, the rules on 35-hour weekly rest were breached because of the way the Labour Code counts the week.
Analysing this case shows how complex the rest rules are. A settlement week starting on Tuesday (Tuesday–Monday) means that in that week the employee had only 32 hours of rest (from 16:00 on Sunday to the end of Monday) instead of the required 35 hours, because Tuesday already belonged to the next settlement week.
Employers must plan the working time of heads of organisational units particularly carefully, taking into account the way the working week is counted. If rest was shortened because of a rescue operation or the repair of a breakdown, the employee is entitled to an equivalent rest period within the settlement period (Article 132 § 3 of the Labour Code); in other cases shortening rest is a breach of the working time rules
Overtime and pay for managers
The rules on overtime for managers are among the most controversial aspects of labour law. Article 151⁴ § 1 and § 2 of the Labour Code clearly state that employees managing the workplace on behalf of the employer and heads of separate organisational cells work outside normal working hours when necessary without the right to pay and a supplement for overtime. We can keep working time records and payroll for your staff as part of our HR and payroll service.
This rule means that managers cannot claim standard overtime pay or the supplements of 50% or 100% of pay to which ordinary employees are entitled. The legislator assumes that managers receive pay that reflects the specific nature of their duties, including the need to work outside standard hours.
However, the rules provide an important exception for heads of separate organisational units working on Sundays and public holidays. In these special circumstances, heads are entitled to pay and an overtime supplement at the rate set out in Article 151¹ § 1 – for overtime on Sundays and public holidays that are not working days for the employee this is 100% – if they did not receive another day off in return for work on such a day.
Heads of separate organisational units are entitled to compensation for work on Sundays and public holidays in the form of time off or pay with a 100% supplement. This is the only situation in which they are entitled to overtime pay under the Labour Code
Defining the necessity of working outside normal hours is crucial. The employer should be able to show that the overtime was exceptional and resulted from objective organisational needs, not from poor organisation of work or overloading managers with duties.
Case law indicates that if working beyond the norm becomes the rule rather than the exception, the employer may be ordered to pay the overtime due. In its judgment of 4 June 2008 (II PK 326/07), the Supreme Court recalled the established position that if the way the employer organises work means a manager has to work beyond the norm on a permanent basis, the manager is entitled to overtime pay. Courts are particularly critical of situations in which systematic overwork results from poor human resources management or inadequate work planning.
In practice, this means the need for:
- Documenting the reasons why overtime was necessary
- Showing that such situations are exceptional
- Taking steps to prevent systematic overwork
- Providing appropriate pay that reflects the specific nature of managerial duties
- Monitoring managers' working time to prevent abuse
Particular care is needed with heads of organisational units who work on Sundays and public holidays. The employer must keep detailed records of such work and provide appropriate compensation in the form of time off or additional pay.
Practical aspects of managing managers' working time
Managing the working time of managers effectively requires the employer to implement a comprehensive monitoring and control system. The first step is classifying employees correctly into the right categories and documenting the scope of their managerial duties and powers.
The employer should prepare detailed job descriptions for all managers that clearly set out the scope of responsibility, reporting structure and actual powers to manage teams. These documents form the basis for applying the working time rules correctly.
Properly documenting employees' managerial functions is crucial in court disputes over overtime. The employer must be able to show the actual scope of managerial duties and the justification for applying the special working time rules
Another important element is the system for recording managers' working time. Working hours are not recorded only for employees managing the workplace on behalf of the employer (Article 149 § 2 of the Labour Code). Heads of separate organisational units are subject to working time norms, so the employer keeps full working time records for them (Article 149 § 1), which are also useful in any court proceedings. Documenting work on Sundays and public holidays is particularly important.
An effective system for managing managers' working time includes the following elements:
- Regular reviews of individual managers' workloads
- Monitoring how often overtime is worked
- Analysing the reasons why overwork is necessary
- Taking corrective action in the case of systematic overtime
- Providing appropriate organisational support for managers
Particular attention should be paid to planning work during periods of increased business activity. The employer should anticipate situations requiring more intensive work from managers and take steps to minimise the need for systematic overwork.
A manufacturing company was launching a new product line, which required intensive work from the heads of all departments for three months. The employer documented the exceptional nature of the situation, provided additional organisational support and, after the project ended, gave the managers additional time off as compensation for the increased workload.
Legal consequences of applying the rules incorrectly
Applying the working time rules for managers incorrectly can have serious legal and financial consequences for the employer. The most common breaches involve wrongly classifying employees as managers and abusing the exceptions to the standard working time rules.
The first category covers situations in which the employer treats as managers people who have no actual managerial powers. Such employees retain the full right to overtime pay and supplements for work on days off, regardless of their job title.
Employees wrongly classified as managers can claim outstanding overtime pay and supplements for work on Sundays and public holidays for up to three years back (Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code). Statutory interest for late payment is due on the outstanding amounts (Article 481 of the Civil Code in conjunction with Article 300 of the Labour Code)
The second category of breaches concerns abuse of the powers arising from the working time rules for managers. Systematically forcing managers to work overtime without objective justification may result in having to pay outstanding wages and supplements.
Labour courts are particularly critical of situations in which:
- Overtime becomes the rule rather than the exception
- The employer takes no action to limit overwork
- Managers' workload is out of proportion to the resources available
- There is no proper planning and organisation of work
- The reasons why work outside standard hours is necessary are not documented
The financial consequences can be significant, especially for managers on high salaries. Supplements for overtime and work on days off are calculated on the pay resulting from the employee's personal grade (hourly or monthly rate), and if no such component has been specified – on 60% of pay (Article 151¹ § 3 of the Labour Code), which can lead to substantial financial liabilities.
PIP (National Labour Inspectorate) carries out regular inspections of compliance with the working time rules, including for managers. Breaching the working time rules is a petty offence punishable from 8 July 2026 by a fine of PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (Article 281 § 1 point 5 of the Labour Code); the inspector can impose a fine by penalty notice or file a request for punishment with the court, and can also issue an order to pay outstanding wages
Additional consequences may include:
- Fines (penalty notices) imposed by PIP inspectors
- Claims for compensation for infringement of employees' personal rights
- A negative impact on the employer's image as a social partner
- Problems recruiting and retaining managers
- An increased risk of inspections by supervisory authorities
