Most newcomers do not know the key thing about Polish annual leave: years of study count towards your work history. That is why the right to 26 days kicks in far earlier than it seems.
On an umowa o pracę in Poland you're entitled to paid leave: 20 days a year if your total work record is under 10 years, and 26 days if it's 10 years or more. But that's not the main point.
The most common mistake newcomers make is counting only years worked. Your leave record also includes education:
To have this counted, you need to give your diploma to the employer. If you haven't, you'll most likely be credited with the minimum 20 days.
If you don't work the full year, leave accrues proportionally: 1/12 of the norm for each month worked. On a part-time contract the norm shrinks the same way — half a full-time position means half the days.
One more detail: leave is counted in days but used in hours (1 day = 8 hours). On a rotating 12-hour shift schedule, your days get “used up” faster than you'd expect.
While you're employed, leave must be taken — you can't exchange it for money. But upon termination, unused days are paid out as an ekwiwalent (cash equivalent). It's a gross amount: contributions and tax are withheld from it too.
There's no paid leave under the Labor Code here — it isn't an employment contract. Sometimes “days off” are written into the contract itself, but that's an agreement between the parties, not a guaranteed right.
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