Amendment to the Labor Code, effective from January 1, 2026, expanded the catalog of periods included in the length of service for the purposes of acquiring the right to benefits and employee rights.
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The regulations are being introduced in two stages – for the public sector, the changes will apply from the beginning of 2026, and for the private sector they will apply from May 1, 2026.
— By January 26, ZUS considered 228,806 applications and issued 508,469 certificates – the plant announced on Monday. He refused to issue 49,569 certificates.
New regulations. What is included in seniority?
Work experience currently covers not only employment contracts, but also other forms of professional activity. The internship includes, among others: periods of performance of mandate contracts or other contracts for the provision of services or agency contracts, periods of conducting non-agricultural business activities, cooperation with a person running this activity and the period of its suspension in order to provide personal care for the child.
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The periods of employment before the entry into force of the Act are included in the length of service. The condition is that they are properly documented. The employee has 24 months from the entry into force of the Act to present the documents to his or her current employer.
Certificate of seniority. How to submit an application?
An application for a certificate can only be submitted electronically using an account in the Institute's IT system (eZUS). From January 1, 2026, it is available on eZUS
“Application for issuing an insurance certificate for the purpose of adding periods to the length of service” – USP.
The certificate, decision and other letters regarding the issuance of certificates are delivered by ZUS only in electronic form to the eZUS account.
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The insured person or his representative will be automatically informed about the response to the application. If they have notifications turned on, they will receive information via SMS, e-mail or in the mZUS mobile application.
The most common reasons for refusing to issue a Certificate of Seniority
ZUS reported that the most common reasons for refusing to issue a certificate include: indication in the application of the period of performance of the mandate contract when the applicant had the status of a pupil or student and was not yet 26 years old (he was not subject to insurance in this respect), indication of the period of insurance under the mandate contract or business activity when, under separate regulations, the applicant did not have compulsory social insurance and errors in the application and settlement documents.
If there is no information about the insurance application in the account, the applicant will receive a decision refusing to issue the certificate. He or she may then submit an application for an explanatory procedure, which must be accompanied by documents confirming the performance of a given professional activity.
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An application for an investigation procedure together with documents can be submitted electronically via eZUS, by letter to the nearest ZUS unit or in person at a branch.
Certificates of seniority. This is what the employee will gain
Seniority translates into specific qualifications, among others longer holiday leave or higher seniority allowances and the possibility of promotion.
For example, an employee with seven years of work experience who submits documents confirming four years of work under a mandate contract will be entitled to 26 days of annual leave instead of the current 20.
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In the current legal situation, the amount of annual leave is: 20 days if the employee has been employed for less than 10 years and 26 days if the employee has been employed for at least 10 years.
