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10 min czytania 12 September 2025

Temporary work and vacation leave is a topic that raises many questions among both short-term employees and employers. Although a temporary employment contract is governed by slightly different rules than a traditional employment relationship, employees are still entitled to vacation leave. How is vacation leave calculated, and who is responsible for granting it?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Temporary work — what is it?
• Temporary employment agency — what does it do?
• Rules for hiring temporary workers
• What kind of leave can a temporary worker expect?
• How much vacation leave is a temporary worker entitled to?
• Amount of vacation time in temporary work
• How many days of vacation are temporary workers entitled to?

Temporary Employment – ​​What Is It?

Temporary employment is a form of employment that is becoming increasingly popular in the labor market. It involves a temporary employee providing work for a user employer through a temporary employment agency. This model provides flexibility for both job seekers and companies requiring support during specific periods.

Temporary employment differs from a traditional employment contract because the legal relationship is tripartite – it involves the employee, the temporary employment agency, and the user employer. The agency is responsible for employment-related formalities, including contract signing and payroll settlements, while the employee performs their duties at a location designated by the user employer.

Temporary employment can involve a variety of tasks – from warehouse and production work to office positions or seasonal support. This employment system is particularly beneficial for individuals seeking experience in various industries, as well as for companies seeking to quickly strengthen their team without long-term commitments.

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Temporary Employment Agency — What Does It Do?

A temporary employment agency plays an important role in organizing short-term employment. Its primary role is to act as an intermediary between the employee and the company requiring support, known as the user employer. The agency is responsible for recruitment, candidate selection, contract signing, and all formalities related to employee remuneration and insurance.

In practice, this means that the agency is responsible for all legal and administrative matters related to the performance of temporary work. An employee hired through an agency does not enter into a direct, traditional employment relationship with the user company, although this is where they perform their duties.

From the user employer’s perspective, working with a temporary employment agency allows them to quickly recruit qualified individuals for specific tasks, without the need for lengthy recruitment processes. In turn, the employee benefits from flexible employment options, gaining experience in various work environments.

It is worth emphasizing that a temporary employment agency is obligated to comply with labor law, including those regarding remuneration, working hours, and vacation time, which guarantees safe employment conditions for temporary workers.

Principles of Employment for Temporary Employees

Temporary employment is a form of employment in which an employee performs work for and under the direction of an entity other than their employer. In Poland, the principles of employment for temporary employees are regulated by the Act of 9 July 2003 on the Employment of Temporary Employees (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 236).

General principles of employment for temporary employees:

• A temporary employment agency may assign an employee to perform temporary work for a single employer-user for a period not exceeding a total of 18 months within a period of 36 consecutive months.
• The employee is employed under a temporary employment contract, which is a fixed-term contract. This contract terminates upon the expiry of the agreed-upon period of temporary work for a given employer-user.

The employer-user is obligated to:

• Provide the temporary employee with safe and hygienic working conditions.
• Maintain records of the temporary employee’s working time.
• Do not treat temporary workers less favourably in terms of working conditions and other terms of employment than workers employed by the same employer-user in the same or similar position.

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What kind of leave can a temporary worker expect?

Although temporary workers are employed under different rules than full-time employees, they are also entitled to rest. Temporary employment is often associated with short, flexible contracts and less stability, but this does not mean a lack of employee rights. Although formally employed by a temporary employment agency, a temporary worker performs duties for another entity—the so-called user employer—and has the same right to recuperation as permanent employees.

Issues related to leave are regulated by the Act on the Employment of Temporary Workers, which establishes minimum standards for the protection of employee rights in this specific type of employment. Thanks to these regulations, individuals undertaking temporary work can be assured that their right to rest is guaranteed and does not depend solely on the good will of the user employer. Vacation leave in temporary work is considered a fundamental right, and its granting is the responsibility of the temporary employment agency.

How much vacation time is a temporary employee entitled to?

Every employee is entitled to vacation time, regardless of the contract type. This also applies to those working through a temporary employment agency. Although the rules for granting vacation time differ slightly from those in a traditional employment relationship, temporary employees are granted vacation time based on clearly defined provisions of the Act on the Employment of Temporary Employees.

Amount of Vacation Time in Temporary Work

According to applicable regulations, the amount of vacation time for temporary employees is determined in proportion to the period of service for a given employer. In practice, this means that the longer the employment period, the more vacation days the employee is entitled to. Unlike permanent employees, the right to vacation time in temporary work is not based on total length of service, but solely on the period of time spent at the employer’s disposal.jest proporcjonalnie do okresu wykonywania pracy na rzecz danego pracodawcy użytkownika. W praktyce oznacza to, że im dłużej trwa zatrudnienie, tym więcej dni wolnych przysługuje pracownikowi. W przeciwieństwie do pracowników zatrudnionych na stałe, prawo do urlopu w pracy tymczasowej nie wynika ze stażu pracy ogółem, ale wyłącznie z okresu pozostawania w dyspozycji danego pracodawcy użytkownika.

How many days of vacation are a temporary employee entitled to?

A temporary employee, despite being employed under different terms than a full-time employee, has the full right to vacation time. These rules are defined by the Act on the Employment of Temporary Employees, which specifies the number of days off that individuals employed by a temporary employment agency are entitled to.

According to applicable regulations, a temporary employee is entitled to two days of vacation time for each month of temporary work performed for a single employer. The length of vacation time depends on the length of employment – ​​the longer the employee remains employed by the employer, the more days off they accrue.

Importantly, if the contract ends before the employee uses their vacation time, the temporary employment agency is obligated to pay compensation for unused vacation time. This ensures that the right to vacation time is not lost, even in short-term employment.

See also: Work in Poland for foreign students – where to look for offers?

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