Notice period for an employment contract — how long it lasts and when it ends

Want to change jobs or have you received notice? The length of the notice period (okres wypowiedzenia) depends on the type of contract and on how long you have worked for the given employer — from 3 working days to 3 months. The notice is equally long whether it is given by the employee or by the employer. Here is how to count it and when exactly the contract ends.

Open-ended and fixed-term contracts

For both of these contracts the notice period is the same and depends on the period of employment with the given employer (Art. 36 § 1 of the Labour Code):

How long you have worked for this employer	Notice period
less than 6 months	2 weeks
at least 6 months	1 month
at least 3 years	3 months

This period also includes work for a previous employer if the new employer took you over together with the workplace or part of it (Art. 23¹ of the Labour Code) or is the legal successor of the previous one.

In a position involving financial liability for entrusted property, the parties may extend the notice in the contract: 2 weeks to 1 month, and 1 month to 3 months.

Probationary contract

Here the notice period depends on the length of the probationary period (Art. 34):

• 3 working days — if the probationary period does not exceed 2 weeks,
• 1 week — if it is longer than 2 weeks,
• 2 weeks — if it is 3 months.

When the notice period ends

Notice counted in weeks ends on a Saturday, and notice counted in months — on the last day of the month (Art. 30 § 2¹).

Example: if you have a one-month notice period and give notice on 10 October, in practice the contract will end on 30 November. The month of notice is then counted from 1 November — which is why the date you give notice matters.

The parties may also agree, after notice has been given, that the contract will end earlier. This does not change the fact that the contract was terminated with notice (Art. 36 § 6).

How to give notice

• Notice is given in writing — both by the employee and by the employer (Art. 30 § 3).
• The employee does not have to give a reason.
• The employer must state the reason for terminating an open-ended or fixed-term contract (Art. 30 § 4) and inform you of your right to appeal to the labour court (Art. 30 § 5).

Your rights during the notice period

• During the notice period you keep working and receive your pay. The employer may release you from the obligation to work — you then keep the right to your pay (Art. 36²).
• If notice was given by the employer and it lasts at least 2 weeks, you are entitled to paid time off to look for work: 2 working days for 2-week and 1-month notice, 3 working days for 3-month notice (Art. 37).
• In the case of dismissal for reasons not related to employees (e.g. liquidation of the company), the employer may shorten a 3-month notice period to no less than 1 month — for the remaining time you are then entitled to compensation equal to your pay (Art. 36¹).

Note: temporary workers have separate rules — their contract may provide for 3-day or one-week notice.

What this means for you

If you are an employee:

• Check since when you have worked for your current employer — this determines the length of your notice.
• When planning a job change, give notice at the end of the month so as not to “lose” days — a monthly period is counted only from the beginning of the following month.
• Want to leave sooner? Propose an agreement with your employer to end the contract earlier.
• If you are a foreigner and your stay or permit is linked to this job, check how notice will affect your situation before giving it.

If you are an employer:

• Before handing over notice, check the employee’s period of employment — especially carefully when it is approaching 6 months or 3 years of work, because the notice period then becomes longer.
• In the notice, state a specific reason and include information on the right to appeal to the labour court.
• Plan the days off for job seeking if you are the one terminating the contract.

Legal basis: Act of 26 June 1974 — Labour Code (Kodeks pracy, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245), Art. 23¹, 30, 34, 36, 36¹, 36², 37; Act on the employment of temporary workers (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 236), Art. 13(2). Legal status as of 29 September 2026.