Pay day: by the 10th of the month, in October 2026 by 9 October

A salary paid once a month must be paid by the employer no later than within the first 10 days of the following month. In October 2026, the 10th falls on a Saturday — if Saturday is a day off work at your employer, you should receive your September pay as early as Friday 9 October. Here is how the pay deadline works and what to do when the money does not arrive.

When the employer must pay your salary

The rules for paying wages under an employment contract (umowa o pracę) are set out in the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy):

• Wages are paid at least once a month, on a fixed date set in advance (Art. 85 § 1). This date is set in the work regulations (regulamin pracy) (Art. 104¹ § 1 point 5); if the employer has no work regulations, it states the date in the information on terms of employment (informacja o warunkach zatrudnienia) (Art. 29 § 3 point 1(m)).
• A monthly salary is paid in arrears — after the month has been worked — promptly once the full amount has been determined, but no later than within the first 10 days of the following month (Art. 85 § 2).
• The employer may set an earlier pay day, e.g. the last day of the month or the 5th of the following month. It may not set a day later than the 10th.
• Pay components due for periods longer than one month (e.g. a quarterly bonus) are paid in arrears on the dates set in the labour law rules applicable at the employer (Art. 85 § 4).

Pay day falls on a day off

If the set pay day is a day off work, wages are paid on the preceding day (Art. 85 § 3). The law does not allow pay to be moved to the next working day.

Example: at your company, pay day is the 10th of the month, and Saturdays and Sundays are days off. Saturday 10 October 2026 is a day off, so your September pay should be paid on Friday 9 October. In November and December 2026, the 10th is a working day (Tuesday and Thursday), so pay day returns to the 10th.

Bank transfer or cash

• Your salary is paid into the payment account you indicate. Payment in cash “into your own hands” is possible if you submit a request on paper or electronically (Art. 86 § 3).
• Wages are paid in money. Paying part of the salary in another form (e.g. in goods) is allowed only where statutory labour law or a collective labour agreement (układ zbiorowy pracy) provides for it (Art. 86 § 2).
• At your request, the employer must show you the documents on which your pay was calculated (Art. 85 § 5) — e.g. working time records, if you have doubts about the number of hours.
• You cannot waive your right to wages or transfer it to another person (Art. 84).

If you work through a temporary employment agency (agencja pracy tymczasowej), your employer is the agency — it pays your wages and the pay deadline applies to it.

The employer is late — what you can do

Paying wages on time and correctly is one of the employer’s basic duties (Art. 94 point 5). If the money has not arrived on time:

1. Ask the employer in writing (e.g. by e-mail) when the payment will be made. Keep a copy of the message.
2. Interest — for each day of delay you can claim statutory default interest (odsetki ustawowe za opóźnienie), even if you have suffered no loss (Art. 481 of the Civil Code in conjunction with Art. 300 of the Labour Code). The rate is the NBP reference rate plus 5.5 percentage points per year.
3. Complaint to PIP — the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) can inspect the employer. For failing to pay wages on the set date, groundlessly reducing pay or making groundless deductions, the employer faces a fine from PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (Art. 282 § 1 point 1).
4. Labour court — you can sue the employer for unpaid wages with interest. Wage claims become time-barred after 3 years from the day they became due (Art. 291 § 1).
5. Terminating the contract without notice — where the employer has seriously breached its basic duties towards you, you may terminate the contract without notice and claim compensation equal to your pay for the notice period (Art. 55 § 1¹). You submit the statement in writing, giving the reason (Art. 55 § 2). Whether a particular delay is a “serious breach” depends on the circumstances — it is worth getting advice before taking this step.

What this means for you

If you are an employee:

• Check the work regulations or the information on terms of employment to see which pay day applies at your company.
• In October 2026 — if pay day is the 10th and Saturday is a day off for you — your September pay should be in your account on Friday 9 October.
• Give your employer your current account number. If you prefer cash, submit a request for payment into your own hands.
• If you are a foreign national and do not understand your payslip or the work regulations, ask someone who speaks Polish to explain them before you take the matter further.

If you are an employer:

• When the set pay day falls on a day off work, order the transfer so that wages are paid on the preceding day — in October 2026, with pay day on the 10th, that is Friday 9 October.
• Pay into the account indicated by the employee; pay in cash only at their request submitted on paper or electronically.
• Keep the documents showing how pay was calculated — the employee may ask to see them.

Legal basis: Act of 26 June 1974 — Labour Code (Kodeks pracy) (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245), Art. 29 § 3 point 1(m), Art. 55 § 1¹ and § 2, Art. 84, 85, 86, 94 point 5, 104¹ § 1 point 5, 282 § 1 point 1, 291 § 1, 300; Act of 23 April 1964 — Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny) (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 795), Art. 481 § 1 and 2. Legal status as of 6 October 2026.