Dear Reader,

In the October 2025 edition of ILLN Newsletter, we would like to invite you to another fascinating journey across Europe. This time our topic is: paid holiday and other paid leaves.

There are some countries where the Queen’s Birthday is a bank holiday, in others they celebrate Independence. Even though each country has its own distinct laws and regulations governing employees’ annual leave entitlements, there are both similarities and significant differences.

This knowledge is valuable for both the employer and for the employee as these rights vary from country to country. For example, in Poland, there is an option to take a leave at request (Urlop na żądanie). The Polish Labour Code allows for taking up to 4 days of leave at request” (urlop na żądanie) per year, within the annual leave limits. It means that an employee has the right to request a day off without prior notice (the employer should be notified on the same day at the latest). And it works in practice.