Poland May Get New Official Public Holidays: Petitions Already Under Presidential Review

Poland is once again discussing the possibility of expanding the list of statutory public holidays. Two official petitions have recently been submitted to the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, requesting legislative changes and the addition of six new dates to the official calendar of non-working days.

One of the key points in the petitions is a proposal to make the Friday after Corpus Christi (Boże Ciało) an official day off. This religious holiday always falls on a Thursday, and many Poles traditionally take the following Friday off to enjoy a long weekend. The petition authors argue that this practice should be enshrined in law – so that employees can take advantage of the extra rest without having to use annual leave.

Which new days could become public holidays?

In the submitted documents, the applicant proposes adding six dates to the list of statutory public holidays: 📆 Holy Thursday (Wielki Czwartek), 📆 Good Friday (Wielki Piątek), 📆 2 May (Święto Flagi – Flag Day of the Republic of Poland), 📆 the Friday after Corpus Christi, 📆 2 November (Zaduszki – All Souls' Day), 📆 31 December (New Year's Eve – the last day of the year).

The reasoning presented is quite detailed. It is noted, among other things, that on the above-mentioned days public transport operates on a Saturday schedule, since they fall between public holidays and weekends. This creates a kind of precedent where the day is formally a working day but in practice operates in a special mode. Attention is also drawn to the practices of educational institutions: ✔ in schools, spring holidays begin as early as Holy Thursday, ✔ 2 May is often declared a day free from classes, ✔ 31 December falls within the winter holiday break.

As a result, the proposed days already function in a somewhat "non-working" mode, and their official recognition as public holidays would, in the petitioners' view, simply formalise the existing state of affairs.

A separate initiative – days off when National Days of Mourning are declared

In addition to new fixed dates, the petitions also include a proposal to introduce additional days off whenever a National or Local Day of Mourning is declared. The idea is for such days to automatically receive the status of non-working days – which, according to the authors, would be a gesture of respect and solidarity at important moments for society.

What are the next steps?

As reported by TVN24, the Presidential Chancellery is obliged to consider the petition. Under current legislation, the head of state has the right to submit a relevant legislative initiative or – as happens most often – to refer the matter to the competent authority, such as the relevant ministry.

However, given the large number of similar petitions that regularly reach the chancellery, there is a possibility that consideration of this initiative will be postponed until the change of president. It should be noted that Karol Nawrocki is due to take office as head of state on 6 August 2025, upon the conclusion of Andrzej Duda's term. Accordingly, the review of the petitions may pass to the incoming administration.

Based on materials from TVN24 and fakt.pl