Planned vacation – when can it be rescheduled, and when must it be?

A vacation leave scheduled either in the company-wide vacation plan or individually agreed with an employee may be postponed. This can happen due to justified reasons for absence, specific business needs of the employer, or at the employee’s request – although the latter is subject to the employer’s discretion. Once postponed, the leave should be taken at a new agreed-upon time, but no later than the end of September of the following calendar year.

When must vacation be rescheduled?

The Labour Code outlines three main circumstances under which unused vacation leave may or must be rescheduled:

• when justified reasons for absence occur,

• upon the employee’s request due to important personal reasons,

• due to the employer’s special and unforeseen needs.

Justified absence and vacation leave

According to Article 165 of the Labour Code, vacation cannot begin if, for example, the employee:

• is temporarily unable to work due to illness,

• is in quarantine due to an infectious disease,

• has been called up for military exercises or reserve duty (for up to 3 months),

• is on maternity, paternity, parental, or similar family-related leave.

This list is not exhaustive – any justified absence that prevents an employee from starting their vacation will require the vacation to be postponed.

Example: An employee was due to start their vacation, but the day before, submitted a sick leave note to care for their ill child. This situation justifies absence and therefore requires the vacation to be rescheduled.

Rescheduling upon the employee’s request

Article 164 §1 of the Labour Code allows an employee to request a change in vacation dates if unforeseen circumstances prevent them from using their leave as planned – even if those reasons do not formally justify absence (e.g., a family event or their spouse not getting time off).

However, the employer is not obligated to grant the request. It's up to their discretion to assess the situation and decide whether to approve the rescheduling.

The Supreme Court (judgment of 27 November 1997, I PKN 393/97) stated that an employer cannot be accused of abusing rights if they deny such a request, especially when the reason is unrelated to the vacation’s rest purpose – unless there is a compelling personal or family situation.

When the employer needs to reschedule

Under Article 164 §2 of the Labour Code, the employer may postpone an employee's vacation if the employee’s presence is urgently needed due to unforeseeable business demands – such as a technical breakdown, tax audit, or multiple unexpected absences.

However, employers cannot rely on regularly occurring seasonal workload increases (e.g., summer peak periods) to justify such changes, especially if this demand is known and predictable.

Example: A valid reason to reschedule might arise if, during the employee’s planned vacation, several colleagues are unexpectedly absent (e.g., due to illness or parental leave), and another absence would significantly disrupt operations.

Reimbursement of employee’s expenses

Postponing vacation may interfere with the employee’s holiday plans, especially if they've already incurred non-refundable costs like accommodation or travel deposits. If the rescheduling is due to the employer’s business needs, the employer is obliged to reimburse the employee for documented expenses.

As ruled by the Provincial Administrative Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski (I SA/Go 56/10), if employers must pay compensation for cancelling vacation already in progress, the same applies – or more so – to planned vacations with associated costs.