[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"advice-en-nierejestrowana-years-worked":3},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"body":7,"datePublished":8,"dateModified":8},"nierejestrowana-years-worked","Unregistered business activity, work seniority and pension in 2026","Does unregistered business activity count towards work seniority after the 2026 Labour Code changes? When yes, when no, and how it affects your pension.","\u003Cp>The period of merely running unregistered business activity is not added to work seniority — even after the changes to the Labour Code that from 2026 allow adding, among others, years of running a business or working on a mandate contract. The reason is simple: under the Entrepreneurs' Law, unregistered activity is not business activity. There is, however, an important exception: if, within it, the person performed mandate contracts (umowa zlecenie) or service contracts and was subject to pension and disability insurance on that basis, such a period may be counted — as a period of a mandate contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>What has changed in counting seniority from 2026\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The Act of 26 September 2025 amending the Labour Code added \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fisap.sejm.gov.pl\u002Fisap.nsf\u002FDocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20260001245\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">art. 302¹ of the Labour Code\u003C\u002Fa>. The period of employment on which employee rights depend now includes, among others:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>periods of running non-agricultural business activity for which pension, disability or accident contributions were paid;\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>periods of performing a mandate contract or another service contract and an agency contract, in which the person was subject to pension and disability insurance;\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>documented periods of a mandate contract in which they were not subject to this insurance under separate provisions;\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>the period of using start-up relief (ulga na start) under the Entrepreneurs' Law, when the entrepreneur is not subject to pension and disability insurance;\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>documented paid work abroad performed on a basis other than an employment relationship.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>The new rules apply from 1 January 2026 to employers in the public finance sector, and to others — from the first day of the month after 6 months from the Act's publication, i.e. from 1 May 2026. The employee has 24 months from that date to document earlier periods with the current employer; periods not documented within this deadline will not be taken into account by the employer (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fisap.sejm.gov.pl\u002Fisap.nsf\u002FDocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20250001423\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">art. 5 of the amending Act\u003C\u002Fa>).\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Why unregistered activity does not count on its own\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Under \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fisap.sejm.gov.pl\u002Fisap.nsf\u002FDocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20250001480\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">art. 5 of the Entrepreneurs' Law\u003C\u002Fa>, the activity of a natural person whose revenue in no quarter exceeds 225% of the minimum wage (in 2026 PLN 10,813.50) and who has not run a business in the last 60 months is not business activity. It is therefore also not \"non-agricultural activity\" within the meaning of the Social Insurance System Act. Such a person does not pay contributions on this basis, has no ZUS certificate of their payment — and it is precisely this certificate that confirms periods of running a business when counting seniority.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>When the period of unregistered activity does count\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>According to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.biznes.gov.pl\u002Fpl\u002Fportal\u002F00115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">biznes.gov.pl\u003C\u002Fa>, a person who, within unregistered business activity, provides services under a mandate contract or another service contract is subject to insurance as a contractor; the principal then has the obligations of a remitter. From the point of view of the Labour Code, such a period is a period of performing a mandate contract, not of running unregistered activity — and may be included in seniority.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ctable>\u003Cthead>\u003Ctr>\u003Cth>Situation within unregistered activity\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>Pension and disability contributions\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>Inclusion in seniority\u003C\u002Fth>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Fthead>\u003Ctbody>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Sale of own products (e.g. handicrafts) to private individuals\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>No\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>No\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Services under a mandate contract for a company that registered the contractor with ZUS\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>Yes, as a contractor\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>Yes — as a period of a mandate contract\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>A mandate contract performed by a student up to 26 years of age\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>No, by separate provisions\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>Yes, if the period is documented\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>A mandate contract alongside full-time work for another employer at least at the minimum wage\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>Usually only the health contribution from the mandate contract\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>The period counts from the full-time job anyway; overlapping periods do not add up\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\u003Cp>For overlapping periods, the provision requires counting the one that is most favourable to the employee — two parallel contracts are not counted twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>How to confirm periods to an employer\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Col>\u003Cli>Setting up an account on the ZUS platform (eZUS), if one does not exist yet.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Filing an application for a certificate — electronically, via the information profile; ZUS also delivers the certificate electronically.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>For periods of mandate contracts: a certificate of being subject to pension and disability insurance; for periods without insurance (e.g. a student) — contracts, invoices, transfer confirmations.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Delivering the documents to the employer within 24 months from the entry into force of the changes at that employer.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cp>Example: Ms Anna ran unregistered activity for two years, proofreading texts for a publishing house under a mandate contract; the publisher registered her with ZUS. Earlier, for a year, she sold handmade jewellery online. Today she works full-time at a private company and has 9 years of seniority from employment contracts. The two years of a mandate contract, confirmed by a ZUS certificate, raise her seniority to 11 years, which gives 26 days of leave instead of 20. The year of selling jewellery will not be added.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Unregistered activity and the future pension\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Since no contributions are paid on unregistered activity itself, it does not increase the pension capital or extend the contribution period. The pension is built only by contributions from other sources — employment, a mandate contract or a business. A person who is not subject to insurance on a mandatory basis may join it voluntarily: under \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fisap.sejm.gov.pl\u002Fisap.nsf\u002FDocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20260000199\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">art. 7 of the Social Insurance System Act\u003C\u002Fa>, the right to voluntary pension and disability insurance belongs to persons who do not meet the conditions for mandatory insurance. It is worth considering during a longer break in employment, calculating whether the cost of contributions is justified.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>If unregistered activity becomes the main source of income and revenue approaches the quarterly limit, it is wiser to register a business: by using start-up relief and preferential contributions, the entrepreneur builds both seniority and a pension. The rules of unregistered activity itself are described in the article on \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fwho-is-unregistered-business-activity-for\">unregistered business activity\u003C\u002Fa>, and the contributions on a mandate contract — in the text on the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fwhat-is-umowa-zlecenie-mandate-contract\">mandate contract\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>How Good Balance can help\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>We help determine which work periods can be documented and included in seniority, and also assess whether moving from unregistered activity to your own company will be worthwhile. We provide registration and ongoing support as part of the service \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Flegal\u002Fprivate-entrepreneurship\">for sole proprietorships\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-10-09"]