Employment contract, mandate, specific work: differences in contributions and obligations

The name of the contract does not decide whether someone is an employee: what counts is how the work is performed. The scope of insurance, however, depends on the type of contract. An employee is subject to compulsory pension, disability, sickness, accident and health insurance; a contractor under a contract of mandate to pension, disability, accident and health insurance, and to sickness insurance voluntarily; a contract for specific work is in principle not a title to insurance, but it must be reported to ZUS. This is general information, not individual advice for your company; as of 7 November 2026.

What the rules say about the three types of contract

• An employment relationship is work of a specified kind performed for an employer and under their direction, at a place and time designated by them (art. 22 § 1 of the Labour Code). It is one regardless of the name of the contract, and replacing an employment contract with a civil-law contract under such conditions is not permitted (§ 1¹ and 1²).
• Contract of mandate: the mandatary undertakes to perform a specified legal act for the mandator (art. 734 § 1 of the Civil Code); the provisions on mandate apply accordingly to other contracts for the provision of services (art. 750). Contract for specific work: the contractor undertakes to produce a specified work, and the customer to pay remuneration (art. 627).
• From 8 July 2026, a labour inspector can by decision establish the existence of an employment relationship when a civil-law contract was concluded or a person actually works for pay in conditions in which there should be an employment contract; the condition is that an earlier order of the inspector was not complied with (art. 11 para. 1 pt 7a of the PIP Act as worded in Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473).

ZUS insurance: who is subject to what

• Employment contract: compulsory pension and disability insurance (art. 6 para. 1 pt 1 of the Act on the Social Insurance System), sickness (art. 11 para. 1), accident (art. 12 para. 1) and health insurance (art. 66 para. 1 pt 1 lit. a of the Act on Healthcare Benefits).
• Contract of mandate: pension and disability insurance are compulsory (art. 6 para. 1 point 4), as are accident (art. 12 para. 1) and health insurance (art. 66 para. 1 point 1 letter e); sickness insurance is voluntary only, on request (art. 11 para. 2). Upper-secondary school pupils and students up to age 26 are not subject to compulsory pension and disability insurance on this basis (art. 6 para. 4).
• Contract for specific work: the Act on the Social Insurance System does not list it among the titles of compulsory insurance (art. 6 para. 1), nor does the Act on Healthcare Benefits list it among the titles of compulsory health insurance (art. 66 para. 1 pt 1).
• Exception: a contract of mandate or for specific work concluded with one's own employer or performed for them means the person is treated as an employee, and the income from such a contract counts towards the contribution base (art. 8 para. 2a and art. 18 para. 1a).

Who pays the contributions

• Pension insurance (19.52% of the base in total) is split in half: the insured person and the payer. Disability insurance (8% in total): 1.5% the insured person, 6.5% the payer. Sickness insurance (2.45%) is paid entirely by the insured person. Accident insurance is paid entirely by the payer, and its rate depends on the rules in the accident insurance regulations (art. 22 para. 1 and 2 and art. 16 para. 1, 1b, 2 and 3).
• Health insurance is 9% of the assessment base, subject to exceptions in the act (art. 79 para. 1 of the Act on healthcare services). The payer calculates, settles and transfers the contributions to ZUS in full, deducting the part due from the insured person (art. 17 para. 1 and 2).

Reporting a contract for specific work to ZUS

A contributions payer or an individual commissioning specific work informs ZUS of the conclusion of every contract for specific work within 7 days of the date it was concluded (art. 36 para. 17), on the RUD form, through PUE ZUS or on paper. The obligation does not apply to a contract with one's own employee, a contract performed for one's own employer but concluded with another entity, or a contract with a business for services within the scope of its activity; nor does it apply to an entity that is not a contributions payer, for example a foundation or a commercial-law company (zus.pl).

Employee rights and other differences

• Annual leave: 20 days for employment shorter than 10 years, 26 days for at least 10 years (art. 154 § 1 of the Labour Code). Notice period for an employment contract: 2 weeks for employment shorter than 6 months, 1 month for at least 6 months, 3 months for at least 3 years (art. 36 § 1). Fixed-term contracts with the same employee: up to 33 months in total and no more than three (art. 25¹ § 1).
• Illness: an employee keeps the right to 80% of salary for 33 days of incapacity in a year, and after the age of 50 for 14 days (art. 92 § 1 pt 1), after which sickness benefit applies. A contractor under a contract of mandate receives sickness benefit only with voluntary sickness insurance, after 90 days of uninterrupted insurance (art. 4 para. 1 pt 2 of the Sickness Benefits Act).
• PPK covers employees (except juvenile workers) and contractors under a contract of mandate over the age of 18 with compulsory pension and disability insurance on that basis; a contract for specific work is not listed in that catalogue (art. 2 para. 1 pt 18 of the PPK Act).
• From 1 January 2026, periods of a contract of mandate with compulsory pension and disability insurance, and of business activity with contributions paid, also count towards the period of employment; the latter is confirmed by a ZUS certificate (art. 302¹ of the Labour Code, added by the Act of 26 September 2025, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1423).

How it works in Zaksio

Anna and Kasia are software (the AI team), not an accounting firm or an adviser; Kasia, the AI HR assistant, and Anna, the AI accountant, do not give legal or HR advice. You switch on the "HR and payroll" module with the "Employees" feature in the company's business profile, and the Start plan is free within the limits stated in the pricing.

• The employee record accepts employment contracts, contracts of mandate and contracts for specific work. For an employment contract you set, among other things, PIT-2, deductible costs, working time fraction, accident contribution, sickness insurance and PPK; for a mandate or specific work contract, the insurance title and 20% or 50% costs.
• The payroll calculates contributions and the PIT advance with deterministic code using the 2026 parameters. An item that cannot be calculated is shown as a problem and blocks approval; you check and approve the result.
• ZUA and ZZA registrations are KEDU 5.7 files for import into Platnik or PUE, and PIT-11 covers all three types of contract; you or your accounting firm submit the documents to ZUS and the tax office. You submit the information on a contract for specific work (RUD form) through PUE, outside Zaksio.
• You enter service from periods of a contract of mandate and business activity in the HR profile yourself, on the basis of a ZUS certificate; Zaksio does not add it automatically.

Sources

• Act of 26 June 1974, the Labour Code, consolidated text (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/1245/ogl
• Act of 23 April 1964, the Civil Code, consolidated text (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 795) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/795/ogl
• Act of 13 October 1998 on the social insurance system, consolidated text (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 199) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/199/ogl
• Act of 27 August 2004 on healthcare services financed from public funds, consolidated text (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1461) — https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20042102135
• Act of 25 June 1999 on cash benefits from social insurance in case of sickness and maternity, consolidated text (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 854) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/854/ogl
• Act of 4 October 2018 on Employee Capital Plans (PPK), consolidated text (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 192) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/192/ogl
• Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/473/ogl
• ZUS, Obligation to report to ZUS contracts for specific work concluded from 1 January 2021 — https://www.zus.pl/en/-/obowi%C4%85zek-zg%C5%82aszania-do-zus-um%C3%B3w-o-dzie%C5%82o-zawieranych-od-1-stycznia-2021-r.