Special leave for a wedding - for how many days and who is entitled?

Are you getting married soon? You will certainly be interested in the topic of special leave for your own wedding. Find out who is entitled to special leave for a wedding and how to apply for it. If it is not you, but your child who will soon get married, the text will tell you whether you can receive special leave for your child's wedding and how many days are granted in such a case.

Who is entitled to special leave for a wedding?

Matters related to special leave for a wedding are regulated by the Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy on the method of justifying absences from work and granting employees leave from work, issued on May 15, 1996. According to its content, special leave for one's own civil wedding is granted to every employee who has an employment contract with the employer. This means that persons employed under civil law contracts (e.g., mandate contract, contract for specific work) cannot apply for special leave for a wedding.

Special leave for a wedding is granted on the same terms as special leave due to the birth of a child or the funeral of the employee's spouse employed under an employment contract. The remuneration that the employer pays for the days of special leave is calculated at the same rate as the payment for days of annual leave.

How many days of special leave are granted for a wedding?

Every employee is entitled to special leave of two additional days off for a wedding. If you submit an application for special leave for your own wedding following the procedure, the employer cannot refuse to grant you two days off, which do not count towards the accrued annual leave.

When should special leave for a wedding be used?

Interestingly, according to the rules, the employee does not have to use the special leave for a wedding on the day of the ceremony or the day before or after. The wedding day usually falls on a weekend anyway. The Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy does not specify exact dates, but in principle, granting special leave should be related to broadly understood wedding planning. This means that you have the right to use special leave for fitting a wedding dress or suit at a tailor's workshop or for a visit to the restaurant organizing your wedding.

Special leave for a child's wedding – how many days and who is entitled?

If your son or daughter decides to enter into marriage, you are entitled to special leave for your child's wedding, provided you are employed under an employment contract. In this case, you have the right to apply for one day of special leave.

Unfortunately, employers are not obliged to grant employees leave in the form of special leave for the wedding of a brother or sister. If you want to apply for a day off due to your brother's or sister's wedding, you must use your pool of annual leave days.

What are the differences between special leave for a civil wedding and a church wedding?

According to the regulations, the employee retains the right to special leave for a wedding that will be a formal conclusion of marriage under civil law. This means that only those who enter into a civil wedding in a civil registry office or a concordat wedding in a church can apply for special leave for a wedding.

A church wedding that is not a concordat wedding does not involve a change of marital status under the law — therefore, the employee is not entitled to special leave on this occasion. The same applies to a humanist wedding. The solution in both cases is annual leave.

How to apply for special leave for a wedding?

If you want to use special leave for your child's wedding or your own wedding, you must submit an official application for special leave for a wedding to your employer. The application should include:

• employee's data,
• employer's data,
• the date of using special leave due to the employee's or their child's wedding,
• employee's signature.

It is also advisable to include a promise to provide the employer with a copy of the marriage certificate — this document will be official confirmation that the special leave was actually used as intended.

What if the wedding is canceled?

As mentioned earlier, special leave for a wedding can be used before the date of the ceremony. By law, special leave must be strictly related to the wedding. That is why after the wedding, the employee submits a copy of the marriage certificate to the employer. However, if the employee uses special leave for wedding preparations but ultimately does not get married, the basis for granting special leave disappears. In such a situation, special leave must be converted to annual leave.

Organize a wedding near the Palace in Korczew!

Since you already know that you are entitled to two additional days of special leave for your own wedding, you may consider holding the wedding in the undiscovered, idyllic region of Poland, i.e., in the Nadbużańskie Podlasie. We invite you to organize this most important event of your life at the Palace in Korczew, surrounded by the beautiful Nadbużański Landscape Park. In the palace complex, we organize both intimate wedding dinners for up to 25 people, as well as grand, all-night wedding parties for 250 guests.

A wedding in Korczew will be the perfect occasion to spend wonderful moments with close family and friends. We warmly invite you to use special leave to extend your stay in Podlasie for a few days. In such a case, the newlyweds will have the opportunity to enjoy local attractions such as a carriage ride, kayak trip, or bicycle tour. The Palace Smithy, which houses an excellent restaurant, also functions as accommodation. Comfortable rooms await the young couple and wedding guests. We also invite you to relax in our SPA — a sauna and a hot tub await you here.