An employee’s death is one of the most significant events in employment relationships. Under Polish labour law (Article 63¹ § 1 of the Labour Code), the employment relationship terminates automatically by operation of law on the date of death. Even though no termination action is required from either party, the employer still has several administrative, payroll, social security and tax obligations to complete.

Below is a practical overview of the key steps and compliance areas to consider in 2026.

1) Confirming the date of death and documenting the event properly

The fundamental document is the death certificate. The date indicated there is the date on which the employment relationship ends. In practice, employers need to confirm the date but should do so in a compliant manner.

Importantly, employers should not keep a photocopy of the death certificate in the personnel file. The document should be reviewed for confirmation only. A good practice is to prepare an internal note confirming that the document was presented and to place that note in the relevant section of the personnel records.

If the family does not provide the certificate, the employer may apply to the Civil Registry Office for an extract, demonstrating a legal interest connected with settling the employment relationship and paying outstanding amounts.

2) Employment certificate – still required

Even though employment ends automatically, the employer is still required to prepare an employment certificate. The document should indicate that employment ended due to expiry as a result of the employee’s death.

The certificate is issued upon request of the spouse or another person entitled to a survivor’s pension, and if such persons do not exist, upon request of an heir. Requests may be submitted in paper or electronic form, and the certificate should be issued within 7 days of the request. The employer should also keep the certificate documentation in the personnel file.

3) Deregistration from social security (ZUS)

The deceased employee must be deregistered from social insurance within 7 days. This is done using the ZUS ZWUA form and the relevant deregistration code (500 – death of the insured person). Missing this step or doing it late may result in additional correspondence with ZUS and corrective filings.

4) Identifying who is entitled to receive employment-related payments

A key compliance step is determining the correct beneficiaries. Under Article 63¹ § 2 of the Labour Code, employment-related monetary rights (such as unpaid salary or unused leave cash equivalent) transfer in equal shares to the spouse and other persons entitled to a survivor’s pension. Only if there are no such persons do these amounts become part of the estate.

This means paying “to the estate” is not the default. The employer should first assess whether there are persons entitled under the survivor’s pension rules (most commonly the spouse and children).

If no eligible persons exist, the employer may pay heirs only after they present a final court decision confirming inheritance or a notarial deed of inheritance.

A crucial distinction applies to the death benefit (odprawa pośmiertna): it does not form part of the estate. If there are no persons entitled to a survivor’s pension, this benefit is not paid.

5) Settling salary, unused leave and other amounts

The employer should calculate and pay all amounts due up to the date of death, including salary for the worked period, overtime, bonuses due under internal regulations and the cash equivalent for unused annual leave. Where applicable, any social insurance benefits paid by the employer should also be verified.

From a payroll perspective, a key rule applies: social security and health contributions are generally not withheld from these payments, but personal income tax (PIT) is withheld. These payments are reported on PIT-11 issued to the recipients. If the recipient is a legal guardian of a minor child, PIT-11 should be issued in the child’s name.

6) Death benefit (odprawa pośmiertna)

A death benefit may be payable to the family if the employee died during employment or while receiving sickness benefits after termination. The amount depends on the employee’s length of service with the employer (equivalent to 1, 3 or 6 months’ salary, calculated similarly to the leave cash equivalent base).

Eligible persons are the same as those entitled to employment-related payments (survivor’s pension criteria). If there are multiple eligible persons, the benefit is split equally. If only one person is eligible, they receive half of the benefit. If no one is eligible, the benefit is not payable.

The employer may be released from paying the benefit if the employee was covered by employer-funded life insurance and the insurance payout is at least equal to the death benefit. If the payout is lower, the employer pays the difference.

For tax and social security purposes, this benefit is favourable: it is generally exempt from PIT and ZUS and is not reported on PIT-11.

7) Year-end tax reporting

After the tax year ends, the employer issues PIT-11 for the deceased employee for the period up to the date of death, and PIT-11 for recipients of the paid amounts (salary and leave equivalent). The documents are provided to the recipients and the relevant tax authorities.

8) Personnel file archiving

Personnel files for a deceased employee must be archived for the required retention period (commonly 50 years or 10 years, depending on the applicable rules). The file should include the internal note confirming the death certificate review, the employment certificate and documentation of payments and settlements.

Practical checklist

To manage the process consistently, employers can use the following checklist:

1. confirm the date of death and prepare an internal note,
2. prepare the employment certificate and issue it upon request,
3. submit ZUS ZWUA within 7 days (code 500),
4. determine eligible beneficiaries (survivor’s pension vs. estate),
5. calculate and pay salary and unused leave equivalent (no ZUS, PIT applies),
6. calculate and pay the death benefit where applicable (PIT/ZUS exempt),
7. issue PIT-11 forms (deceased employee and recipients),
8. complete documentation and archive the personnel file.