When do the clocks change in Poland in 2026? Sunday 25 October, 3:00 back to 2:00

Poland goes back to winter time overnight from Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 October 2026, when clocks move from 3:00 back to 2:00. You get an extra hour of sleep, but anyone on a night shift works an hour longer. How that hour is paid, and when the clocks change again.

The clocks in Poland go back overnight from Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 October 2026. At 3:00 they move back to 2:00, so the night is one hour longer. Phones and computers switch on their own. The oven, the car clock and your wristwatch need to be changed by hand.

At a glance

Winter time in Poland is Central European Time (CET, UTC+1); summer time is CEST (UTC+2). Poland changes on the same night as the rest of the EU: the last Sunday of October and the last Sunday of March. In 2027 that March Sunday is Easter Sunday, so the Easter breakfast comes an hour "earlier".

Is Poland getting rid of the clock change?

Not yet. The European Commission proposed ending seasonal clock changes in 2018 and the European Parliament backed it in 2019, but EU member states never agreed in the Council which time each of them would keep for good. Without that agreement the rules stay as they are, and Poland keeps changing the clocks twice a year.

Night shift: who works an hour longer

A night shift on 24/25 October looks like any other on the rota, for example 22:00 to 6:00. But that night, nine hours pass between 22:00 and 6:00, not eight, because the hour from 2:00 to 3:00 happens twice.

According to commentary from Polish labour lawyers and HR portals based on the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), that extra hour counts as overtime: the employee worked it on top of their scheduled hours. For it, they are owed:

• normal pay for the time worked,
• a 100% overtime supplement, because the hour falls at night (Article 151¹ of the Labour Code),
• the night work allowance, the same as for every night hour (Article 151⁸): 20% of the hourly rate based on the minimum wage.

Instead of the overtime supplement, the employer may give time off (Article 151²): one hour if the employee asks for it, or one and a half hours if it is the employer's decision.

Equivalent working time systems and longer shifts work differently: there, overtime is whatever goes beyond the hours set in the schedule, not the clock change itself. If you work 12-hour shifts, ask your HR department how they handle it.

In spring it works the other way round: the night of 27 to 28 March 2027 is an hour shorter, and a night shift lasts seven hours instead of eight. How the missing hour is settled depends on your pay system and workplace rules, so it is worth asking before March.

Counting hours across the clock change

A calculator that treats "22:00 to 6:00" as simple subtraction shows 8 hours on this night too. Most hand-made timesheets work that way, so for the 24/25 October shift the extra hour has to be added by hand.

The work hours calculator adds up hours over a whole period, including shifts that run past midnight. How to settle hours weekly and monthly is covered in how to count working hours.

Does the clock change affect the working time norm for October? No. The norm is counted in calendar hours: October 2026 has 22 working days and 176 hours, the same as without the change. The full table is in working days in Poland 2026, month by month.

Questions that come back every year

Do we sleep more or less? In autumn, one hour more. At 3:00 the clock goes back to 2:00.

Will my phone change by itself? Yes, if automatic date and time is switched on. Watches without a network connection, kitchen appliances and cars usually need to be changed by hand.

What about night trains? PKP Intercity usually holds night trains at a station for an hour so they continue on schedule. Carriers announce the changes in the week before.

When does summer time come back? Overnight from 27 to 28 March 2027, from 2:00 to 3:00. The days until counter shows how many days are left.