Poland time change 2027: clocks go forward on 28 March
Poland moves to summer time on Sunday 28 March 2027, also Easter Sunday: clocks jump from 2:00 to 3:00. Dates for 2027 and 2028, rules and night pay.
By Dawid Siedlarz · , updated
Poland moves to summer time on Sunday 28 March 2027: at 2:00 the clocks jump forward to 3:00, so the night is one hour shorter. It is also Easter Sunday. The clocks go back on Sunday 31 October 2027, from 3:00 to 2:00. Phones and computers change on their own; the oven, the car clock and a wristwatch need to be changed by hand.
All dates for 2027 and 2028: Poland calendar 2027.
All clock-change dates for 2027 and 2028
| Date | Day | Change | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 March 2027 | Sunday | forward to summer time | 2:00 becomes 3:00 |
| 31 October 2027 | Sunday | back to winter time | 3:00 becomes 2:00 |
| 26 March 2028 | Sunday | forward to summer time | 2:00 becomes 3:00 |
| 29 October 2028 | Sunday | back to winter time | 3:00 becomes 2:00 |
The rule behind the table: summer time starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October, at 1:00 UTC across the whole EU (Directive 2000/84/EC). In Poland that is 2:00 in March and 3:00 in October. Winter time is Central European Time (CET, UTC+1); summer time is CEST (UTC+2).
Does Poland still change its clocks?
Yes. 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 directive stays in force, and Poland changes the clocks twice a year like the rest of the EU.
In Poland the dates are also set by a Prime Minister's regulation. The one in force covers 2022-2026 (Dz.U. 2022 item 539); as of 30 October 2026 the regulation for 2027 onwards has not been published yet. The dates above follow the EU directive, whose dates the 2022-2026 regulation also uses.
Easter and the clock change on the same night
In 2027 the spring change falls on Easter Sunday, 28 March. The night from Saturday to Sunday is an hour shorter, so Easter morning comes an hour "earlier": the clock says 9:00 when the body still feels 8:00. Easter Monday, 29 March, is a public holiday, which gives most people a day to catch up. Good Friday is a normal working day in Poland. The long weekends around Easter are in Poland public holidays 2027.
Night shift: who works an hour less or more
A night shift on the rota looks the same on both nights, for example 22:00 to 6:00. The clock change makes it different:
- 28 March 2027: between 22:00 and 6:00 only seven hours pass, because the hour from 2:00 to 3:00 never happens. How the missing hour is settled depends on the pay system and workplace rules, so it is worth asking HR before March.
- 31 October 2027: nine hours pass, 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), the extra autumn 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.
Counting hours across the clock change
A calculator that treats "22:00 to 6:00" as simple subtraction shows 8 hours on both nights. Most hand-made timesheets work that way, so on the change nights the hour has to be taken off or 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? No. The norm is counted in calendar hours: March 2027 has 22 working days and 176 hours, the same as without the change, and October 2027 has 21 working days and 168 hours.
Questions that come back every year
When do the clocks go back in Poland? On the last Sunday of October: in 2027 on 31 October, from 3:00 to 2:00, so the night is an hour longer.
When does Poland switch to summer time? On the last Sunday of March: in 2027 on 28 March, from 2:00 to 3:00.
Is the time change in Poland on Easter in 2027? Yes. Easter Sunday and the spring change are both on 28 March 2027.
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? In autumn 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.
How many days are left until the next change? The days until counter counts down to any date.
Legal basis
- Directive 2000/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on summer-time arrangements (articles 2 and 3: start and end dates, 1:00 UTC).
- Regulation of the Prime Minister of 4 March 2022 on summer time in 2022-2026 (Dz.U. 2022 item 539).
- Labour Code, articles 151¹, 151² and 151⁸ (overtime, time off instead of the supplement, night work allowance).