TerraLex Cross-Border Guide to Cross-Border Labor & Employment Guidance

The main form of engaging staff in Poland is through an employment contract with an employee. An employment contract must be made in writing. The employment relationship is governed by Polish Labour Code and other labour provisions. Under an employment contract, the employee undertakes to perform work of a specified type for the employer, under his supervision and at a designated place and time, for remuneration. Having the status of an employee is associated with a number of rights and obligations that result from the Labor Code, as well as the work regulations applicable at a given employer. An employee is subject to the provisions of the Labour Code in the scope of, among others, working time, remuneration, holidays, occupational health and safety, as well as the principles of social coexistence in the workplace.

The other ways to engage staff in Poland include:

• engaging self-employed contractors,
• entering a contract for services (civil contracts); and
• using temporary workers from the work agency.

Generally, employees enjoy the greatest legal protection, particularly the right to claim unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, holiday leave, etc. The decision as to which staffing model to use is often driven by tax and social insurance considerations. Before engaging anyone to work the tax and social insurance consequences should be taken into account.

Individuals employed in Poland benefit from the rights and protections granted to employees under employment law regardless of their nationality. EU nationals and EEA nationals have the right to enter, remain in, and work in Poland without a work permit.

Any national, not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and European Union (EU), who wishes to work in Poland needs to apply for the appropriate work permit and comply with visa requirements.

However, currently in Poland it is possible to employ foreigners from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova or Ukraine for a period of 24 months on the basis of a so-called declaration of entrusting work to a foreigner without the need to apply for a work permit (facilitated procedure). This period may be extended.

If an employer hires an employee who is not entitled to work in Poland, the employer may be liable for a penalty of between PLN 3,000 and PLN 30,000. In addition, the employment of foreigners without a work permit may, in particular situations, be a criminal offence and a subject of restriction of liberty or custodial sentence.

In Poland, an employment contract must be made in writing. If an employment contract is not made in writing, then the employer must, at the latest on the date when the employee begins work, provide the employee with the written statement of the settlements in relation to the parties to the contract, the type of contract, as well as its conditions. Furthermore, the employer must inform an employee, in writing, not later than within seven days of the date of concluding the employment contract about:

• the standard daily and weekly working time binding an employee;
• the frequency of the remuneration payments;
• the length of annual leave to which an employee is entitled;
• the length of the notice period binding upon the termination of the employee’s employment contract;
• any collective labour agreement that covers an employee;
• health and safety rules.

Any change to the conditions of the employment contract must also be made in writing. An employer who does not confirm in writing an employment contract concluded with an employee is liable to a fine of between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000.

In Poland an employee with a contract for full-time employment is entitled to be paid a minimum remuneration which in 2025 amounts to PLN 4,666 gross per month. In 2025, the minimum hourly wage is PLN 30.50 gross.

Remuneration for work must be paid at least once a month, on a fixed date determined in advance. An employee may, at his request, receive his salary in cash.

If an employer does not pay the remuneration for work within the set period of time or any other benefit due to an employee, or reduces without a legal basis the amount of the remuneration or the benefit, or makes any deduction without a legal basis, the employer will be liable and can be fined between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000.

An employer should ensure that men and women are paid equally for performing the same job. The equal remuneration includes all components of remuneration, regardless of their name and characteristics, as well as other work-related benefits granted to employees in cash or non-cash form. If an employer violates the principle of equal treatment in employment and, in particular, in remuneration, then the employee has the right to compensation of at least the amount of the minimum remuneration for the work. From 2026, employers will be obliged to inform candidates about remuneration before entering into an employment relationship.

Collective Labour Agreements may be entered into by the employers or associations of the employers and the trade unions. In Poland, there are no legal regulations establishing a separate category of industry agreements. A multi-enterprise agreement may apply to companies operating in the same sector of the economy, e.g. power plants, but the law does not prohibit the conclusion of multi-enterprise agreements for companies from different industries.

The provisions of collective labour agreements may not disadvantage employees more than the provisions of the Polish Labour Code and other laws and subordinate legislation. The Collective Labour Agreement concluded for an enterprise must be entered into a register kept by the relevant district labour inspector. The employer may not refuse to enter into negotiations to conclude an Collective Labour Agreement for the enterprise.

Upon the Collective Labour Agreement for an enterprise entering into force, more advantageous provisions of this Agreement will, by operation of law, replace the conditions of an employment contract. The provisions of a Collective Labour Agreement that are less advantageous for employees will be introduced by serving employees a notice of termination of the current conditions of the employment contract.

There is an obligatory state pensions system in Poland. It has the so-called first and second pillars that are complemented by voluntary pension savings. The first pillar is a mandatory pay-as-you-go scheme based on national defined contribution accounts, run by the state-owned Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). The total contribution rate for pension insurance is 19.52% split equally between employers and employees.

There are also obligatory occupational pension plans (PPK) which should be established by an employer who is obliged to pay contributions for its staff. The contribution cannot exceed 7% of the employee's salary. The contributions paid are exempt from social security levies up to 7% of the employee's gross salary. Employees can make additional contributions that supplement those of the employer. These cannot exceed 450% of the average monthly salary. All of the contributions are subject to income tax. There are no rules stipulating how pension benefits must be paid out, but they cannot be withdrawn before the member reaches retirement age with the exception of funds accumulated in pension plans (PPK).

State health care is compulsory for all Polish nationals and all official residents who are employees as well as persons employed under civil law contracts. Contributions are usually deducted directly from remunerations and in the case of self-employed individuals are required to make a personal payment to the National Health Fund (NFZ).

Employees employed in Poland and their dependents are given an official medical insurance card and are entitled to free health services in Poland.

In Poland worker representation is a group of people elected by employees to represent their interests towards the employer. The representation may be elected in the absence of company trade unions, or alongside them, and is authorized to negotiate working conditions, dialogue with the employer, and represent employees in disputes. The obligation to create employee representations, such as a works council, arises when the employer employs at least 50 employees. In the absence of trade unions, the employer is obliged to consult with employee representatives on certain decisions, e.g. regarding work regulations or changes in employment conditions.

In Poland, standard working time is 8 hours a day and an average of 40 hours a week, in an average five-day working week.

The working time in Poland may not exceed eight hours in a 24-hour period and an average of 40 hours in an average five day working week based on a calculation period not exceeding four months. In some sectors the calculation period may not exceed six or even twelve months. The weekly working time, together with overtime hours, must not exceed an average of 48 hours in the applicable calculation period.

An employee is entitled to at least eleven hours of uninterrupted rest in each 24-hour period. The minimum uninterrupted rest does not apply to employees managing the work establishment. Furthermore, an employee is entitled to at least 35 hours of uninterrupted rest every week, including at least eleven hours of uninterrupted rest in 24-hour period. The rest period should fall on Sunday. When work on Sunday is allowed, the rest period may fall on a day other than Sunday.

If it is justified by the type of work, then other systems and schedules of working time may be permitted. This means that in some situations the working time in a 24-hour period may be extended by up to twelve or 24 hours. Alternatives could also be introduced if they are justified by the type of work, for example a task-based working time.

An employee is entitled to compensation for overtime work if the work performed is in excess of the standard working time binding an employee. The compensation for overtime work can be done in the form of time off. An employer who violates the provisions on working time can be fined between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000.

The length of vacation leave (holidays) depends on the employee's length of service. According to the Labor Code, an employee is entitled to:

• 20 days of vacation: per year, if employed for less than 10 years.
• 26 days of vacation: per year, if employed for at least 10 years.

For each month of work, the employee acquires the right to an appropriate part of leave, and after a calendar year of work, they acquire the right to full leave. The length of service relevant for entitlement to leave also includes the period of study, which in the case of higher education is a maximum of 8 years.

In Poland, there are also other types of leave, such as: maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, special leave (e.g. for a wedding or funeral), leave on demand (4 days a year without prior notification of a leave plan), carer's leave (for a sick family member), unpaid leave and training leave.

Employees in Poland have a statutory right not to be “unfairly” dismissed. The provisions regarding terminating the employment contract are specified in the Polish Labour Code and provisions of other labour laws.

The employment contract may be terminated under the following circumstances:

• mutual consent of the parties;
• declaration of one of the parties observing the termination notice (the period of notice depends on the type of employment contract and on the length of employment with the maximum period of notice amounts to three months);
• declaration of one of the parties without observing the termination notice (in case of grave violation of employee’s duties, committing a crime, losing a license required to perform work, etc.).

The termination notice period for an employment contract for an indefinite period of time and for a definite period of time depends on the employment period with a given employer and amounts to: two weeks if an employee has been employed for less than six months; one month if an employee has been employed for at least six months; and three months if an employee has been employed for at least three years.

If an employer breaches the termination provisions of the employment contract, then compensation can be awarded. The employee may also claim reinstatement to work on former conditions. In general, the awarded compensation should not exceed the equivalent of three month’s remuneration. However, in some cases the court may award compensation for the entire period of being out of work or order the employer to reinstate the employee to work.

The Polish Labour Code provides restrictions regarding termination of the employment contract for certain types of employees, such as those close to retirement age or during a justified absence from work (e.g. on sick leave) and pregnant women or those on leave related to raising a child.

Redundancy is a form of dismissal caused when an employer needs to reduce the size of the workforce due to the financial or organization reasons. The procedure regarding redundancy is specified in the Act of 13, March 2003 on particular rules of terminating employment relationships with employees for reasons not related to the individual employees concerned. This act will apply only for an employer who employs at least 20 employees. It means that the procedure regarding redundancy does not apply to small employers.

The collective redundancies take place if the employer terminates with notice or with mutual consent for a reason not related to the individual employees concerned over a period not longer than 30 days:

• ten employees if the employer employs less than 100 employees;
• 10% of the employees if the employer employs between 100 and 300 employees; or
• 30 employees if the employer employs 300 employees or more.

An employer planning to carry out a collective redundancy must enter into consultation with any enterprise trade unions. As a result of the consultation, the employer enters into an agreement on redundancy with the enterprise trade unions or issues a regulation regarding collective redundancies. The employer shall notify the relevant district employment office of the collective redundancies.

An employee, in connection with the termination of an employment relationship as part of collective redundancies, will be entitled to severance payment equivalent from one to three month’s salary.

If a work establishment or its part is transferred to another employer, that employer, by operation of law, becomes a party to the existing employment relationships. The existing employer and the new employer are severally liable for the obligations resulting from the employment relationship that arose before the transfer of part of the work establishment to another employer.

If there are no trade unions acting at the employers, the existing employer and the new employer will inform their employees, in writing, about the expected date of the transfer of the work establishment or its part to a new employer; the reasons for the transfer; the legal, economic, and social effects of the transfer for the employees; and intended acts concerning the employment conditions of employees, and in particular, concerning work remuneration and requalification conditions. This information must be presented at least 30 days prior to the expected date of the transfer of the work establishment or its part to another employer.

Within two months from the transfer of the work establishment or its part to another employer, the employee may, without notice, but with seven days' prior notification, terminate an employment relationship. The termination of the employment relationship in accordance with this procedure has the same effects on the employees as those provided for in the provisions of labour law in relation to the termination of an employment relationship with notice by an employer.

Upon the transfer of the work relationship or its part, an employer is obliged to propose new work and remuneration conditions to any employees who had been working on a basis other than an employment contract, and to specify a time limit of at least seven days within which the employees may declare whether they accept or refuse the proposed conditions. If new work and remuneration conditions are not agreed upon, then the existing employment relationship is terminated at the end of the time period equal to the notice period, calculated as of the date on which the employee declared that he rejects the proposed conditions, or as of the date by which the employee could have made such a declaration. The transfer of the work establishment or its part to another employer does not constitute grounds for an employer to terminate an employment relationship with notice.

An employer and an employee should aim to reach a conciliatory settlement agreement of the dispute arising out of an employment relationship.

An employee may pursue claims arising out of his/her employment relationship before the court, but he/she may also ask to start conciliation proceedings by the conciliation commission before directing the case to the court. However employees use a possibility to resolve the dispute before the conciliation commission very rarely.

If the proceedings before the conciliation commission do not result in reaching a settlement agreement, then the commission, upon the demand of the employee, will immediately transfer the case to the labour court. Claims arising out of employment relationships are decided by the labour court. Claims arising out of an employment relationship are barred by a limitation of three years from the date on which the claim became enforceable.

An appeal against a notice of termination of an employment contract must be filed with the labour court within 21 days from the delivery of the letter notifying the employee of the termination of the employment contract.

Polish law provides employees with a number of other rights. These include among others:

• statutory maternity basic leave of 20 weeks to 37 weeks depending of the number of children being the subject of a given birth (this is an obligatory maternity leave) and statutory maternity (parental) pay;
• statutory additional maternity leave of a maximum 32 weeks to 34 weeks depending on the number of children being the subject of a given birth (this is a voluntary maternity leave);
• statutory child care leave;
• remuneration paid by an employer (in the amount of 80% or 100% of remuneration) for the period of incapacity to work caused by illness up to 33 days in a calendar year (statutory sickness benefit for the period lasting longer than 33 days in calendar year); from the 34th day of illness, the salary is paid by the Social Insurance;
• disability or retirement gratuity in the amount of one month’s remuneration; and
• bereavement payment in the amount of one to six month’s remuneration.

Generally, in Poland employment of children is not allowed. A person who has not completed eight years of primary school and is not yet 15 years old may be employed on the principles specified for minors solely for the purpose of vocational training, in the form of training to perform a specific job.

A person who has completed eight years of primary school but is not yet 15 years old may be employed on the principles specified for minors for the purpose of vocational training in the form of vocational training. Their legal representative or legal guardian must agree to the employment of such a person. In addition, a positive opinion from a psychological and pedagogical counselling centre is required.

Persons who have completed eight years of primary school but are not yet 15 years old may be employed on the principles specified for minors in the calendar year in which they turn 15, on the basis of contracts for vocational training, training to perform a specific job and for performing light work. In such a case, no consent or opinion is required.

A person who has reached the age of 18 while studying in an eight-year primary school may be employed under the terms specified for minors in the calendar year in which he or she completed that school.

Regardless of the terms of employment of minors, the regulations allow, in certain situations and after meeting certain conditions, to commission work or other gainful activities to a child before they reach the age of 16. This applies to cultural, artistic, sports or advertising activities.

According to the Polish Labor Code, employees should be treated equally in terms of establishing and terminating an employment relationship, employment conditions, promotion and access to training to improve professional qualifications, in particular regardless of gender, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, trade union membership, ethnic origin, denomination, sexual orientation, employment for a fixed or indefinite period, full-time or part-time employment.

A person against whom an employer has violated the principle of equal treatment in employment has the right to compensation of at least the amount of the minimum remuneration for work.

The Polish Labor Code and the Penal Code also contain provisions penalizing mobbing (harassment) in the workplace.

The concept of outsourcing of employees has not been regulated in any of the applicable legal acts in Poland and there is not even a legal definition of outsourcing. However, outsourcing of employees is more popular every year in Poland.

Since outsourcing of employees is not regulated in Polish provisions, in some circumstances it may be questioned by the Polish Labour Inspection.

There are a lot of benefits for the employer related to the outsourcing of employees, for example low employment costs; adjustment of employment to the current needs of the company; limited liability in the field of human resources, requirements, and accounting; and no formalities related to the legalization of work and stay of foreigners.

Another form of personnel supply is through the use of temporary workers. The use of temporary workers is regulated in the Act of 9 July 2003 on the Employment of Temporary Workers. The main restriction related to the temporary work refers to the period of work performance. The temporary work may be performed by an employee to the benefit of an employer for a maximum period of 18 months.

The State or District Labor Inspectorate supervises compliance with employee rights, to which employees can report any irregularities related to employment. Employees also have the right to pursue their cases in court in dedicated departments called "labour courts".

The basic principles of employee rights protection include: the right to freely chosen work, equal rights of employees due to the equal performance of the same duties, prohibition of discrimination of employees, respect for the dignity and other personal rights of the employee, the right to fair remuneration for work, the right to rest, the obligation to ensure occupational health and safety at work.