Hire in Poland
with Confidence

Foreigners, EU, and non-EU residents can be employed in Poland using the same types of agreements as Polish citizens. The Labor Code governs nearly every labor law in Poland. The standard working week is 40 hours per week and 8 hours per day.

There are multiple ways to hire a “worker” as defined by the Labor Code. A “worker” is a person aged 18 or over, typically employed under the basis of the two most common contracts: a full employment contract or a cooperative employment contract. Appointment, election, or government designations are also contract types but far less used. An employment contract can be signed over a trial period (probation), non-fixed term (indefinite), or a fixed term.

All employment contracts are concluded in writing and should be signed no later than on the day the employee starts working. In order to be legally binding, employment contracts should be in writing and contain at least the following information:

• Identification of both parties
• Type of contract
• Date of its conclusion
• Date of commencement (and employment duration for temporary contracts)
• Workplace
• Type of work
• Base salary as well as other compensation or benefits
• Working hours and annual leave

Defining working hours is flexible and complex in Poland, depending on the type of industry. However, the typical 40-hour workweek and 8-hour day apply to most of the office-based and professional realms in Poland. There are 11 public holidays which reduce working hours by 8, if the holiday does not fall on a Sunday. Since Poland bases its salary on a monthly system, calculating the number of hours worked per month is a very important metric of employment. For example, in September 2020, the number of hours to be worked was 176 (40 hours × 4 weeks) + (8 hours × 2 days), as there were 4 full workweeks and 2 workdays within the month. The full scope of calculating working days and hours can be found on the official government working hours.

Remuneration for full-time employment cannot be lower than the minimum wage set. In 2022, the minimum remuneration is PLN 3010 gross. Most workers will look at the monthly salary figure offered by their employer, considering either Gross or Net values depending upon the contract type. With exceptions, a general rule of thumb is that Full Employment contracts typically offer Gross figures, while Cooperation Contracts operate using Net figures for monthly salaries. This is due to the complexity of European VAT tax laws and Poland’s income tax structure, as well as the payment structures to public healthcare, etc.

Consideration should be taken for remuneration on the topics of Sunday work, night work, overtime, incapacity to work, annual leave, and compensation for expenses, as each of these have special requirements in Poland, which are further detailed on the official gov.pl website.

Any additional bonuses are optional and completely left to the discretion of employers. However, under the Labor Code, employees are entitled to certain additional components of remuneration, for example, an allowance for overtime or night work, which they cannot be deprived of. It is important to formally distinguish additional remuneration structures and bonuses within the written contract.

Probation or trial periods are generally up to the employer, but the standard practice in Poland falls within weeks, up to three months.

An employment contract can be terminated only on the grounds listed in the Labor Code:

1. Settlement agreed by both parties
2. Unilateral statement with notice period
3. Unilateral statement without notice period
4. End of contract term term

Any employment contract can be terminated with the agreement of the parties; at any time and on the initiative of either party; irrespective of the type of contract and possible special duration protection. If a contract is terminated in this way on the employer’s initiative, the employer may sometimes be obliged to pay the employee severance pay (particularly in the case of terminations for reasons for which the employee is not responsible).

The length of the notice period depends on the type of contract and the position held by the employee. During the notice period, the employee is entitled to receive the normal salary under:

• Employment contract notice periods:
• Employment contract for a trial period
• Three working days, if the contract is concluded for not more than two weeks
• One week, if the contract is concluded for more than two weeks but less than three months
• Two weeks, if the trial period is three months

Employment contract for a fixed and a non-fixed term

• Two weeks, if the employee has worked for the employer for not more than six months
• One month, if the employee has worked for the employer for at least six months but less than three years
• Three months, if the employee has worked for the employer for at least three years
• Termination of an indefinite employment contract must have sufficient justification, which must also be cited in a letter of dismissal.

The employer may send the employee on gardening leave to the end of the notice period. In this case, the employee retains the right to remuneration.

In Poland, the notice period for a temporary or permanent employee is dependent on the employee’s length of service as below:

• 0 – 6 months of service – 2 weeks’ notice
• 6 months – 3 years of service – 1 month’s notice
• More than 3 years of service – 3 months’ notice

All “workers” under employment contracts are entitled to annual paid vacation. An employee will typically receive vacation days with every month that passes (1/12 of the total vacation to which they are entitled after one year of work. An employee gains the right to the next vacation in each subsequent calendar year.

Paid time off is obliged to be offered by the employer, under the following “vacation entitlement” terms:

• 20 days paid time off – if the employee has been working for less than 10 years
• 26 days paid time off- if the employee has been working for at least 10 years

Vacation entitlement begins after time spent in education, depending on the type of school finished, for example:

• basic vocational school – length of course but not more than three years
• secondary vocational school – length of course but not more than five years
• secondary school of general education – four years
• vocational college – six years
• higher education institution – eight years

The above periods cannot be added together.

Unused annual leave days can be transferred to the following year but must be taken by September 30 of the following year. It is forbidden to pay employees for not taking their leave, except upon termination of employment.

Sick leave:
Employees are entitled to sick leave provided they present a medical certificate before 1 week has passed since their leave. Sick leave is paid at 80%-100% of the allowance basis if the illness occurs during pregnancy or is caused by an accident on the way to or from work. Up to 33 days of sick leave per calendar year, the employer must pay 80% of the salary. From day 34, sickness benefits are paid by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).‍

Parental leave:
Parents are entitled to a maternity and paternity benefit paid by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). Female employees are entitled to the maternity leave periods linked to the number of children born/adopted as follows:

• 20 weeks for the birth of one child/adoption of one child
• 31 weeks for two children,
• 33 weeks for three children,
• 35 weeks for four children
• 37 weeks for five or more children.

Maternity leave:
The Social Insurance Institution covers all maternity pay at 100% of the employee’s regular salary rate. Maternity leave cannot start earlier than six weeks before the due date but can start later or even after birth and continue straight after. Employees should take a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave after childbirth before returning to work, and they have the option to transfer any untaken leave beyond 14 weeks to the child’s father. The 33 weeks of maternity leave can be used by both parents and can be divided into no more than 4 periods. Adoption leave may be used by both the adoptive father and the adoptive mother. However, under the Labor Code, the leave can’t be taken simultaneously by both parents.

Paternity leave:
Fathers are entitled to two weeks of paid paternity leave within the first 24 months after the child’s birth or from the date of adoption before the child is seven years old. An employee can take the leave in a maximum of two installments of one week each, and Social Security pays the leave at a rate of 100.00% of the employee’s regular salary.

Other types of Paid Time Off (Leave)
include Disability, Special Events, Military, Childcare, Wedding, Grandchild, and Bereavement, which are further detailed here.

In Poland, healthcare is provided by default to all residents (temporary and permanent) through the National Health Fund (NHF), or Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (NFZ). It is mandatory for employees to pay into the public healthcare system (NHF) at a rate of 9% of their salary.

However, many people use a mix of public and private healthcare since public healthcare services can have long waits. As of 2022, it is common for top employers to provide supplementary health insurance to employees as part of their benefits package. This may take the form of a contract made directly with a private healthcare provider or a monthly healthcare allowance paid to the employee. All employees are required to undergo a mandatory health exam prior to starting work, paid for by the employer.

Workers’ Compensation
Employees who sustain work-related injuries or illnesses are entitled to time off if they have a medical certificate that proves incapacity. Employers are required to pay employees 100% of their salary during the first 33 days of incapacity (employees 50 or older, 14 days). Any remaining days are financed through social insurance systems.

Pension
The legal retirement age is 60 for women and 65 for men. Employees and employers share the cost of government pensions by paying 9.76% each of the monthly remunerations. Employers are also required to offer either a pension scheme known as the PPK or a retirement scheme known as the PPE. Employer contributions to the PPK equal 1.5% of the employee’s salary, while contributions to the PPE equal 3.5% of the employee’s salary. Employees are also required to contribute to the PPK or PPE.

Contractor and Freelancer relationships are not bound by the typical Polish labor laws that govern full-time employment relationships. The key differences to note between employment and non-employed workers are as follows:

• Identification of both parties
• Type of contract
• Date of its conclusion
• Date of commencement (and employment duration for temporary contracts)
• Workplace
• Type of work
• Base salary as well as other compensation or benefits
• Working hours and annual leave

The distinction between employment and independent contractor is very specific in Poland and has wide-reaching implications for companies looking to hire from abroad. Self-employment is very popular among professionals who have set up their own freelance business entity, who then forge business-to-business (B2B) contracts with their ‘clients’ from abroad. It’s estimated that approximately 20% of all working population in Poland is self-employed.

However, in some cases, this relationship can lead to legal risks, which involve reclassifying the individual to an employee. In practice, if a relationship between the contractor and their client/company proves to be a lawful employment relationship, significant financial penalties may apply. It is, therefore, important to have an employment service partner like Worksuite to ensure that independent contractors fall under the correct working relationship with your business.

While traditional employees fall under Labor Code contracts and protections under Polish labor law, independent contractors typically fall under business-to-business contracts known as civil law agreements.

Under civil law agreements, “workers” function as contractors or freelancers. The contracts engage workers to perform specific tasks, and they operate outside the labor laws that generally apply to Polish employees. It is critical to always properly distinguish the services provided by a B2B contractor to not establish an employment relationship.

In Poland, criteria specified in the Labor Code are useful for determining whether a worker is a contractor or an employee. The Polish Labor Code stipulates several different criteria that companies should use to differentiate their contractors from their employees. Workers are generally employees rather than contractors if they meet the following criteria:

• They perform work of a specified type.
• They accomplish that work under direct employer supervision.
• They perform work at the place and time the employer dictates.
• The working relationship is relatively continuous.

On the other hand, workers who perform their jobs with minimal direct employer supervision, choose when and where they work, and take on a series of short-term projects of their choice are more likely to be classified as contractors.

Payment to freelancers and independent contractors is extremely flexible and can simply be determined by both parties within the contract. There are no laws in Poland that require a specific payment method or time of delivery—although the typical window from the contractor sending an invoice to payment falls within 14 days of issuance.

When working with independent contractors, you’ll need to have an established process for paying them correctly and on time within the contract.

There are several contracting models for working with independent contractors in Poland.

If you work with a hiring partner, you often streamline your contractor payment processes significantly. A dependable partner can help you hire your contractors legally and pay them quickly, accurately, in the local currency, and in a way that complies with Polish regulations.

Umowa Zlecenia differs from service agreements and B2B contracts, acting more as an employment contract but with fewer obligations for the employer. Employers should consider it as an informal employment relationship, where the working role, location, hours, and commitment are well established, and the employer has more supervision over the worker

Umowa o dzieło is a contract made for workers who have a specialized role or professional activity that cannot be easily performed by many other individuals. Employers can think of this as a project-based contract, where a mutual agreement is formed between a company and a worker under fixed scope and time. Note that consecutive contracts for Umowa o dzieło must be unique—a worker cannot end Umowa o dzieło and begin the same work for the same project again.

Most independent contractors are responsible for contributing to ZUS individually. Employers are not responsible for withholding any payroll taxes or contributing on the workers behalf to ZUS—the employing company only pays what is shown in the service agreement when hiring independent contractors. Insurance typically covers the same realms as employment, including retirement pensions, disability, health and workplace injury. Health insurance payment plans are reserved for the contractor. Students under 26 are not required to pay into compulsory social or health insurance funds.

IMPORTANT: Tax office requirements on invoices in Poland can vary widely depending upon the type of work, services rendered, industry, country-level agreements, and so on.

For example, sometimes Value Added Tax (VAT) may be removed based on country-level agreements. At other times, specific items or wording will be required on an invoice. A global employment organization like Worksuite can help you navigate the complex tax challenges in Poland, as well as payment processes within the country.

Employers should obtain basic information from employees or independent contractors in Poland before initiating payment procedures, most of which should be detailed in the contract or service agreement beforehand. Other data fields will depend upon the employee or contractor working agreement:

Employee salaries are most commonly distributed via Electronic Payments as bank to bank transfers using the information presented in the table below. Smaller employers with only a handful of employees in Poland may opt to use cash or money transfer instead, with cheques being the least popular option of all.