Employment and labor laws vary from country to country. This guide is intended to provide the most up to date information available. We will update this guide as needed when changes are made to the laws.
Employment Contracts
Employers are legally required to provide formal written contracts for all employees that include salary/wage, termination terms, job title, etc. The contracts must be written in Polish and use the Polish Zloty currency (PLN).
Working Hours
The standard working week in Poland can be no longer than 40 hours per week and 8 hours per day.
Overtime
If work time limits are passed, overtime compensation is compulsory. The maximum number of overtime hours is 48 hours per working week. Annual overtime cannot exceed 150 hours.
Overtime is due after working the maximum hours of 45 hours per week and is paid at the statutory rate of 200.00% of the employee’s regular pay if the overtime is at night, on Sundays, or on non-working days. Overtime is paid at 150.00% of the employee’s regular income if overtime is performed during any other time. Overtime can also be given as time off in lieu.
Public Holidays
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, another day off must be given to the worker in lieu.
For the year 2024:
- Jan 1 – Monday: New Year’s Day
- Jan 6 – Saturday: Epiphany
- Apr 1 – Monday: Easter Monday
- May 1 – Wednesday: Labour Day
- May 3 – Friday: Constitution Day
- May 30 – Thursday: Corpus Christi
- Aug 15 – Thursday: Assumption Day
- Nov 1 – Friday: All Saints’ Day
- Nov 11 – Monday: Independence Day
- Dec 25 – Wednesday: Christmas Day
- Dec 26 – Thursday: 2nd Day of Christmas
Annual Leave (vacation)
The length of paid annual leave in Poland depends on the employee’s seniority. The employee will acquire the right to 20 or 26 days of paid annual leave depending on their working experience:
- Employees who have worked fewer than 10 years are entitled to 20 days of annual leave
- Employees who have worked 10 years or more are entitled to 26 days of annual leave
In addition, the calculation of an employee’s seniority includes not only years of employment but also secondary and higher education.
Unused annual leave days can be transferred to the following year, but must be taken by September 30th of the following year.
Workers with children under the age of 14 are entitled to two additional days of leave at the rate of 80%. These days can only be taken by one parent within the same year and if unused these days do not carry over into the next year.
Some occupations, such as teachers or those working in the academic industry may be entitled to a longer length of paid leave, which can extend to 36 days a year.
Sick Days
All employees are entitled to paid sick leave linked to the number of years completed service and the employee’s age, as specified in the employment contract.
Employees less than 50 years old are entitled to up to 33 days paid sick leave, paid by the employer. Should the sick leave continue past day 33, Social Security (ZUS) will take on the payments from day 34 onwards.
Employees older than 50 years old are entitled to up to 14 days paid sick leave, paid by the employer. Should the sick leave continue past day 14, Social Security (ZUS) will take on the payments from day 15 onwards.
Sick leave is paid by the employer at a rate of 80.00% of the average salary in the past 12 months or at 100.00% if the illness occurs during pregnancy or is caused by an accident on the way to or from work. Sick leave caused by an accident at work or due to the employee’s sick child/sick relative is also paid for by Social Security (ZUS).
Maternity and Paternity
Maternity Leave
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.
The Social Security Institute 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.
Adoption leave may be used by both the adoptive father and the adoptive mother. However, under the Labour 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 instalments of one week each, and Social Security pays the leave at a rate of 100.00% of the employee’s regular salary.
Paternal Leave
In Poland, the parental leave period spans either 41 or 43 weeks. The duration of parental leave hinges on the number of children born or adopted at once, and it’s available to both male and female employees as well as adoptive parents upon the completion of maternity leave.
Parents have the flexibility to divide this leave according to their preferences, but each parent has an exclusive right to a 9-week portion. For instance, if the child’s mother opts to utilize the entire parental leave, she can claim a maximum of 32 weeks, leaving the remaining 9 weeks exclusively for the other parent. It’s important to note that regulations do not permit the transfer of the extra 9 weeks to the other parent, such as in cases of single parents raising children.
Parents also have the option to take parental leave concurrently, meaning both parents can be on leave at the same time, provided that the total leave taken doesn’t exceed the standard entitlement. Additionally, parental leave can be split into a maximum of 5 segments and must be utilized by the end of the calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 6.
To initiate parental leave, employees must submit an application at least 21 days before the intended start date. These applications can be submitted in either written or electronic form.
During the initial six weeks (eight weeks in the case of multiple children or three weeks for adopting older children), the leave is paid at 100% of the employee’s salary. Subsequently, for the remaining duration, it’s covered by Social Security and paid at 60% of the employee’s salary. However, if the employee submits an official written request for parental leave no later than 21 days after the child’s birth, the pay rate increases to 80% of the employee’s salary, and Social Security covers it for the entire leave period.
Other Leave
Depending on the Collective Agreement/Employment Contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, on approved between the employer and employee, for the following:
- Disability Leave: A person classified as having a severe or moderate degree of disability is entitled to an additional ten days of annual leave. After working one year and after being classified in one of the above degrees of disability, the person acquires the right.
- Military Leave: Employees are entitled to unpaid military leave to perform their duties.
- Childcare Leave: An employee raising at least one child aged up to 14 years is entitled to two paid days off a year, covered in full by the employer. Additionally, employees who have worked for at least six months are entitled to a further three years unpaid childcare leave until the child is five years old (18 years old if the child is disabled).
- Special event leave: Employees are entitled to two paid days off for close family member life events, such as a wedding, a child’s birth, or a funeral.
Employee Severance and Terminations
Termination Process
The termination process varies according to how the Employment Agreement and Collective Agreement are in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination.
Notice Period
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 notice
- More than 3 years of service 3 months’ notice
Severance Pay
For employers with more than 20 employees or for employees who have been dismissed by fault of the employer, the severance pay is dependent on the employee’s length of service as below:
- 1-month severance pay – less than two years of employment.
- Two months’ severance pay – between 2 and 8 years of employment
- Three months’ severance pay – over eight years of employment
Probation Period
Probation or Trial periods are generally set within the employee’s employment contract; however, standard practice in Poland is three months.
Payroll Cycle
Salaries are paid on monthly basis and employees must receive their salary no later than the 10th of the following month.
Effective July 2023, the minimum wage will be raised to PLN 3,600, marking the second increase this year after it was raised to PLN 3,490 in January. This change will also impact the maximum amount of severance pay, which is set at 15 times the minimum wage.
Contributions
Employer Payroll Contributions
VISA
If you are a non-EU resident who wishes to work in Poland, you must first obtain a work permit. The work permit is only applicable to the job at the time of application; a new application will need to be sought should the employee change job. A work permit is only valid for three years.
Poland has five different types of work visas.
- Type A – If you find employment based on an employment contract or civil law contract with an employer with an office registered in Poland. This is the most popular work permit.
- Type B – This work permit is valid if you are a board member and residing in Poland for a total period that exceeds six months within 12 subsequent months.
- Type C – You can apply for this work permit if you are sent to Poland by a foreign employer for more than 30 days in a calendar year to work for the foreign employer’s subsidiary or branch office in the country.
- Type D – You are eligible for this visa if a foreign employer sends you to work in export services temporarily. The foreign employer must not have a branch or subsidiary of its own in Poland.
- Type E – You can apply for this visa if you take up work-related tasks that do not fall into any of the above four categories.
Remote Work
The amendment to Article 67[33] -1 of the Labour Code, remote work and hybrid work as of 7 April 2023 ruling of performing remote work, including:
The employer is obligated to roll out an agreement with a company trade union organization through regulations for performing work remotely. There are several options for how to create a plan with workers:
- The possibility of controlling the conditions in which remote work is performed
- The employer’s obligation to provide appropriate equipment and training, including occupational health and safety information and security and protection.
- Issuing a cash equivalent to cover upfront costs of organizing the workplace; i.e. work from home allowance
- The possibility of reimbursing the costs of organizing the workplace if covered by the employee
- Possibility for the employees to request occasional remote work – for a period no longer than 24 days in the calendar year
VAT
The standard rate of VAT in Poland is 23.00%.