Guide to employing in Poland

Poland
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Capital City
Warsaw
Currency
Zloty (PLN)
Population Size
38,268,000
Language Spoken
Polish
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Overview

The process of setting up a business entity in each location where you want to hire new employees can be time-consuming and costly. Additionally, navigating the intricacies of local labour laws and employee expectations can be challenging. XPANDIUM is a credible service provider of Employer of Record (EOR) Services in Poland. At XPANDIUM, we offer tailored solutions for companies wanting to hire employees compliantly and effectively. We use our expertise to enable businesses to navigate the complexities of local employment regulations without establishing a legal entity in Poland.

When you choose to partner with XPANDIUM as your Employer of Record in Poland, our team will seamlessly handle all aspects of compliant onboarding, payroll management/administration, tax payments and benefits through our own local EOR entity, leaving you to focus on the vital part – optimising your workforce and unlocking your business’ full potential.

Poland map
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Salary Calculator

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Xpandium - Hire your employees in Poland

The Polish labour market is well-regulated and governed by the local labour code, which sets out rules and procedures that protect employers’ and employees’ rights and ensures fair and transparent workplace labour practices.

Companies must comply with specific regulations about hiring new employees in Poland, hiring contractors in Poland, working hours, paid time off, sick leave and the termination of employee contracts.

Navigating this legal framework will require companies to possess extensive knowledge of the Polish labour code. If not implemented correctly, this can become an expensive and time-consuming practice

Partnering with XPANDIUM can help your business avoid these legal pitfalls and establish the correct procedures to ensure your workforce thrives.

As in several EU countries, Poland has different labour regulations regarding how to employ full-time employees and how to employ contractors or part-time employees. Misclassifying employees or contractors can lead to non-compliance with the labour code, resulting in fines and penalties for the offending company.

XPANDIUM understands these complexities and can offer your company seamless guidance and support, ensuring your employees are correctly classified and that the proper labour practices are maintained.

When you partner with XPANDIUM, we will ensure your company complies and stays current with any Polish labour code changes.

Poland Warszawa panorama

The following information is a basic guideline for employing in Poland and the salary calculator can easily help you to understand the basic costs.

Employment Contract

Employment relationships may be concluded for fixed term employment (temporary) or indefinite duration (open-ended).

Probation period

Probation period is optional and cannot exceed 3 months.

Working hours

Full time employment is considered 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Less hours means part-time work.Hours worked above 8 hours per day and 40 per week are considered overtime. Weekly working hours including overtime cannot exceed 48 hours. Annual overtime cannot exceed 150 hours.Employees must be compensated for overtime as per labor code.

Minimum wage

The current minimum wage is 2,800 PLN.

13th month salary

Not required.

Benefit package

In Poland, there are no obligatory fringe-benefits that an Employer shall offer, however a custom voluntary plan may be set up (see more details at the polish Benefit section).

Payroll Cycle

Salaries are paid on a monthly basis and employees must receive their salary no later than the 10th of the following month.

Medical Examination

Required prior to hiring as a job aptitude check-up.

Health and Safety Training

To be provided to employees as soon as possible during or immediately after start date.

Health insurance in Poland

Poland provides full medical coverage to all residents.

Employer taxes

19.48% - 22.14 total employment cost in Poland.

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Public Holidays

NAME

DATE

INFO

New Years Day

January 1

Epiphany

January 6

Good Friday

April 2

Friday before Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

April 4

Varies yearly

Easter Monday

April 5

Varies yearly

May Day

May 1

Constitution Day

May 3

Pentecost Sunday

May 23

Corpus Christi

June 3

Blessed Virgin Mary Day

August 15

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

All Saints’ Day

November 1

Independence Day

December 11

Holy Evening

December 24

Christmas Day

December 25

2nd Day of Christmas

December 26

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Popular benefits in Poland

Regarding payroll services in Poland, there are no compulsory fringe benefits the employer is stipulated to offer employees. However, as part of a personalised approach, XPANDIUM can assist your business in designing and establishing customised plans to compensate employees beyond regular salaries. These voluntary, non-salary benefits may include:

Supplementary medical insurance  icon

Supplementary medical insurance (such as private health, dental and vision insurance)

Supplementary medical insurance  icon

Supplementary life insurance or other unique insurance plans

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Additional paid time off

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Flexible working schedules

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Voluntary pension fund scheme

Benefit planning process includes

When your company hires employees in Poland, attractive benefits can help you attract and retain top talent. XPANDIUM can assist you in designing and implementing benefits programmes for single or groups of employees. This process will include:

  • Determining the annual amount you want to offer employees – this amount can be divided into 12 instalments and integrated into the regular payroll.
  • Select the specific benefit items your company would like to offer its employees –  this may include voluntary benefits such as medical insurance, additional paid time off and flexible work schedules.
  • Creating internal policies which will outline the details of the benefits plan. These policies must be formally and thoroughly communicated to relevant employees and integrated with the monthly payroll.
  • Ensuring employees have accurately completed benefit statements – specifying preferred benefits and respective amounts. These statements must be completed, signed and provided to the Polish Employer of Record for processing.
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Types of Leaves in Poland

Paid leave

Employees are entitled to 20 days if the employee has been employed for less than 10 years.
If the employee has been employed for 10 years or more then they receive 26 days.

Sick leave

The sick pay or sickness allowance is paid to persons to whom a doctor issues a certificate of temporary incapacity for work in Poland.

Sick pay is covered by the Employer for a period not exceeding 33 days in a calendar year, or 14 days in a calendar year for employees who are over 50 years old.

Pregnancy and maternity leave

Expecting women can have a total 52 weeks of maternity leave split into

  • Maternity leave is 26 weeks and may include the first 6 weeks prior to giving birth. New mothers cannot return to work until at least 14 weeks have passed after childbirth.
  • In addition to basic maternity and parental leave, parents may share and be entitled to 32 weeks of parental leave and this period can be granted to any of the parents. The leaves must be requested in writing from the Employer within 3 weeks after the child’s birth. Such parental leave payment rate is 100% for the first 26 weeks and at a 60% payment rate for the remaining weeks paid by the Polish Social Security Institution. Employees that use both maternity leave and parental leave can receive max. 80% payment for the entire leave.

Paternal leave

The father is entitled to 2 weeks off for paternity leave which can be granted entirely or divided into two, 7 days parts based on the father's request.

Special parental leave

Employees are entitled to 36 months unpaid leave until the child reaches the age of 6.

Other / Child care leave

To take care of a child or attend other family events the leave period can be from 16 hours to 2 days.

The 2 days leave can be required for an employee’s child’s birth, wedding, or death of a close relative.

The 1 day leave: employee’s child’s wedding, or death of a sibling, in-laws.


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Employment termination in Poland

Employers have the below options to terminate an employment contract in Poland:

Termination under probation period

Termination by either the Employee or the Employer is immediately effective with special notice periods:

If probationary period is

  • up to 2 week: the notice is 3 working days.
  • exceeds 2 weeks: 1-week notice.
  • reaches 3 months: 2 weeks’ notice.

Termination by mutual consent

The termination by mutual consent allows the Employer and Employee to agree freely but in written agreement with each other on the conditions of termination.

However terminating employment this way is a very common and highly supported practice due to parties waiving all further claims, subject to individual severance payment and notice period.

Termination by notice

A temporary or permanent employment relationship may be terminated by the Employee or the Employer by notice with the below notice periods regulated by the Polish Labor Law.

If the employment period is

  • up to 6 months then the notice is 2 weeks
  • exceeds 6 month but less than 3 yrs: 1 month notice
  • reaches 3 years: 3 months notice

Expiry of employment contract

When the employment contract expires then such employment is automatically terminated.

Severance pay

Employees are entitled to receive varying amounts of severance pay depending on the length of employment with the Employer:

  • up to 2 years of employment: 1-month severance pay
  • exceeds 2 - 8 years: 2 months’ severance pay
  • over 8 years of employment: 3 months’ severance pay

Navigating this legal framework will require companies to possess extensive knowledge of the Polish labour code. If not implemented correctly, this can become an expensive and time-consuming practice

Partnering with XPANDIUM can help your business avoid these legal pitfalls and establish the correct procedures to ensure your workforce thrives.

As in several EU countries, Poland has different labour regulations regarding how to employ full-time employees and how to employ contractors or part-time employees. Misclassifying employees or contractors can lead to non-compliance with the labour code, resulting in fines and penalties for the offending company.

XPANDIUM understands these complexities and can offer your company seamless guidance and support, ensuring your employees are correctly classified and that the proper labour practices are maintained.

When you partner with XPANDIUM, we will ensure your company complies and stays current with any Polish labour code changes.

8

How EOR works in Poland

XPANDIUM offers EOR services in Poland as a strategic solution for companies looking to hire, onboard and support employees worldwide seamlessly. This means that by using XPANDIUM as your EOR in Poland, the employee works with and on behalf of your company as if they were your in-house employee, while XPANDIUM acts as your employee’s legal employer in Poland.

XPANDIUM will be responsible for ensuring your workforce is compliantly employed within the guidelines of the local labour laws, handling payroll administration and distributing salary payments and filing employment-related taxes and returns. 

Take the complexity out of hiring employees in Poland, and contact XPANDIUM for a tailored solution.

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Payment in Poland

As part of XPANDIUM’s EOR services, we act as your company’s payroll provider in Poland. Here is how we compliantly process your employee payroll in Poland:

  • Gather essential employee information – As part of our payroll setup, we collect all employee information needed to ensure effective payroll management and salary distribution.
  • Compliance with local tax law - At XPANDIUM, we make sure to comply with the tax regulations in Poland. This includes income tax, withholding tax and sales tax. Our dedicated team stays updated with the laws and any changes to ensure that your payroll processes meet all requirements. With our payroll system, you can rely on automated tax calculations and filing in Poland. This helps streamline the process while minimising errors and ensuring that all your tax obligations are promptly met.
  • Payroll Classification - Properly classifying employees for payroll purposes is essential to accurately determine tax withholdings and contributions. We make sure that whether they are full-time employees, part-time workers or contractors, they are correctly categorised to avoid misclassification issues.
  • Providing official documentation - As part of our service at XPANDIUM, we provide official documentation to your employees, providing them with a breakdown of their gross income and details about tax deductions, benefits received and other contributions made.
  • Timely salary payments - In Poland, it is common for salaries to be paid monthly, although some companies may choose to pay weekly or daily. By utilising XPANDIUMS EOR service, you can ensure that your employees receive prompt and accurate salary payments.

Partner with XPANDIUM and experience the benefits of our expert payroll services in Poland.