Employment Regulations
Polish employment law appears complex and confusing when looking from outside view although in some ways there are many similarities to other countries. The following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services are recommended when employing in Poland.
Key Factors to Consider When Employing in Poland:
There are several key areas to be aware of within Poland’s employment regulatory framework, especially for companies that plan to initiate a full local office and human resources department. These challenges can be mitigated by use of a locally sourced payroll provider who is familiar with all of the local laws and rules for both local employees as well as foreign nationals.
Employee Entitlements
Working on Sundays
In Poland working on national holidays and Sundays is prohibited and employees show have these days as official days of no work, however there are many exceptions to businesses in certain circumstances emergency services. Shops, restaurants, hotels, transportation and hospitals may open on Sundays, yet not on National Holidays.
Employees that work under the weekend working time schedule may work both Sundays and national holidays, and can carry out up 12 hours work time a day, which is 4 hours longer than the national legal limit of workers.
Any worker that does carry out work on a national holiday or Sunday can be rewarded by either a day off in lieu, or when not possible, an additional pay premium paid at the same rate as overtime working.
If an employee is carrying out Sunday work on a regular basis then their employer must ensure that the employee has one Sunday off for every 4 that they work.
Time Off Work
All employees are entitled to an annual unbroken paid vacation. An employee who is just starting his working life attains the right, in the calendar year in which he starts work, to vacation with every month that passes of 1/12 of the total vacation to which he is entitled after one year of work. An employee gains the right to the next vacation in each subsequent calendar year.
Vacation entitlement is as follows:
- 20 days – if the employee has been working for less than 10 years
- 26 days – if the employee has been working for at least 10 years
Medical Leave
While an employee is unable to work because of:
- Illness or isolation due to a contagious disease lasting in total up to 33 days in a calendar year, and in the case of an employee who has reached 50 years of age – lasting in total up to 14 days in a calendar year, the employee retains the right to 80 per cent of his remuneration, unless the provisions of labour law binding at a given employer provide for a higher remuneration in this regard,
- An accident on the way to work or form work, or illness during pregnancy – within the period specified in point 1 – an employee retains the right to 100 per cent of his remuneration,
- Necessary medical examinations provided for candidates for donors of cells, tissues and organs, or undergoing an operation of gathering cells, tissues and organs – within the period of time determined in point 1 – the employee retains the right to 100 per cent of the remuneration.
- For the period of an incapacity to work, as referred to in § 1, lasting in total longer than 33 days in calendar year, and in the case of an employee who has reached 50 years of age – lasting in total longer than 14 days in a calendar year, the employee is entitled to sickness benefit under the principles determined in separate provisions.
- The provisions of § 1 point 1 and § 4 relating to an employee who has reached 50 years of age, apply to an incapacity of an employee to work falling after the calendar year in which the employee reached 50 years of age.
Employment Termination
Upon the termination or expiry of an employment relationship, the employer is obliged to issue a work certificate to employee immediately. The issue of the work certificate may not depend on the previous settlement of accounts between the employee and the employer.
The employer is obliged to issue the employment certificate within 7 days after termination of employment relationship
- Period of notice for a contract for a trial period
- 3 working days if the trial period does not exceed 2 weeks,
- 1 week if the trial period is longer than 2 weeks,
- 2 weeks if the trial period is 3 months
- Period of notice for a contract for an indefinite period of time- the period of notice for an employment contract concluded for an indefinite period of time depends on the employment period with a given employer and amounts to:
- 2 weeks if an employee has been employed for less than 6 months,
- 1 month if an employee has been employed for at least 6 months,
- 3 months if an employee has been employed for at least 3 years.
