What to Know About an Employment Contract in Poland?
The employment contract is a part of the employment procedure in Poland. The employment contract confirms the employment relationship. It legally establishes the work arrangement between employer operating in Poland and employee. A properly written contract states the names, duration, pay rate and payment schedule, workplace, and notice period.
An employment contract is required to legally classify the relationship as employee-employer. Other agreements like commission contract (umowa zlecenie) or specific-task contract (umowa o dzieło) do not constitute employment.
Signing an employment contract is part of the employment procedure. Without the employment contract, the legal definitions of employee and employer do not apply.
More than one employment contract may be signed with the same employee. Although it is commonly referred to as “extending the contract”, continuing the work relationship requires signing a new document of employment contract.
Entrepreneurs running a business in Poland must provide an employee with additional legally required documents beyond the employment contract when hiring. Each contract should be accompanied by information on terms of employment outlined in the article no 29 of the Polish Labor Code. Signing the first contract requires additionally a number of documents. A detailed list of all required forms are found in the Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy of Poland on employee documentation, published in Journal of Laws in 2023 as an item number 471.
Instead of signing an employment contract you can pre-sign it and create a document called promise of employment, which is a document confirming that at a certain date or after meeting certain conditions, the employer plans to hire the person and sign an employment contract.
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What are the types of Employment Contracts in Poland?
There are three types of employment contracts in Poland.
- Employment contract for a trial period.
- Employment contract for a fixed term.
- Employment contract for an indefinite term.
What is an employment contract for a trial period work in Poland?
Employment contract for a trial period is a first contract that is concluded with a new employee. While no fixed duration is defined, Article 25 of the Labor Code states that the maximum duration of a trial period contract in Poland lasts 3 months. For intended 6 months or less employment duration, the trial period lasts 1 month. For intended 6 to 12 months of employment duration, the trial period lasts 2 months. There is also an option to extend the trial for absence periods up to 1 additional month if justified by the type of work and agreed by both parties.
When the trial period is over, the employer should propose signing a fixed-term contract when they want to continue the employment relationship. Re-using a trial period contract with the same employee is only allowed for substantially different work. However, the type of work must be really different. For example, you cannot trial as a secretary then re-trial as a clerical worker. But you can trial as a secretary and production line worker.
Termination of a contract concluded for a trial period in Poland is defined by law as 3 days for a contract signed for a maximum of 2 weeks. A trial period of 2 weeks to 3 months must be terminated at least 1 week in advance, and a 3 month trial period requires 2 weeks notice.
What is an employment contract for a fixed term work in Poland?
Employment contract for a fixed term is a contract that is usually signed directly after the end of the employment contract for a trial period. Its duration correlates to the intended employment duration indicated during the trial period. According to Polish law, the length of a fixed term contract is already assumed while signing the trial period contract. In result, a 1 month trial suggests the fixed term should not exceed 6 months. Employers are able to offer longer fixed terms but should not shorten the period. Acting to the detriment of an employee results in penalties in the event of an inspection or the employee’s claim to the Labor Court.
The changes introduced to the Labor Code in April 2023 also clarified the issue of terminating fixed-term contracts. Before, no justification for terminating such a contract has been required. Now, the employer is required to provide the employee with a notice of termination to state in this document a reason for discontinuation of cooperation.
The Labor Code in art. 25 indicates that no more than 3 fixed term contracts with a total duration of 33 months are allowed, excluding replacement, seasonal roles, or other objective reasons attributable to the employer. In such a situation, the employer must notify the competent labor inspector of the fact of the existence of such an agreement and the reasons justifying it within 5 working days from the date of signing the document.
Any other employment contract in Poland, which does not belong to these exceptions, and has been concluded for a period longer than 33 months, after that time converts to a contract for an indefinite term.
Replacement contract is sometimes added to the list of Polish employment contracts. However, it is not a different type of contract. A replacement contract is a fixed-term contract, except that its duration does not have to be defined in dates, but depends on the length of the absence of the person replaced, hence it includes a statement “while replacing …”.
What is an employment contract for an indefinite term work in Poland?
Employment contract for an indefinite term in Poland is a contract that does not contain any ending date of employment relationship. Indefinite term contracts in Poland provide the most job security, hence are perceived the most advantageous by the employees, but are rare early in employment. Employers are usually reluctant to sign this type of contract sooner than necessary, because employers can easily not renew fixed terms versus justifying termination of indefinites.
Notice period for fixed-term and indefinite-term contracts is the same and depends on the length of employment with a given employer. Notice periods are 2 weeks under 6 months, 1 month up to 3 years, and 2 months beyond 3 years.
When opening a new business in Poland, especially if it is a small business, it is important to understand the contract types and regulations. Employees generally push for the most favorable terms. Uninformed employers could hastily agree to disadvantageous contracts. Knowing the regulations prevents unintentional violations.
Why is a Contract of Employment Important for Operating a Business in Poland?
The employment contract is the foundation of the employee-employer relationship in Poland. While operating a business in Poland, it is important to ensure that such contracts are not only properly signed, but also effectively executed and ended. Properly executing and ending contracts of employment in Poland is critical to avoid substantial penalties under Article 281 of the Labor Code.
The most common vIolations of law connected with contracts of employment in Poland include using civil law agreements, such as commission contract (umowa zlecenie) or specific-task contract (umowa o dzieło) instead of employment contracts, and allowing work without a written contract.
Other violations of Labor Code connected directly with Polish contracts of employment are unlawful termination without proper notice, not maintaining proper employee documentation and contracts, and storing paperwork unsafely where it could be damaged or destroyed.
Fines for violations of paragraphs of Labor Code concerning contracts of employment range from 1,000 PLN to 30,000 PLN. Compliance, even in minor details, prevents potentially large penalties.
Situations like employing foreigners or working across borders raise contract questions. But Polish contracts of employment remain valid as long as work is performed in Poland.
In what situation a Polish Employment Contract should be signed?
The Polish employment contract should always be signed before the employee begins to perform his duties, as Polish law requires local contracts before work starts. This applies to foreigners working in Poland too. This is the place of work principle that applies in Poland as the Member State of the European Union and the European Economic Area.
For businesses based in Poland but operating mostly abroad, contract rules are more complex and additional factors determine the governing jurisdiction. For companies with Polish operations exceeding 25% of working time, turnover, number of services provided and income, it would be necessary to sign Polish Employment Contracts, hence emerges the question if they can be signed digitally.
Can a Polish Employment Contract be signed digitally?
Pursuant to Article 29 §2 of the Labor Code, a Polish employment contract needs to be signed in writing. However, another document, the Civil Code Article 781 indicates that the electronic form is equivalent to the paper form if both parties sign the document with a qualified electronic signature. In this case, the contract will be concluded effectively. In consequence, digital signing of Polish employment contracts is possible but rarely practiced because it requires both parties to use qualified electronic signatures rarely obtained by persons. Without employee qualified signatures, paper copies are usually still needed.
Sample employment contract is given below.
Place and date
Employment contract for a trial period / fixed term / indefinite term*
concluded on ……….. (date)
Between the employer ………………………… with its registered office in ……………………… represented by …………………………………… and the Employee ………………… ……………………. with PESEL number ……………………………… hereinafter referred to as the Parties.
The parties agree that:
1. They conclude a contract for the period of …………………………….
2. The employee will be employed as ………………………
3. Basic salary in the amount of ……………………………….. will be paid on ………………day of each month for the current / previous month*
4. The working hours are …………………
5. The place of work is ………………………………
6. The date of commencement of work will be ………………………………………………………
7. The period of notice is …………………………………
8. _After the end of the trial period, the Parties plan to conclude another contract for the period of …………………………. _
9. The contract will be automatically extended for periods of absence
The agreement was signed in two homonymous copies, one for each of the Parties.
……………………………… ……………………………
Employer’s signature Employee’s signature
*delete the unused option
_ to be completed only when signing a contract for a trial period_