In Poland, how much leave a new hire gets depends on their whole working life, not just their time with you. Paid leave is 20 or 26 days depending on total seniority, and education counts towards it. Since 1 May 2026, earlier self-employment and civil-law contracts can count too.
Since 8 July 2026, the labour inspectorate can also act against B2B contracts that work like employment.
This guide relies on the Labour Code, from the government's legal acts portal, and on Biznes.gov.pl, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, ZUS, the social insurance institution, and PIP, the labour inspectorate. You'll find every link at the bottom.
Company, B2B contract or EOR in Poland?
Those are the three routes, and since July 2026 the B2B one carries more risk.
A Polish company fits a team you're building for the long term. You run payroll, ZUS contributions and PPK yourself.
A B2B or civil-law contract fails the Labour Code test if the person works under your direction, at a place and time you set. An invoice doesn't change that.
Since 8 July 2026, PIP can order a misclassified contract corrected and, where needed, decide the person's status in an administrative process with court review. For independent work, Hire with Columbus runs contractor agreements and payments from $22.50 per contractor per month. An EOR employs the person in Poland for you, from $179/month per employee with Hire with Columbus, with onboarding in 2 to 3 days as a rule.
Where agency rules come in
Where a provider supplies a worker for you to direct, Poland's temporary agency rules can apply. Agency work is limited to specific purposes, such as seasonal work or covering an absent employee, and one worker can normally be placed with the same client for up to 18 months within 36 months. The provider also needs KRAZ registration as an agency.
The EOR label doesn't allow unlimited permanent labour supply. So ask which company will employ your hire and what legal basis it uses for an ongoing role.
What does a Polish contract need?
Sign a written contract, or give written confirmation of its terms, before the person starts work. It states the duties, workplace, gross pay, working time and start date, and further employment information follows within seven days. Use Polish, with an understandable translation where needed.
Probation and fixed-term contracts
A probation contract can last up to three months. It's shorter when the job that follows is short: one month before a fixed-term contract of under six months, and two months before one of six to twelve months.
Between the same employer and employee, fixed-term employment can't exceed three contracts or 33 months in total. A fourth contract, or work beyond 33 months, becomes indefinite employment.
Pay transparency
Since 24 December 2025, employers must give candidates the starting pay or pay range, in the job advert or before the interview or offer, early enough to negotiate. Job titles and adverts must be gender neutral, and you can't ask candidates about their current or previous pay.
Non-compete clauses
A post-employment non-compete is possible for an employee with access to particularly important information. It must be written, set a period and pay compensation of at least 25% of the employee's earlier pay for a matching period.
What does Polish payroll include?
Salary is paid at least monthly, on a fixed date, and no later than the tenth day of the following month. If payday falls on a non-working day, pay the day before.
Minimum wage and average pay
From 1 January 2026, the full-time minimum wage is PLN 4,806 gross a month, pro rata for part-time hours. A separate hourly minimum of PLN 31.40 applies to covered civil-law service contracts.
Statistics Poland (GUS) reports average monthly gross pay in the national economy of PLN 9,233.13 for the second quarter of 2026. It's a national mean, so price the role on its own terms.
There's no general 13th-month salary in the private sector. The statutory extra annual payment covers public-budget employees only.
Employer contributions
| Contribution | Employer | Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Pension | 9.76% | 9.76% |
| Disability | 6.50% | 1.50% |
| Sickness | None | 2.45% |
| Accident insurance | Varies, for example 1.67% | None |
| Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund | 2.45% | None |
| Employee guarantee fund | 0.10% | None |
With a 1.67% accident rate and all funds payable, employer contributions come to 20.48% of pay. Pension and disability together are 16.26% of that, and they stop once annual pay reaches PLN 282,600 in 2026.
Employees also pay health insurance of 9%, charged on pay after their social contributions.
PPK workplace pension
PPK, the employee capital plan, normally takes a 1.5% contribution from the employer and 2% from the employee. Eligible workers aged 18 to 54 are enrolled automatically unless they opt out, and those aged 55 to 69 can join on request.
A worked example
On a PLN 10,000 monthly salary, twelve months of pay is PLN 120,000. Employer contributions at 20.48% add PLN 24,576, and the 1.5% PPK contribution adds PLN 1,800. That's PLN 146,376 a year, or PLN 12,198 a month, before benefits, equipment and fees.
Income tax
Employment income is taxed at 12% on taxable income up to PLN 120,000, less a PLN 3,600 tax reduction, which works out to a tax-free amount of PLN 30,000. Above PLN 120,000, tax is PLN 10,800 plus 32% of the excess. The employer withholds it through payroll.
What does the Labour Code say about hours?
The standard is 8 hours a day and an average of 40 hours a week over a five-day week, usually measured over a reference period of up to four months. Average weekly hours including overtime normally can't exceed 48.
Overtime earns a 50% supplement, or 100% for nights, Sundays and holidays that aren't scheduled work days, and work beyond the average weekly hours. It's normally capped at 150 hours a year. Instead of the supplement, the employee can take time off: hour for hour if they ask, or one and a half hours per overtime hour if the employer decides.
Night work earns an extra 20% of the hourly rate based on the minimum wage. Employees get at least 11 hours in a row off each day and 35 hours each week, and a paid 15-minute break on a working day of six hours or more.
Remote work
Regular remote work needs agreed terms, the right equipment or reimbursement, and the employer covers the necessary electricity and telecoms costs. Occasional remote work of up to 24 days a year, at the employee's request, follows a lighter regime.
How much leave do employees get in Poland?
Annual leave
Full-time employees get 20 working days of paid leave a year with less than 10 years of credited service, and 26 days from 10 years. Completed higher education counts as up to eight years. Since 1 May 2026, documented self-employment and civil-law contracts can count too, so check a new hire's history before you set their entitlement.
Four of those days can be taken on request. When leave is split, one part should be at least 14 calendar days in a row. Unused leave is generally due by 30 September of the following year.
Public holidays
Poland has 14 statutory public holidays, including Christmas Eve since 2025. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, employees on a Monday to Friday schedule get another day off within the reference period.
Sick pay
The employer pays the first 33 days of sickness in a calendar year, or 14 days from the year after the employee turns 50. Sick pay is normally 80% of the base. After that, ZUS pays sickness benefit, for a total of up to 182 days.
Family leave
| Leave | Length | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity | 20 weeks for one child, up to 6 of them before the birth | 100%, or 81.5% if combined with parental leave |
| Paternity | 2 weeks before the child turns 1 | 100% |
| Parental | 41 weeks shared, with 9 weeks reserved for each parent | 70% |
| Childcare leave | Up to 36 months, until the end of the year the child turns 6 | Unpaid |
These benefits are paid from social insurance. Shorter rights come on top:
- 2 days or 16 hours a year of paid time off for a parent of a child under 14, shared between working parents
- 2 days or 16 hours a year at half pay for an urgent family illness or accident
- 5 unpaid days a year of carer's leave
- 2 days off for the employee's own wedding, a child's birth or a close family member's death, and 1 day for some other family events
How do notice and severance work in Poland?
The employer's notice must be in writing and give a valid reason, for fixed-term contracts as well as permanent ones. It also has to tell the employee they can appeal, which they normally do within 21 days. Where a union represents the employee, it has five days to object first.
| Time with the employer | Notice |
|---|---|
| Less than 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 months to 3 years | 1 month |
| 3 years or more | 3 months |
The same periods apply when the employee resigns.
Redundancy severance
Employers with at least 20 staff pay severance when a job ends for reasons unrelated to the employee: one month's pay under two years of service, two months from two to eight years, and three months above eight. It's capped at 15 times the minimum wage, PLN 72,090 in 2026.
Unused leave is paid out on the normal payday. If that falls before the job ends, it's due within 10 days of the end, under the rule in force since 27 January 2026.
What does a foreign hire need?
A non-EU national normally needs both a residence basis that allows the work and a work permit, registered declaration or exemption, matched to the employer and role. Since June 2025, applications are electronic and the Polish contract must be submitted before work starts. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals generally don't need a work permit.
What changes as your team grows?
An employer with at least 50 full-time-equivalent staff on 1 January must run a company social benefits fund (ZFŚS). Collective-redundancy rules apply to employers with at least 20 staff, with thresholds that depend on headcount. Through an EOR, it's the employing company's headcount that counts.
What has changed recently?
- 24 December 2025: pay transparency in recruitment. Candidates must get the pay or range before the offer, and pay history questions are banned.
- 1 January 2026: minimum wage. PLN 4,806 gross a month.
- 27 January 2026: unused leave payment date. Paid on the normal payday, or within 10 days of the end of employment.
- 1 May 2026: wider seniority rules. Earlier self-employment and civil-law contracts can count towards leave and other service rights.
- 8 July 2026: new PIP powers. The inspectorate can order and decide the reclassification of contracts that work like employment.
- 5 November 2026 (coming): new mobbing rules. A reformed definition and remedies, with prevention duties for employers with at least 10 staff.
Employing in Poland with Hire with Columbus
As the employer in Poland, Hire with Columbus runs the Polish contract, payroll, ZUS contributions, PPK and tax withholding. Your team chooses who to hire and leads the work.
Plans start from $179/month per employee and from $22.50/month per contractor, and onboarding mostly takes 2 to 3 days once the candidate says yes. See pricing or get started.
Sources
The figures above come from these official pages, most of them in Polish.
- ELI (legal acts portal), Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), consolidated text (checked 14 September 2026)
- ELI (legal acts portal), Act on the employment of temporary workers (checked 14 September 2026)
- Biznes.gov.pl, Register of employment agencies (KRAZ) (checked 14 September 2026)
- PIP, Additional service periods count towards leave and allowances (as of 1 May 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Minimum wage (as of 1 January 2026)
- Statistics Poland (GUS), Average wage in the second quarter of 2026 (released 10 August 2026)
- Sejm (ELI), Act on additional annual pay for public-budget employees (as of 1 October 2026)
- Biznes.gov.pl, Social insurance contributions for employees (checked 14 September 2026)
- ZUS, Contributions (checked 12 September 2026)
- Dziennik Ustaw / Monitor Polski, 2026 pension and disability contribution ceiling (as of 1 January 2026)
- PFR Portal PPK, PPK for employees (checked 14 September 2026)
- Ministry of Finance, Income from employment (checked 14 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Compensation for overtime work (as of 18 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Remote work (checked 14 September 2026)
- Biznes.gov.pl, Annual leave (checked 12 September 2026)
- ELI (legal acts portal), Act on public holidays (checked 14 September 2026)
- Dziennik Ustaw, 2025 amendment to the public holidays act (as of 5 October 2026)
- ZUS, Sickness benefit: entitlement and duration (checked 14 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Maternity leave (checked 14 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Duration of parental leave (checked 14 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Paternity leave (checked 14 September 2026)
- PIP, Time off work (checked 14 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Notice period (checked 12 September 2026)
- Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Termination for reasons unrelated to the employee (checked 14 September 2026)
- PIP, Legal employment of foreigners (checked 14 September 2026)
- District Labour Office in Sandomierz, Changes to employing foreigners from 1 June 2025 (checked 14 September 2026)
- ELI (legal acts portal), Act on the company social benefits fund (checked 14 September 2026)
- PIP, Mobbing and discrimination: new rules (checked 14 September 2026)
Frequently asked questions
How much does an EOR cost in Poland?
Hire with Columbus employs people in Poland from $179 per employee per month, with no setup fee. That covers the Polish contract, payroll, ZUS contributions, PPK and tax withholding. The bigger cost is the employer contributions on top of salary, about 20.48% of pay plus 1.5% for PPK in a standard case.
Can I hire employees in Poland without setting up a local entity?
Yes. An employer of record employs the person in Poland on your behalf, so you don't need a Polish company. Where a provider supplies a worker for you to direct, Poland's temporary agency rules can apply, including KRAZ registration and a normal limit of 18 months within 36 months at the same client. Ask which company will employ your hire and what legal basis it uses.
How long does it take to hire someone in Poland?
Onboarding through Hire with Columbus typically takes 2 to 3 days once your candidate has accepted. The written contract, or written confirmation of its terms, has to be in place before the person starts work. A non-EU hire usually also needs a work permit or registered declaration matched to the employer and role.
What does an employer pay on top of gross salary in Poland?
Employer contributions are 9.76% pension, 6.50% disability, a variable accident rate such as 1.67%, 2.45% for the Labour and Solidarity Funds and 0.10% for the guarantee fund: 20.48% in total. PPK usually adds 1.5%. On a PLN 10,000 monthly salary, that comes to about PLN 12,198 a month before benefits and fees.
What is the notice period for terminating an employee in Poland?
Notice is 2 weeks with less than 6 months at the employer, 1 month from 6 months and 3 months from 3 years. The same periods apply when the employee resigns. The employer's notice must be written, give a valid reason and explain the employee's right to appeal within 21 days.
How much paid leave are employees entitled to in Poland?
Full-time employees get 20 working days a year with less than 10 years of credited service and 26 days from 10 years. Education counts, and since 1 May 2026 earlier self-employment and civil-law contracts can count too. Poland also has 14 public holidays, including Christmas Eve.
What is the difference between hiring an employee and a contractor in Poland?
Paid work under an employer's direction, at a place and time the employer sets, is employment whatever the contract says, and since 8 July 2026 the labour inspectorate can act to reclassify a B2B contract that works like employment. For genuinely independent work, Hire with Columbus can run contractor agreements and payments from $22.50 per contractor per month.
What changed in Poland
Checked against official sources on .
No rule changes recorded since we began logging them.