28 Nov 1796 views

Working in Poland. Salary, Benefits, and Essential information

Does employment in Poland pay well? Understanding our labor and salary system, various forms of agreements, and the most typical benefits is necessary if you're looking for work. They can all really surprise you.

Good news for the very beginning: Poland has the third lowest unemployment rate in the European Union. There’s still not enough people to work – not only in new technologies or IT sectors (although first of all), but also in the service industry and construction.

Categories of Agreements

It's important to comprehend the type of agreement being offered to you when looking through job offers. In the section below, we'll also remind you how to legally work in Poland.

Which of the agreements that we have in Poland will work best for you?

umowa o prace – employment contract -it’s the primary form of employment in Poland. Later on, when talking about salaries and benefits, we refer to this contract.
A full-time job has an 8h work day for 40 h/week. The contract may be signed for a definite or indefinite period (usually at the beginning there’s a 3-month trial period).
There’s a notice period and a minimum wage.
Pros? Stable employment and regular pay – in Poland you get paid monthly, no later than on the 10th. Additionally you have health insurance, paid vacation, paid sick leave and maternity leave – the longest in Europe!
Cons? Lack of flexibility and again: the notice period (especially if you’re the one who suddenly wants to leave).
umowa zlecenie / contract of mandate is popular especially for students and first time job seekers. There’s no minimum number of hours per month. There’s a minimum hourly wage.
Pros? It’s more flexible and still you’re insured, have paid sick leave and maternity leave.
Cons? No paid vacations and a rather low salary. It can also be terminated at any time.
umowa o dzielo / specific-task contract is a specific contract where both parties agree on the result of the work, and not the process itself. It’s flexible, with no defined work hours.
Cons? No insurance nor other benefits and no minimum wage. It’s good if you have a sideline in addition to your main job.
And what about self-employment? In Poland, you can run a one person company and provide services based on a B2B contract – some companies may accept (or even prefer) such a contract to work with you.
You pay personal income tax (PIT) and social and health premiums. The basic income tax is 17%.
Pros: You’re independent, flexible and you can provide your services to more companies. You’re also more cost-effective for the employer than when hiring an employee directly.
Cons: You settle your taxes yourself and you deal with all the red tape. Also, this solution is beneficial for you only above a certain salary amount.

Important info for foreigners.

Depending on your citizenship and/or the visa you entered Poland on, you may or may not be able to legally work there. In this guide, we go into great detail about this.

Yet another thing! Apply for a PESEL number right away because you'll need it to pay your yearly taxes. This is covered in the aforementioned guide.

Wages

It's time for what you came here for: money! However, take note that your take-home compensation may differ from the listed salary.

Net and gross

Advertised salaries in job offers are usually given in gross amounts (they haven’t deducted income tax and insurance you have to pay). The final amount (the one that will take home) is the net amount after taxes and insurance have been paid.

The total cost to the employer is your gross salary plus some additional premiums he has to pay for you. 2022 is a crazy year – we’ve faced a huge tax reform – a New Polish Deal- and to understand all the calculations is kinda tough, but let us give an example:

to get 5000 z? net (your take home) your gross salary should be around 7000 z?, while the total cost for the employer is 8500 z? because of the additional premiums he had to pay.

Minimum and average wages

The Polish minimum monthly wage is currently 3010 gross, 2209 z? net. The hourly rate (if you work, for example, on a contract of mandate) is around 20 (just under 14 z? net). Not much, but the average monthly wage in Poland at the beginning of 2022 was about 6100 PLN gross, just under 4400 PLN net, quite a jump.

You can expect the minimum wage (or close to it) when working in the service industry – as a server or sales person, especially if you’re just starting out in the labor market. Unfortunately, government employees in Poland also earn closer to the minimum wage rather than the average salary. Higher salaries are possible in private companies in growing industries – we talk about them below.

Basic taxes in Poland

Your first 30 000 z? is tax-free.

Above that the tax is 17% – up to 120,000 z? per year (the first tax bracket) and above this amount the tax is 32%.

Important: Employees under 26 don’t pay income tax (so this is somehow intended to compensate for a lower salary when starting out).

Employee rights and benefits

Did you know that in Poland, after having a baby, a woman can return to work after up to 4 years of leave? What are some other employee benefits in Poland? (remember, we are still talking about a full-time basic employment contract):

26 days of paid vacation per year – these are weekdays, without weekends. On top of that there are 13 public holidays per year! What’s more, if a holiday falls on a Saturday, a day off can be used another time;
paid sick leave is 80% of your pay. Pregnant women get 100% pay on sick leave; Remember: it must be issued by a doctor;
maternity leave in Poland lasts 52 weeks – the longest in Europe! 20 weeks apply to the mother (she receives 100% of pay). Then the mother or father can take “parental” leave for another 32 weeks, receiving 60% of their salary. This for a total of one year. You can add to this your paid vacation days that accumulated during that period, but it’s not over;
after that you can have… extended post-maternity leave for another 3 years! You don’t get paid, but you’re still an official employee with health insurance and your old-age pension insurance paid;
the notice period depends on seniority: up to 6 months seniority it’s 2 weeks, up to 3 years – a month, and above that your notice period is 3 months. This is a safeguard for you, but also for the employer – so that the employee doesn’t suddenly leave.You can leave earlier if your employer agrees (but he doesn’t have to). And additionally, a pregnant woman cannot be fired in Poland;
a work day is usually 8 hours including ONLY a 15-minute lunch break. Yeah, that’s official law but…
more and more companies agree to flexible work hours (so you decide when you start, when you have a break) and hybrid working models with some days from home. Don’t be afraid to negotiate!

The most promising job offers in Poland

Time for some previously-mentioned data:

Top 3 best paid professions in Poland are: Brand Manager, Key Account Manager, and IT Security Specialist – they can expect around 10 000 z? gross a month.

Software developers only rank 7th, but this is an average salary. An experienced Senior Developer can expect 15 000 z?.

The fastest growing sectors with an ongoing need for skilled employees are: IT, telecommunications, marketing, and e-commerce.

Although starting salaries may be lower, many jobs are also waiting in: construction, the services and hospitality industries, the medical profession, and logistics.

Work in Poland for foreigners: how to find a good job?

Recruitment agency AtoZ Serwis Plus sp. z o provides work in Poland for foreigners from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Nepal India and from other countries. Our company has been operating in the labor market since 2009. Thanks to our experience, we can carry out each set of employees efficiently and quickly.

We select the necessary vacancy considering the characteristics of the applicant and provide information to the candidate about the place of new work. Also, we take on our shoulders organizational issues. Our offer is directed to people who want to continue their professional development in Poland. Also, for people who are planning to move to Poland for permanent residence.

Which one to obtain?

There are five types of work permits:

Type A – if you are employed either on the basis of employment contract or civil law contract by an employer with an office registered in Poland. This is the most popular work permit.
Type B – if you are performing a board member function and residing in Poland for a total period that exceeds 6 months within a period of 12 subsequent months.
Type C – if you are delegated to Poland by a foreign employer for a period that exceeds 30 days in a calendar year to work for the foreign employer’s subsidiary or branch.
Type D – if you are delegated by a foreign employer to work in export services in an occasional and temporary manner. It is important that the foreign employer does not have a branch or subsidiary of its own in Poland.
Type E – if you are undertaking work-related tasks which do not fall into any of the four categories above. This is, as you presume, the rarest type of a work permit.

How to apply for a work permit?

You may be relieved to hear that you do not apply for a work permit yourself – it is your employer’s duty to start the procedure. The authority responsible for issuing work permits is, as in the case of visas, the voivode’s office (a list of all 16 offices with their addresses). Your employer needs to deliver all necessary documents, which differ for each type of permit. You will find them listed on the website of the relevant voivode’s office, but here’s an example of what to expect: Mazowieckie Voivodeship Office in Warsaw. There is also a fee for issuing or extending a work permit: PLN 50 for a permit valid up to 3 months; PLN 100 for a longer period of time; PLN 200 if it is a type D work permit.

If you wish to work in Poland, get started on all of the above and keep an eye on your employer, as they are the ones who are in charge of your application. Best of luck!

How to work in Poland on qualification?

Do you want to find a suitable job in Poland under your qualification? Don’t work as an unskilled worker! We advise you to fill out this form. As soon as we have a vacancy corresponding to your requirements and qualifications, we will contact you immediately. Tell me as much as you can about yourself .

On average, every minute on our page about four employers fill out an application to search for employees. Most of them are looking for highly skilled workers.

We provide new vacancies first of all to people who will fill in this questionnaire. Also we do work permit.Please note that we communicate only with selected candidates. If our recruitment specialist will not reply to you, it’s mean we can’t hire you.

We provide new vacancies first of all to people who will fill in this questionnaire.

Are you looking for employees? We will find the best candidates for you

We recruit employees from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam)

We treat each of our clients individually, as the employees we recruit for you. We will not be able to accurately determine the cost of our services without knowing your needs and requirements for candidates. Preparing a job is always the main task at the beginning of recruitment. Please fill in all the fields as much as possible, as it is important for us as well as for the job applicants.

Add a job offer

Fill in the form (employer's questionnaire). We will select the optimal form of cooperation with you. fill in this questionnaire.

Choose an offer

After completing the employer's questionnaire, we will prepare an offer in the field of services: recruitment, employee leasing or outsourcing of (personnel) services.

You have an employee

We will find the right candidate for your business and guarantee good conditions for both parties.

After filling out the form you will receive an offer within the services:

Recruitment – recruiting with a one-time fee for employment by the employer of the candidate
Leasing of employees on the basis of the law on temporary work
Outsourcing of services (personnel) – some tasks in the company, the State can entrust you to us (we specialise like in the metallurgical industry and road construction)

Complete the questionnaire !