International businesses from all corners of the world have set their sights on Polish employees, and it’s because they are highly educated, and they apply themselves fully to their work. On top of that, the labor costs in this country are relatively low, which budget-conscious employers will surely appreciate.

Regardless of Polish workers’ appeal, it’s critical to read up on employee benefits in Poland with a focus on the actual Polish labor law. Doing so will ensure that there are no gaps in your employee benefits package and keep your business out of legal trouble. 

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a list of mandatory and supplementary benefits you can use while building your employee benefits package.

Where to Find Information on Polish Labor Law

The Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy, run by the Polish government, makes it easy to learn about the laws regarding employment in the country. The following topics are covered in this resource: 

  • Parenthood rights
  • Holidays and exemptions from work
  • Employer obligations
  • Remuneration for work
  • And more

So, feel free to explore the site for official information about Polish labor law.  In addition to this user-friendly site, consider exploring:

Some of the sites aren’t in English. If you need to update the language, go to your browser settings and click “translate.” If that doesn’t work, you can also use Google Translate or Microsoft Translator. 

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Poland

Sifting through Polish labor law can very quickly become tedious. Though we do recommend reading the actual law text when feasible, we’d like to give you a primer on the most important mandatory employee benefits in Poland below. Read on for those. 

Social Security Contributions

Like many other countries, Poland has a social security program that doles out benefits like: 

  • Invalidity Pension – This is a cash benefit that workers can access if they are unable to work and meet the qualifications in place. 
  • Old-age Pension – This social security benefit kicks in when an employee reaches a certain age and has been contributing to their pension for a set number of years. Benefits differ based on the employee’s date of birth and how long they’ve been funding their pension. 
  • Sickness cash Benefits – Under this social security benefit, workers may be privy to several different allowances, including rehab, sickness, compensation, and more. 
  • Maternity – This benefit grants female workers a maternity allowance when they give birth or take in a child that’s not biologically theirs. The benefit ranges from 20 to 37 weeks, depending on the situation. 
  • Health Insurance – Polish employees can get free health coverage if they have general health insurance and meet the other requirements outlined by the Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy. 
  • Accident and Occupational Disease Insurance – Employees get to draw from the accident fund if they are injured or contract a disease at work.

These benefits are available to full-time Polish employees and, in some cases, their families. Both the employee and employer have to make regular contributions to these accounts (as well as the Labor Fund, Solidarity Fund, and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund). The actual amount will vary case by case, but generally hovers around 20% of the employee’s salary. The employee also has to contribute to these accounts. 

To learn more about the benefits above as an employer, go to the Polish government website.

Full-time Polish employees are eligible for 20 days of paid annual leave if they’ve been working for an employer for less than 10 years. If they’ve been working for an employer for at least 10 years, they get 26 days of annual leave. Part-time workers have different paid annual leave durations. During these leaves, the employees should be paid 100% of their usual wage. 

There are also very specific provisions in Polish law for sick leave. See the below table for more information and feel free to reference this official resource.

Details Information
Eligibility Employee unable to work due to an infectious disease.
Duration 33 days (general employees) 14 days (employees 50+ years old)
Payment Amount 80% remuneration*
*Employees receive 100% of their regular pay if the illness is due to a work-related accident, pregnancy-related condition, or organ/cell/tissue donation.

Parental Benefits

A female employee who has just welcomed a healthy child will receive 80% of their normal pay during their leave (up to 32 weeks for a single birth and up to 34 weeks for multiple births). The father may take up to 2 weeks of leave.

Learn more about parental benefits on the Polish government website.

Working Time and Rest Periods

Just like in most of the rest of the world, Polish employees can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours per week. This is based on a 5-day workweek. They must be able to take Sundays and public holidays off, and whenever that’s not possible, the employer must offer them another day off to make up for it.

There should also be an 11-hour rest period between each workday unless there’s an exception.

Overtime Pay

The Polish government considers overtime as any time worked over the 8-hour daily limit or the weekly 40-hour limit. Though it’s not typically welcome, overtime is allowed during special employer circumstances or whenever a rescue campaign is required to protect human life, health, property, and the environment, or to correct a malfunction.

Minimum Wage Compliance

According to the Polish government, the minimum wage is PLN 4300 per month. But that’s set to increase to PLN 4666 on January 1, 2025. These minimums are comprised of not only the base wage but also any bonuses and awards. But there are a few things that are not included in these wage minimums: 

  • Seniority allowance
  • Special working conditions allowance
  • Overtime pay
  • Retirement benefits 
  • Supplement for night work
  • Anniversary award

Severance Pay

Severance pay in Poland is handled in various ways, depending on the situation. Qualifying employees will receive the amounts outlined in the below table: 

Employment Duration Amount of Severance Pay
Up to 2 years 1 month’s remuneration
2 to 8 years 2 month’s remuneration
8+ years 3 month’s remuneration

Employee Capital Plans (PPK)

The Employee Capital Plans (PPK) is a savings scheme put in place to help workers in Poland save money. It’s for employees who are between the ages of 18 and 60. As an employer, you are obligated by law to enroll your employees into their plan and set up regular contributions.

Public Holidays

Employees in Poland don’t typically have to work on public holidays. They include: 

  • January 1 – New Year’s Day
  • January 2 – Święto Trzech Króli (Epiphany)
  • January 15 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (movable date)
  • February 19 – Washington’s Birthday (movable date)
  • April 1 – Drugi Dzień Wielkiej Nocy (the Second Day of Easter) (movable date)
  • May 1 – Święto Pracy (Labor Day)
  • May 3 – Constitution Day in Poland
  • May 27 – Memorial Day (movable date)
  • May 30 – Boże Ciało (Corpus Christi Day) (movable date)
  • June 19 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
  • July 4 – U.S. Independence Day
  • August 15 – Polish Armed Forces Day and Feast of the Assumption of Mary
  • September 2 – Labor Day (movable date)
  • October 14 – Columbus Day (movable date)
  • November 1 – All Saints’ Day
  • November 11 – Veterans Day
  • November 28 – Thanksgiving Day (movable date)
  • December 25 – Christmas Day
  • December 26 – Second Day of Christmas (movable date)

So, having your employees work on these days isn’t typically permitted by law. However, you may be able to get them to work on these days if the conditions meet those outlined in the Labour Code. 

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Poland

In addition to the mandatory benefits above, we recommend adding some supplementary benefits if feasible for your budget. People from Poland may find the following employee benefits especially appealing: 

  • Private health insurance that covers services and treatments that the public health coverage doesn’t. 
  • Sport and wellness benefits like gym memberships, yoga and mindfulness sessions, and the like. 
  • Transportation allowance for job positions that require the employee to do a substantial amount of driving. 
  • Flexible working arrangements to give employees more autonomy.
  • More leave time than is mandated by the government of Poland. 

How to Build an Employee Benefits Package for Workers in Poland

Ready to build your employee benefits package? It’s anything but a walk in the park. Use the following steps as a guide to help you through:

  • Research, research, research. Read Poland’s labor code and government resources very closely. If there’s anything you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to reach out to a lawyer who knows their way around international law. 
  • Check off all of the mandatory employee benefits. As a priority, ensure that all of the mandatory benefits have a place in your benefits package. Missing any of the benefits puts your company at risk of legal issues. 
  • Add in the supplementary benefits. Choose the ones that would be most beneficial to your potential employees. And before you make them official, be sure to check whether your budget can support them. 
  • Get all of the benefits down on paper or a digital document. You can make a handbook that you’ll distribute to your employees and repurpose the information to use on job descriptions and during orientation. 

So, there you have it – everything you need to know about employee benefits in Poland. We hope that you found all the information you were looking for in this employee benefits guide, and we wish you the best as you expand into Poland.