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Posting of workers from the EU to Poland – a guide for enterprises (Part 1)

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​​​​by ​​​​​​​​​Małgorzata Kolasa-Dorosz and Jakub Szachniewicz

12 November 2024


The interest  in the cross-border provision of services is growing among enterprises, which means that they need to post workers to other countries. 


In this guide, using the example of a service provider based in Germany and its employee, a German citizen not residing in Poland, we explain the key steps and rules for posting workers to Poland in a legally secure manner.

Determination of the type of posting


An enterprise looking to post an employee to work in Poland on a temporary basis should first determine the type of the posting. Apart from specific solutions designed for employment agencies, an employer may post an employee to Poland in the following scenarios:​

  • to perform a contract concluded by that employer with a business entity operating in Poland, ​
  • to work in a branch or enterprise which pursues a business activity in Poland and is a part of the same group as the employer.

In our guide, we focus on the first scenario, which is more prevalent in practice. When deciding to post their workers to Poland, enterprises already have a selected business partner to whom the worker will be posted to perform a specific job.


Posting of workers vs business trip


It should be noted that, depending on the circumstances, an employee’s trip to Poland may also qualify as a business trip. The question how to differentiate between posting and a business trip depends on many individual aspects. The main difference between posting and a business trip is whether the place where the employee performs work changes or not. With a business trip, the place of work does not change. The employer instructs the employee to go on a business trip, but the trip itself is incidental, temporary, short-term and is aimed at fulfilling a specific business instruction. ​

It is also important to note that with posting, an employee is posted by the employer to fulfil tasks for the posting employer (here, the German employer), on its own account and under its own direction. It is the German employer (and not the Polish business partner) who decides about the working time, the place of work, and the type of work the employee does. Thus, the German employer's right to give the employee directions does not pass onto the Polish entity and the reporting relationship does not change, either.


Service Contract 


The first scenario indicated above involves posting to perform a contract as defined by the law. In the discussed example, the German enterprise being the employer should have a contract signed with the Polish business partner for the performance of services and for the posting. The contract should regulate in particular: the period of posting, place of posting, type and scope of services to be performed, obligations of both parties, and mutual arrangements as to how the services should be performed in Poland. In case of an inspection, such a contract proves that the posting of an employee to Poland is lawful and justified. 

An employee to be posted by the German employer to Poland should be employed with the German employer (for example, based on a contract of employment) and temporarily assigned to work in Poland. The employment relationship must exist throughout the period of posting. The scope of work, the period of posting and the new place of work should be agreed with the employee in an annex or a supplement to the current contract with the employee. 


IMPORTANT! 
For the purpose of this guide, the posted employee is a German citizen, i.e. an EU resident who can stay in Poland legally without any additional visas or temporary residence permit. If the German employer posts foreign workers to Poland who are not German nationals, it is possible to post such employees to provide services. In such a case, it is necessary to additionally analyse on a case-by-case basis the formal requirements related to the employees’ stay in Poland before they are actually posted.


Obligations of an employer posting a worker to Poland


According to the Act of 10 June 2016 on Posting of Workers in the Framework of the Provision of Services, transposing in particular Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, an employer posting a worker to Poland should ensure that the posted employee has appropriate terms and conditions of employment in Poland. 


conditions of employment in Poland


If a worker is posted for up to 12 months (or up to 18 months if a justified notification is filed with the National Labour Inspectorate (in Polish: PIP)), the employee’s terms and conditions of employment must not be less favourable than those arising from the Labour Code and other laws pertaining to employee rights and obligations regarding: ​

  • working time standards and working hours as well as uninterrupted rest periods in 24-hour and weekly periods;
  • amount of holiday leave;
  • remuneration for work;
  • occupational safety and health;
  • protection of pregnant employees and protection during their maternity leave;
  • employment of juvenile workers and performance of work or other gainful activities by children;
  • equal treatment in employment and no discrimination;
  • amounts to cover the costs related to business trips from the place of work in Poland to which the employee has been posted to another place of work in or outside the Republic of Poland; ​

unless German laws are more favourable for the employee – this is the co-called favourability principle.

If the actual period of posting exceeds 12 months (or 18 months if the notification is filed), the employer is required to ensure that the employee’s terms and conditions of employment meet all Polish local requirements, except as regards procedures and formalities related to concluding and terminating agreements, non-competition clauses, employee pension plans, and employee capital plans.

In practice, this means that before the first posting, the German employer should determine which Polish laws will apply to the employees posted to Poland. Next, the German employer should compare these laws with the German regulations and apply to every aspect of employment a piece of legislation that is objectively more favourable for the employee taking into account the length of the planned posting. 

Formal requirements related to posting


  1. Notification of posting: not later than on the date the posted employee starts to provide services (i.e. starts to work in Poland), is the employer required to notify the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) of the posting and inform the PIP about every change of data reported in the notification, including about the end of posting.
  2. Appointment of a person authorised to contact and handle the communication with the PIP and to send and receive documents or notifications; such a contact person must reside in Poland during the period of posting.
  3. Documentation: during the period of posting, the employer is required to store all posting-related documentation in paper or electronic form in Poland and to indicate its place of storage in the notification of posting. These include, in particular, such documents as a copy of the employment contract of the employee posted to Poland or any other equivalent document certifying the terms and conditions of employment under the established employment relationship; records concerning the working time of the employee posted to Poland with respect to the start and end of work and the number of hours worked on a particular day, or a copy of such records; and documents specifying the amount of remuneration of the employee posted to Poland. 
  4. Cooperation with the authorities, including the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP): the employer is required to communicate with the authorities, including to submit the documents and their translation into Polish to the authorities during the period of posting no later than 5 working days after receiving the respective request.
  5. Provision of occupational health checks and occupational safety and health training to employees: the employer must ensure that the terms and conditions of employment of the posted employees are safe and hygienic and follow rules that are not less favourable for them than those specified in Polish legislation. Therefore, it is recommended for the posted employee to have undergone a Polish occupational health check and hold a valid Polish OSH training certificate (even if the employee completed such training and holds such a certificate in his/her home country).


Get to know the tax aspects of posting workers from the EU to Poland. Read Part 2 of our guide »​​

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