Posted Workers as Part of an Internationalisation Strategy

The posting of workers to Poland by foreign employers has become an increasingly significant aspect of the integrated European labour market. The applicable Polish legal framework, rooted in Directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and its successor Directive 2018/957/EU on equal remuneration, establishes a comprehensive set of obligations incumbent upon both foreign employers posting workers to Poland and Polish entities sending employees abroad.

For any foreign employer providing services on Polish territory or carrying out specific contracts here, familiarity with Poland’s posting-of-workers regulations is not merely a matter of compliance best practice — it is a prerequisite for avoiding serious financial and legal consequences. Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate (Panstwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) actively enforces these rules and imposes financial penalties for breaches of notification, documentation, and remuneration obligations.

This article offers a comprehensive overview of the legal framework governing the posting of workers to Poland, focusing on the obligations of the posting employer, the employment conditions guaranteed to posted workers, the minimum wage requirements, working time record-keeping obligations, and the consequences of non-compliance — with particular emphasis on the perspective of foreign investors.

Legal Basis and Personal Scope of the Regulations

National Implementation of EU Directives

The Polish rules governing the posting of workers are set out primarily in the Act of 10 June 2016 on the Posting of Workers in the Framework of the Provision of Services (Journal of Laws 2023, item 1523, as amended). This Act implements both the original Directive 96/71/EC and the amending Directive 2018/957/EU, with the changes resulting from the latter entering into force in Poland on 30 July 2020. In addition to the Posting Act, the Labour Code, the Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions, and social insurance legislation are all relevant to the practical operation of any posting arrangement.

The Act covers three principal forms of posting. The first is the secondment of a worker to Poland by a foreign employer in order to perform a contract concluded between that employer and a service recipient established or carrying on business in Poland. The second form involves the posting of a worker by a temporary employment agency or personnel agency established abroad to an entrepreneur or user employer carrying on business in Poland. The third form — of growing practical importance within corporate groups — consists of the posting of a worker by a foreign employer to an affiliated entity or branch located in Poland.

Definition of a Posted Worker and Exclusions

A posted worker within the meaning of the Act is an employee employed by an employer established or carrying on business abroad who is directed to carry out work on Polish territory for a limited period of time. The temporary nature of the work is a key condition — the posted worker’s work in Poland must be transient in character and must not amount to a permanent transfer of the worker’s centre of professional activity to Poland. Assessment of this condition requires an analysis of all the circumstances, including the anticipated duration of the posting, its nature, and the actual place where work is performed.

The regulations provide for a material change in the applicable rules once the threshold of 12 months of posting has been reached (extendable to 18 months upon submission of a reasoned notification). Beyond this period, posted workers become entitled to virtually all employment conditions under Polish labour law, not merely minimum conditions. The employer is therefore required to provide a fuller package of employment entitlements, which significantly increases the cost of long-term posting arrangements.

The Act excludes certain categories from its scope. Seafaring personnel employed by merchant fleet enterprises, workers of enterprises belonging to groups of companies under the provisions on the protection of employees’ claims in the event of the employer’s insolvency, as well as situations where posting is connected exclusively with the movement of goods or the assembly of technical equipment in specific defined circumstances, are subject to separate rules or are excluded from the full scope of the Act.

Employment Conditions Guaranteed to Posted Workers

Catalogue of Minimum Employment Conditions

The fundamental principle of the posting-of-workers system is the obligation to ensure that workers posted to Poland receive employment conditions no less favourable than those resulting from Polish statutory provisions, collective agreements, and other acts of law governing employment conditions in Poland. The guaranteed minimum employment conditions cover several key areas.

Minimum wage is an absolutely mandatory standard from which the posting employer may not derogate to the detriment of the worker. In 2026, the minimum wage is PLN 4,806 gross per month (an increase of PLN 140 compared to the PLN 4,666 applicable in 2025), corresponding to a minimum hourly rate of PLN 31.40 gross — pursuant to the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 11 September 2025 (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1242). The posting employer is required to ensure that workers receive remuneration at least equal to these rates; the classification of pay components and allowances that count towards the minimum is governed by detailed provisions discussed below.

Working time — posted workers are subject to Polish working-time rules, including the daily and weekly working-time norms, overtime provisions, breaks and daily and weekly rest requirements. Working-time arrangements, including accounting systems and reference periods, must comply with the Labour Code, although where the worker’s home-country law is more favourable the employer must apply the more favourable provisions.

Annual leave — posted workers are entitled to annual leave on the terms set out in Polish law, meaning at least 20 days for workers employed for fewer than 10 years and 26 days for those with longer service. The posting employer may offset leave granted to the worker under the law of the home country against the Polish leave entitlement. It is worth noting that the amendment to the Labour Code (Act of 26 September 2025) has extended the range of periods counted towards the length of service to include periods of work under civil-law contracts (e.g. mandates) and periods of self-employment. These new rules apply from 1 January 2026 in the public finance sector and from 1 May 2026 for all other employers. This change may affect the leave entitlement and other service-linked rights of a posted worker who holds documented evidence of such prior professional activity.

Occupational health and safety — the posting employer bears full responsibility for ensuring that health and safety conditions at the workplace comply with Polish law. This requires adapting work processes, safety training, and equipment to the requirements of the Polish Occupational Health and Safety Act and its implementing regulations, even where the standards of the home country differ from those of Poland.

Equal treatment — posted workers benefit from the anti-discrimination protection set out in the Polish Labour Code, including provisions on equal pay and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, trade union membership, ethnic origin, religious denomination, and sexual orientation.

Pay Transparency — New Obligations in Force from 2025/2026

A significant change in Polish labour law that directly affects entities posting workers to Poland is the entry into force on 24 December 2025 of an amendment to the Labour Code (Act of 4 June 2025 amending the Labour Code, Journal of Laws 2025, item 807). This amendment introduced domestic recruitment obligations increasing pay transparency, representing a step towards the implementation of Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency. Full transposition of that Directive remained, at the beginning of 2026, a separate ongoing legislative process, with a completion deadline of 7 June 2026.

The new provisions require employers, including posting employers, to inform job candidates of the offered remuneration or its range. Article 183ca of the Labour Code allows flexibility as to the timing of that information: it may be provided in the job advertisement, before the job interview, or — at the latest — before the employment relationship is entered into, if not provided earlier. This means the information does not have to be made public in an advertisement accessible to all candidates; it may instead be communicated only to candidates shortlisted for further stages of recruitment, or even exclusively to the selected candidate. The information must be given in writing (paper or electronic form) and must cover not just the basic salary but all significant pay components, including bonuses, allowances, and monetary benefits. Simultaneously, as of 24 December 2025, employers are prohibited from asking candidates about their remuneration in previous employment. Failure to comply constitutes a petty offence punishable by a fine of between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000. Full transposition of Directive 2023/970 — encompassing, inter alia, employees’ right to information on average pay broken down by gender, the pay-gap reporting obligation for employers with at least 100 employees, and a ban on pay-confidentiality clauses — must be completed by 7 June 2026. In practice, employers posting workers to Polish entities should already be reviewing their remuneration policies and HR documentation for compliance with the forthcoming requirements.

Minimum Wage and the Prohibition on Including Travel Allowances

One of the most frequently contested issues in posting practice is whether, and to what extent, the posting employer may count various travel-related and accommodation-related benefits towards the posted worker’s minimum wage. Directive 2018/957/EU and its Polish transposition have resolved this question definitively: reimbursements of travel, accommodation, and meal costs, or daily allowances paid to posted workers, may not be counted towards the minimum wage and must be paid separately on top of it.

Where, under the law or practice of the sending country, the employer pays the posted worker daily allowances as an element of remuneration (rather than as expense reimbursements), those allowances count towards the minimum wage only to the extent that the law or practice of the sending country expressly so provides. In case of doubt, allowances are treated as expense reimbursements and are not counted towards the minimum wage. The practical consequence is that employers offering posted workers attractive posting packages with high daily allowances must nonetheless ensure that the basic salary itself meets the Polish minimum.

Administrative Obligations of the Posting Employer

Obligation to Notify the National Labour Inspectorate

An employer posting workers to Poland is required to submit a declaration of posting to the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) no later than on the first day of the posting. The declaration is submitted in Polish or English, in paper or electronic form. The electronic channel indicated by PIP is the wizard available at the Biznes.gov.pl portal, which allows submission using a qualified electronic signature or a Trusted Profile (Profil Zaufany) — declarations must not be sent by email, as PIP does not accept submissions in that form. The declaration must contain a complete set of information identifying the posting employer, the posted workers, and the parameters of the posting.

The content of the declaration includes in particular the identifying details of the posting employer (business name, address, legal form, registration number or equivalent of the REGON number), contact details of the person designated as representative of the posting employer in Poland and authorised to liaise with PIP and the competent authority of the sending state, and a list of posted workers together with their identifying details and information on their positions, planned place of work, anticipated duration of posting, and nature of services. Any change in the data covered by the declaration requires submission to PIP of a notification of change within 7 working days of the date on which the change occurs.

The obligation to submit a declaration to PIP applies to every posting, regardless of its duration — a short stay in Poland alone does not exempt the posting employer from this obligation. The Act does, however, provide for a separate, narrow exception concerning the obligation to ensure remuneration and annual leave in relation to the initial assembly or first installation of goods supplied, where the posting does not exceed 8 days in a year and does not concern construction work — this is, however, an exception relating to the scope of guaranteed employment conditions, not an exemption from the notification obligation to PIP.

Designation of a Contact Person and Document Retention

The posting employer is required to designate a natural or legal person authorised to liaise with PIP and to send and receive documents on its behalf throughout the posting period. This person must be available on Polish territory or at least be in a position to respond promptly to correspondence and requests from a labour inspector — designating a contact person in a purely formal manner, without ensuring their actual availability, is unacceptable and may result in a finding that the obligation has not been duly fulfilled.

Employment documentation must be retained throughout the posting period in a form that permits immediate provision upon a control request from a labour inspector or other competent authority. The mandatory documentation includes the employment contract or other document confirming the employment relationship and terms of work, payroll records for the posting period, working-time records in Poland, and the A1 certificate confirming the social security legislation applicable to the posted worker. These documents may be retained in electronic form provided that immediate printing is possible.

Working-Time Records for Posted Workers

The posting employer is required to maintain working-time records for posted workers, covering the actual hours worked on Polish territory. The records should reflect the start and end times of work on each day, the total daily and weekly working hours, overtime hours, and the use of daily and weekly rest periods. A Polish labour inspector is entitled to request working-time records for the entire posting period, and their absence or inaccuracy constitutes an independent ground for the imposition of a fine.

Social Security for Posted Workers

The Single-Legislation Principle and the A1 Certificate

EU regulations (Regulations No 883/2004 and 987/2009) establish the principle that a posted worker is subject to the social security legislation of only one Member State. In the case of a worker posted to Poland by an employer established in another EU or EEA Member State, the legislation of the sending state applies throughout the posting, provided the posting does not exceed 24 months and the worker is not being posted to replace another worker.

The A1 certificate, issued by the competent social security authority of the sending state, constitutes proof that the posted worker remains covered by the social insurance system of the home country and is not required to pay contributions in Poland. The A1 certificate should be obtained before the posting begins and must be retained by the worker or by the employer throughout the posting period.

For workers posted by employers established outside the EU and EEA — for example, companies based in the United Kingdom post-Brexit, the United States, Japan, or India — the applicable rules are those of the social security agreements concluded by Poland with the relevant country, or, where no such agreement exists, Polish social insurance law. In many cases this means that contributions to ZUS (the Polish Social Insurance Institution) are payable on the remuneration of posted workers, and this must be factored into the calculation of posting costs.

Intra-Group Posting and the Permanent Establishment Risk

Employers posting workers within cross-border corporate groups must pay particular attention to the risk of creating a permanent establishment in Poland. If posted workers carry out activities on Polish territory that go beyond the provision of services to a Polish group company and instead act as permanent representatives of the parent company — concluding contracts on its behalf, negotiating commercial terms, or holding inventories — the tax authorities may challenge the transactional nature of the posting and find that the foreign company has a permanent establishment in Poland within the meaning of Polish tax law and the relevant double taxation treaty.

The consequences of a permanent establishment finding are far-reaching — they entail an obligation to register for tax purposes in Poland, taxation of a portion of the foreign company’s income under Polish corporate income tax, and the need to prepare transfer pricing documentation for transactions between the permanent establishment and the head office. For this reason, where employees performing managerial or commercial functions are to be posted, a prior legal analysis from both an employment law and a tax law perspective is strongly recommended.

Subcontracting and Joint and Several Liability

Subcontracting Chains and Extended Liability

The Polish Posting Act introduces a mechanism of joint and several liability of the principal contractor for the minimum wage obligations of subcontractors towards posted workers. This mechanism means that the general contractor or direct service principal may be held liable for the payment of outstanding minimum wages owed to workers posted by a subcontractor that has failed to meet its remuneration obligations.

The joint and several liability of the principal is subsidiary in nature — it arises only when the posted worker is unable to recover the outstanding wages directly from the employer. The principal may escape this liability by demonstrating that due diligence was exercised in the selection of the subcontractor, and in particular that prior to the conclusion of the contract it verified that the subcontractor was in compliance with its employment obligations and was providing employees with conditions conforming to Polish law. In practice, this necessitates the implementation of supply chain due diligence procedures, including verification of subcontractors’ labour law compliance history.

Practical Implications for Service Clients

Domestic entities commissioning services from foreign subcontractors whose own employees are posted to their premises should ensure that the service agreements they enter into contain appropriate guarantee clauses. Such clauses should require the subcontractor to comply with Polish posting rules, provide documentation confirming compliance with statutory obligations upon request, notify the principal without delay of any changes to data covered by the PIP notification, and indemnify the principal for any costs and penalties incurred as a result of the subcontractor’s breaches of posting obligations. Incorporating such clauses does not eliminate the risk of joint and several liability, but provides a basis for recourse claims.

Sanctions for Breaches of Posting Rules

Financial Penalties Imposed by the National Labour Inspectorate

Breaches of the Posting Act attract severe financial penalties, which may be imposed by the National Labour Inspectorate through fine proceedings or referred to a court. A fine for an offence under the Posting Act may amount to up to PLN 30,000 per breach identified. In the event of flagrant or repeated violations, cumulative fines may be imposed, the aggregate amount of which may materially affect the viability of projects carried out by posted workers.

Particularly serious consequences arise from a failure to pay the minimum wage — labour inspectors are entitled to order the employer to pay outstanding amounts together with interest, and information about the violation may be transmitted to the competent authorities of the sending employer’s home country, which may have implications for the right to continue providing services on the EU market.

The IMI Information Exchange System

In the event of repeated or particularly serious violations, Polish authorities may use the Internal Market Information System (IMI), which facilitates cooperation between labour inspection authorities across the European Union. The IMI system primarily serves the exchange of information about violations and the conduct of cross-border enforcement proceedings, which means that information about irregularities identified by Polish PIP may be accessible to the authorities of other Member States and may affect the overall reputation of the posting employer throughout the EU.

Posted Workers and Labour Immigration Regulations

EU/EEA Nationals and Free Movement Rights

Workers who are nationals of EU or EEA Member States do not require a work permit or visa to work in Poland. The principle of free movement of persons guarantees them the right to enter, reside, and work in Poland, although the posting employer must nonetheless fulfil all the administrative requirements under labour law described above. EU/EEA nationals staying in Poland for a period exceeding three months are required to register their residence with the relevant municipal office.

Third-Country National Posted Workers — New Act in Force from 1 June 2025

The legal situation of workers posted to Poland by employers established outside the EU, or of workers who are not EU/EEA nationals, is considerably more complex and requires compliance with additional immigration law requirements. From 1 June 2025, the Act of 20 March 2025 on the Conditions for Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland (Journal of Laws 2025, item 621) has been in force, fundamentally restructuring the previous regime in this area.

The key change with regard to the posting of foreign nationals by entities established abroad is the requirement that the foreign national must be employed by the posting employer before the posting to Poland commences — it is therefore not permissible to post a person with whom an employment contract has been concluded solely for the purpose of directing them to work in Poland. Furthermore, in the case of intra-group postings, the new provisions require vertical capital links between the foreign entity and the receiving entity in Poland — posting between so-called ‘sister companies’ (linked only through a common parent without direct vertical links) is not permitted. Where posting is for the purpose of providing services in Poland, the entity entrusting work to the foreign national must be providing an export service within the meaning of the new legislation.

In terms of work permits for foreign nationals posted by employers established outside the EU, Type C, D, or E work permits apply, depending on the nature and duration of the posting. The new legislation has also tightened the grounds for refusal of a permit — refusal may be made, inter alia, where the company was established for the purpose of facilitating the entry of foreign nationals into Poland, where the employer has obstructed inspections of the legality of employment, or where it has previously breached its obligations in respect of the employment of foreign nationals. Immigration procedures can significantly extend the timetable for a posting, and planning the full range of formalities should therefore commence at least three to four months before the intended start date of work in Poland.

Perspective of Foreign Investors — Key Strategic Considerations

Choosing Between Posting and Local Employment

Before deciding to post workers to Poland, foreign employers should conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of the costs and risks of posting against the alternative of recruiting employees locally through a Polish company or branch. Posting retains its economic rationale primarily for short-term projects requiring specialist expertise unavailable on the Polish labour market, for the performance of key stages of construction and assembly contracts, and where a full local employment structure is not justified by the scale of activity in Poland.

Conversely, local employment through a Polish company becomes more advantageous when activity in Poland is permanent and long-term, when Polish-speaking staff need to be recruited, and when the employer wishes to avoid complex posting formalities and the risk of joint and several liability. In practice, the optimal solution for many foreign investors is a combination of both models — posting key specialists during the market-entry phase while simultaneously building a local employment structure.

Transfer Pricing and Intra-Group Posting

The posting of workers within cross-border corporate groups generates transfer pricing obligations that have been subject to increasingly intensive scrutiny by the Polish tax authorities in recent years. The costs of remuneration and employment charges incurred in connection with the posting of workers to a Polish group company must be settled in accordance with the arm’s length principle, which requires the preparation of appropriate transfer pricing documentation for transactions exceeding the statutory thresholds.

The methodology for allocating posting costs within the group — whether by way of cost recharge, a mark-up charged by the sending company, or under comprehensive intra-group service agreements — should be discussed in advance with a tax adviser and governed by the group’s transfer pricing policy. Incorrect classification of a posting transaction or the absence of appropriate transfer pricing documentation may result in both a challenge to the tax deductibility of costs and the imposition of penalties under the transfer pricing rules.

Summary and Practical Recommendations

Posting workers to Poland is a legal instrument with considerable operational potential, but one that requires careful preparation and ongoing compliance management. The complexity of the obligations incumbent upon the posting employer — spanning administrative notifications, the provision of appropriate pay and documentation conditions, the management of social security matters, and tax considerations — means that the risk of inadvertent non-compliance is relatively high, particularly for entities posting workers to Poland for the first time.

The most fundamental prerequisite for a compliant posting is the timely submission of a notification to the National Labour Inspectorate and the designation of a contact person before the commencement of the posting. Equally important are the timely procurement of the A1 certificate confirming the applicable social security legislation, the payment of remuneration meeting the Polish minimum without setting travel-related allowances against it, the maintenance of accurate working-time records, and the compilation of complete employment documentation throughout the entire period of the posting.

From a strategic perspective, foreign investors should in each case consider whether the posting model is optimal for their business model in Poland, taking into account not only direct costs but also the tax risk associated with the possible creation of a permanent establishment, transfer pricing documentation obligations, and potential joint and several liability in the subcontracting chain. A comprehensive approach to employment model planning — encompassing employment law, tax law, and immigration law perspectives — is a prerequisite for effective and lawful entry into the Polish labour market.

ABOUT ATL LAW

ATL Law is a law firm specialising in comprehensive legal services for foreign investors on the Polish market. We offer multilingual advisory services in the areas of tax law, corporate law, transfer pricing, and employment law. We support our clients at every stage of entering the Polish market — from selecting the optimal legal structure, through ongoing compliance services, to representation in tax and court proceedings. We have extensive experience in the implementation of labour law compliance programmes for posting arrangements, including the preparation of documentation packages and contacts with the National Labour Inspectorate.