
Payroll and Benefits Guide Poland
Last updated: May 16, 2023
Contributions
Employer
Employer Payroll Contributions
9.76% |
Retirement Pension (applied on salary up to 208,050.00 PLN) |
6.50% |
Disability Fund (applied on salary up to 208,050.00 PLN) |
0.67% – 3.33% |
Accident Fund |
2.45% |
Labor Fund |
0.10% |
Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund |
19.48% – 22.14% |
Total Employment Cost |
Employee
Employee Payroll Contributions
9.76% |
Retirement Pension (applied on salary up to 208,050.00 PLN) |
1.50% |
Disability Fund (applied on salary up to 208,050.00 PLN) |
2.45% |
Sickness Fund |
9.00% |
Health Insurance |
22.71% |
Total Employee Cost |
Employee Income Tax
0% |
0-30,000 PLN annually |
12.00% |
30,001 -120,000 PLN annually |
32.00% |
Over 120,000 PLN annually |
Employer taxes
Employee taxes
Minimum Wage
General
Effective July 2023, the minimum wage will be raised to PLN 3,600, marking the second increase this year after it was raised to PLN 3,490 in January. This change will also impact the maximum amount of severance pay, which is set at 15 times the minimum wage.
MINIMUM WAGE (PER MONTH)
Payroll
Payroll Cycle
Salaries are paid on a monthly basis and employees must receive their salary no later than the 10th of the following month.
13th Salary
There is no legal requirement for 13th-month payments.
Working Hours
General
The standard working week in Poland can be no longer than 40 hours per week, eight hours per day.
Overtime
If work time limits are passed, overtime compensation is compulsory. The maximum number of overtime hours is 48 hours per working week. Annual overtime cannot exceed 150 hours.
Overtime is due after working the maximum hours of 45 hours per week and is paid at the statutory rate of 200.00% of the employee’s regular pay if the overtime is at night, on Sundays, or on non-working days. Overtime is paid at 150.00% of the employee’s regular income if overtime is performed during any other time.
Overtime can also be given as time off in lieu.
Working Week
Monday–Friday
Leave
Paid Time Off
The length of paid annual leave in Poland depends on the employee’s seniority. The employee will acquire the right to 20 or 26 days of paid annual leave depending on their working experience:
- Employees who have worked fewer than 10 years are entitled to 20 days of annual leave
- Employees who have worked 10 years or more are entitled to 26 days of annual leave
In addition, the calculation of an employee’s seniority includes not only years of employment but also secondary and higher education.
Unused annual leave days can be transferred to the following year, but must be taken by September 30th of the following year.
Workers with children under the age of 14 are entitled to two additional days of leave at the rate of 80%. These days can only be taken by one parent within the same year and if unused these days do not carry over into the next year.
Some occupations, such as teachers or those working in the academic industry may be entitled to a longer length of paid leave, which can extend to 36 days a year.
Public Holidays
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, another day off must be given to the worker in lieu.
Sick Days
All employees are entitled to paid sick leave linked to the number of years completed service and the employee’s age, as specified in the employment contract.
Employees under 50 years old are entitled to up to 33 days of paid sick leave, paid by the employer. Should the sick leave continue past day 33, Social Security (ZUS) will take on the payments from day 34 onwards.
Employees older than 50 years are entitled to up to 14 days of paid sick leave, paid by the employer. Should the sick leave continue past day 14, Social Security (ZUS) will take on the payments from day 15 onwards.
Sick leave is paid by the employer at a rate of 80.00% of the average salary in the past 12 months or at 100.00% if the illness occurs during pregnancy or is caused by an accident on the way to or from work. Sick leave caused by an accident at work or due to the employee’s sick child/sick relative is also paid for by Social Security (ZUS).
Maternity Leave
Female employees are entitled to maternity leave periods linked to the number of children born/adopted as follows:
- 20 weeks for the birth of one child/adoption of one child
- 31 weeks for two children, 33 weeks for three children, 35 weeks for four children
- 37 weeks for five or more children
The Social Security Institute covers all maternity pay at 100% of the employee’s regular salary rate.
Maternity leave cannot start earlier than six weeks before the due date but can start later or even after birth and continue straight after. Employees should take a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave after childbirth before returning to work, and they have the option to transfer any untaken leave beyond 14 weeks to the child’s father.
Adoption leave may be used by both the adoptive father and the adoptive mother. However, under the labor code, the leave can’t be taken simultaneously by both parents.
PAID MATERNITY LEAVE (DAYS)
Paternity Leave
Fathers are entitled to two weeks of paid paternity leave within the first 24 months after the child’s birth or from the date of adoption before the child is seven years old. An employee can take the leave in a maximum of two installments of one week each, and Social Security pays the leave at a rate of 100.00% of the employee’s regular salary.
Parental Leave
Employees are entitled to up to 32 weeks of parental leave. Leave can be granted to both male and female employees and adoptive parents after completing maternity leave.
For the first six weeks, the leave is paid at 100.00% of the employee’s salary (eight weeks in case of multiple children and three weeks if adopting an older child). The remaining time is paid at 60.00% of the employee’s salary, which is covered by Social Security. However, should the employee submit the official written request for parental leave no later than 21 days after the birth, the pay increases to 80.00% of the employee’s salary for the whole period, paid by Social Security.
Other Leave
Depending on the collective agreement/employment contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types for the following:
- Disability Leave: A person classified as having a severe or moderate degree of disability is entitled to an additional ten days of annual leave. After working one year and after being classified in one of the above degrees of disability, the person acquires the right.
- Military Leave: Employees are entitled to unpaid military leave to perform their duties.
- Childcare Leave: An employee raising at least one child aged up to 14 years is entitled to two paid days off a year, covered in full by the employer. Additionally, employees who have worked for at least six months are entitled to a further three years of unpaid childcare leave until the child is five-years-old (18-years-old if the child is disabled).
- Special event leave: Employees are entitled to two paid days off for close family member life events, such as a wedding, a child’s birth, or a funeral.
Termination
Termination Process
The termination process varies according to the employment agreement and collective agreement in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination.
Notice Period
In Poland, the notice period for a temporary or permanent employee is dependent on the employee’s length of service as below:
- 0 – 6 months of service – 2 weeks’ notice
- 6 months – 3 years of service – 1 month’s notice
- More than 3 years of service – 3 months’ notice
Severance Pay
For employers with more than 20 employees or for employees who have been dismissed by fault of the employer, the severance pay is dependent on the employee’s length of service as below:
- 1 month severance pay – less than two years of employment
- Two months’ severance pay – between two and eight years of employment
- Three months’ severance pay – over eight years of employment
The maximum amount of severance pay is set at 15 times the minimum wage.
Probation Period
Probation or trial periods are generally set within the employee’s employment contract, however, standard practice in Poland is three months.
Common Benefits
General
- Health allowance
- Car allowance
- Work from home
- Home office setup
- Phone allowance
VISA
VISA
If you are a non-EU resident who wishes to work in Poland, you must first obtain a work permit. The work permit is only applicable to the job at the time of application. A new application will need to be sought should the employee change jobs. A work permit is only valid for three years.
Poland has five different types of work visas:
- Type A – If you find employment based on an employment contract or civil law contract with an employer with an office registered in Poland. This is the most popular work permit.
- Type B – This work permit is valid if you are a board member and residing in Poland for a total period that exceeds six months within 12 subsequent months.
- Type C –You can apply for this work permit if you are sent to Poland by a foreign employer for more than 30 days in a calendar year to work for the foreign employer’s subsidiary or branch office in the country.
- Type D – You are eligible for this visa if a foreign employer sends you to work in export services temporarily. The foreign employer must not have a branch or subsidiary of its own in Poland.
- Type E – You can apply for this visa if you take up work-related tasks that do not fall into any of the above four categories.
VAT
General
The standard rate of VAT in Poland is 23.00%.
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Questions & Answers

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Payroll and Benefits Guide
in Poland
What’s covered in this guide:
- Employer/employee contributions
- Minimum wage
- Working hours
- Visa requirements
And more...
Public Holidays Calendar
Day | Date | Holiday | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sunday | Jan-1 | New Year's Day | |
Friday | Jan-6 | Epiphany (Three Kings) | |
Sunday | Apr-9 | Easter | |
Monday | Apr-10 | Easer Monday | |
Monday | May-1 | Labour Day | |
Wednesday | May-3 | Constitution Day | |
Sunday | May-28 | Pentecost | |
Thursday | Jun-8 | Corpus Christi | |
Tuesday | Aug-15 | Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | |
Wednesday | Nov-1 | All Saints Day | |
Saturday | Nov-11 | National Holiday Independence Day | |
Monday | Dec-25 | Christmas Day | |
Tuesday | Dec-26 | Second Christmas Day |
Hi, Could you please help me understand how education plays a role in an employees annual leave?
Hi George,
Since years of education are included in the employment period, an employee’s education can boost total employment years, thus increasing annual leave days. For instance, a degree from a university counts as 8-years, only requiring 2-years of continuous employment to increase annual paid leave from 20 days to 26 days.
Hello! pls clarify – why university counts as 8 years? is this actual real length of studying in Poland? and how total length of seniority is calculating? with studying it is clear – it can be checked in diploma. But how the working seniority could be determed? Via CV? but I could write in CV what even I want. so what could be a real confirmation of real experience for seniority ? Thank you
Hello,
After graduating from University with a Master’s Degree an employee is already considered as having seniority of 8 years in terms of the Annual Leave service length eligibility or 4 years once graduating from High school. Once an employee starts working at the employer they should provide their CV and Diploma in order to verify that they are entitled to enhanced annual leave.
Can we get gratuity after 2 year work in Poland warehouse job
Hi there, I am not certain that I understand your question. Can you please clarify? Are you being terminated from your place of employment and asking about severance pay? Or something else? Thanks
Are temporary workers also entitle to special leave?
Hi Harrison, Yes, temporary workers are entitled to special leave, but should submit an application for the leave accompanied by a document confirming the occurrence of particular circumstances.
Hello,
can you please help me understand how to treat the following case: Long term sick leave of an employee that gets salary + a performance based quarterly paid out bonus on top. Do we have to pay out the bonus?
Thank you
Hi Agathe, thank you for your question. If this is a performance-based bonus and a component that is not considered part of the regular salary, then there should be no need to pay it out. I suggest that you look at the employee’s employment contract or any agreement that clearly spells out the stipulations for receiving said bonus.
Do employee’s in Poland get a pay increase after 3 months employment?
There is no law requiring employees to receive a pay increase after three months.
Usually yes, in most companies you will get an increase after 3 months 🙂
Cheers
As an employee of 4 different companies – no, unless it’s an internship contract changing to full time contract.
Can international hires relocated to Poland have a salary in Euros while the local currency is in Zloty? They will have to pay taxes in Poland as a local tax resident.
This is not possible unfortunately, employers must always pay the worker in the local currency.
Hi,
How do I calculate my earnings in Poland during my illness? For example if my gross salary is 10k/month and I get sick leave for 2 days how much will be taken from my salary? Thanks in advance Cris
Sick leave is paid at 80.00% of the allowance basis or 100.00% of the allowance basis if the illness occurs during pregnancy or is caused by an accident on the way to or from work. Employees less than 50 years old are entitled to up to 33 days paid sick leave, paid by the employer and employees older than 50 years old are entitled to up to 14 days paid sick leave, paid by the employer.
¿Are workers who have worked less than 12 months entitled to receive the 13th salary?
A 13th-month salary is not legally required. Since it is not legally required, it is up to the employer’s discretion or what is written in the contract.
is there any child pension from the government in every family?
In the case of the Family Care Capital scheme, families receive 12,000 zloty for each child after the firstborn between the ages of 12 and 36 months. All families, regardless of income, will be eligible for the benefit.
Hi, do employer obliged to pay the surviviors benefits if the employee dies? is it calculated in the payroll and included in final pay?
Hello, in Poland, survivor benefits are usually paid by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) to the family members or dependents of a deceased employee. The survivor benefit is typically equal to a percentage of the deceased employee’s earnings and is paid on a monthly basis.
The amount of the survivor benefit depends on several factors, such as the length of time the employee was covered by social insurance, the number of dependents, and the amount of the employee’s earnings. The benefit is usually paid to the spouse, children, or other dependent family members of the deceased employee.
In some cases, the employer may also provide additional survivor benefits to the family members of the deceased employee. This may include a lump-sum payment or other types of financial support. However, this is not mandatory and depends on the specific terms of the employment contract or collective bargaining agreement.
Hi. Is there a payment for a holiday allowance? If so, what are the rules?
Thanks
Hello,
Paid annual leave is due to each employee employed based on employment contract. Duration of holiday leave depends on general work seniority and amounts to 20 or 26 days per calendar year.