Recruitment Agency in Poland

Open table of contents Close table of contents

Chapter navigation:

Contact our expert

Write an inquiry: [email protected]

HR Agency License in Poland

The below listed employment related business activities require HR license in Poland:

Job placement
HR counselling
Career counseling
Temporary work offering (similar to EOR)

All above are considered in Poland as regulated activity and require prior mandatory registration with the National Register of Employment Agencies, ie. obtaining HR / employment license.

Talent search and recruitment services fall within the definition of job placement and also require recruitment license in Poland.

HR Agency is not required to provide all of the above-mentioned types of services. If one of the above services is to be provided by newly registered company, or foreign entity in Poland – it is mandatory to obtain an entry in the Register of Employment Agencies.

Due to above scopes of services, in practice there are four types of HR / employment agency licenses in Poland:

Recruitment Agency License
HR Counseling License
Career Counseling License
Temporary Work License (EOR License)

Employment Agency Register in Poland

Pursuant to art. 18d sec. 1 of the Employment Promotion Act, Employment Agency Register (HR Agency Register) is kept by the Marshal of the province having jurisdiction over the seat of the entity applying for entry.

KRAZ is public and available at: http://stor.praca.gov.pl/portal/#/kraz

Who can register as Employment Agency?

Domestic entrepreneurs
- who want to run an employment agency.
- who do not run a business – if they want to perform services related to job placement, personnel counselling and career counselling.
Foreign entrepreneurs
- who want to set up and run an employment agency in Poland from scratch – they perform their activities on the same basis as a domestic company.
- intending to provide temporary employment agency services in Poland – must be duly authorised and conduct this activity in their country. Entrepreneurs from the countries of the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – i.e. countries of the European Economic Area that do not belong to the European Union, other countries that have signed relevant agreements with the European Union and its member states – may apply for the entry.

Recruitment Agency License in Poland

Recruitment agency license is one and the same as employment agency license. The only difference is the scope of the license, that in case of recruitment agency, covers only “job placement services“. As per relevant regulation of Employment law in Poland – job placement services include in particular of:

assistance to individuals in obtaining employment
assistance to employers in obtaining employees
talent search, headhunting
obtaining and disseminating job offers
providing employers with information about candidates
informing candidates and employers about the current situation on labour market
initiating and organizing contacts of candidates
directing persons to work abroad
directing foreigners to employment in Poland

Temporary Work Agency License

The temporary work services in Poland consist of hiring workers and directing these workers to perform temporary work for and under the direction of the user employer, under the terms of the separate act on the employment of temporary workers. Temporary work is a type of EOR in Poland (Employment of Record).

Personnel Counselling License

Personnel counselling license covers in particular the following HR services:

conducting an analysis of employment with employers, determining the qualifications of employees and their predispositions, as well as other characteristics necessary to perform a specific job,
indicating sources and methods of obtaining candidates for specific jobs,
verification of candidates in terms of expected qualifications and predispositions.

Career Counselling License

Career counselling license covers in particular the following HR services:

providing assistance in choosing a suitable profession and place of employment,
providing information necessary for making professional decisions, in particular, about professions, the labour market, and opportunities for training and education,
initiating, organizing and conducting group professional counselling, activation classes in the field of assistance in active job search,
providing employers with assistance in the selection of candidates for employment, in particular, on providing information and advice in this regard.

What are HR / recruitment license requirements?

The HR / recruitment license application shall in particular include:

certificate of no arrears of taxes, contributions to social insurance, health insurance, the Labour Fund and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund and the Bridging Pension Fund,
clean criminal record certificate crimes or offenses against the Employment Promotion Act, especially:
- operating an employment agency without a permit,
- charging illegal, additional fees from job seekers,
- violating the principle of non-discrimination,
- incorrect directing the employee to work abroad,
prove that liquidation has not been opened or bankruptcy has not been declared,
prove of premises where HR / requirement services are to be provided.

Recruitment license procedure – FAQ

When should the application be submitted?	Before the start of provision of the employment agency services.
To whom should the application be submitted?	To the provincial labour office or the marshal’s office according to the applicant’s seat.
What shall the application contain?	the designation of the entity applying for registration, the address of the entity’s seat and the addresses of the premises where services will be provided, along with the name of the municipality, county and province, and telephone number, designation of the legal form of the business, designation of the type of services provided tax identification number NIP; registration number in the National Court Register; e-mail address; presents a proof of payment of the fee. Along with the application, the applicant’s Management Board shall submit compliance statement
Can the application be submitted by the proxy?	Yes, the application can be signed and submitted by the proxy, after the appropriate power of attorney has been granted. However, statement indicated above as an attachment to the application shall be signed by the applicant’s Management Board.
In what form can the application be submitted?	The application can be submitted both on paper and electronically.
How long will the application be recognized?	The authority will make an entry within 7 days of the application, unless there are formal deficiencies in the application. Before making an entry in the register, the authority may carry out control and call for additional explanations and documents. If the authority does not make an entry within the above period, and 14 days have elapsed from the date the application was received by the authority, the entrepreneur may begin operations, unless the control activities of the authority are in progress.
What document will the authority issue confirming registration?	The authority will issue a certificate of entry in the register of employment agencies.
How much is the fee for a certificate on registration in the register of employment agencies?	The fee is PLN 200 for obtaining a certificate. If the application also covers the provision of temporary work agency services, then the authority will issue 2 certificates and the fee is PLN 400.
Is there a right of appeal in the case of a negative decision and lack of entry in the register of employment agencies?	Within 14 days counting from the day on which the applicant received the decision to refuse entry, the applicant has the right to appeal to the Local Government Appeals College.

Post-registration obligations

Once the applicant is registered, there are specific, statutory obligations that shall be fulfilled by each employment agency. Most important are listed below :

process the personal data of candidates in its possession pursuant data protection legislation, especially the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation),
not to discriminate on the basis of sex, age, disability, race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, political beliefs and religion, or on the basis of union membership of persons for whom they seek employment or other gainful employment,
inform the provincial marshal of any change in the data referred to in the name of the Client’s company and address of registered seat and the addresses of the premises or the change in the type of services provided, within 14 days from the date of their occurrence, cessation of activity, suspension or resumption of economic activity,
obliged to submit report to the province marshal information on the activities of the employment agency – by January 31 of each year, for the previous year,
include the employment agency registration number in its documents, advertisements and job offers,
cooperate with authorities in the implementation of labour market policy,
obliged to comply with international agreements, agreements and programs on employment binding on the Republic of Poland, as well as with the employment regulations in force in the country of employment and the regulations governing the activities of the employment agency.

Inspection of Employment Agency

As the provision of employment agency services (job placement, personnel counselling, career counselling, temporary work) are regulated in Poland, they are the subject to the supervision conducted by authorities, including the governor and province marshal.

License revocation of Employment / Recruitment Agency

The provincial marshal may revoke a license / delete from employment agency register by the administrative decision particularly in the following situations:

at the applicant’s request,
going into liquidation or declaring bankruptcy by the applicant,
issuance of a decision to prohibit the performance of activities covered by an entry in KRAZ,
not running an employment agency, in the field of job placement, personnel counselling, career counselling or temporary work, for two consecutive years, as determined on the basis of information that must submit annually by January 31,
violations of the conditions for the operation of an employment agency,
submission an application or statement to KRAZ inconsistent with the facts,
inconsistency of the data in the register with the facts after the applicant has been summoned to provide explanations on the matter within 7 days of receiving the summons,
deletion of the applicant from the National Court Register (discontinuation of the company).

Prohibition to run HR Agency

The provincial marshal issues a decision to prohibit from carrying out the activities, if:

the applicant will submit a required statement (an attachment to the application for entry in KRAZ) that is inconsistent with the facts,
the applicant fails to remedy violations of the conditions required by law to operate an employment agency within the time limit set by the authority, as requested by the authority,
it determines a violation by the applicant of the conditions required by law to operate an employment agency.