Employee Benefits in Poland

List of benefits in Poland

Employee benefits in Poland

Benefits in Poland for employees or persons hired in alternative engagement forms are usually divided into public benefits and private benefits.

Public benefits are provided by state authorities / state funds and often mandatory (especially with regards to employment contact and contract of mandate).

Private benefits are always voluntary and provided by private providers.

Public benefits
  • Occupational medicine
  • Occupational health and safety
  • Retirement insurance which provides benefits once reaching retirement age
  • Disability insurance provides benefits in the events of inability to work or the death of the breadwinner
  • Sickness insurance provides benefits in case of illness, parenthood or need to care for a family member
  • Accident insurance which provides benefits in the event of an accident at work or an occupational disease
  • Health care insurance which provide the right to free health care in public hospitals
  • Employee Capital Plan (PPK)
Private benefits
  • Private Medical Insurance / Private Health Insurance
  • Private Life Insurance
  • Business Travel Insurance
  • Benefit cards (fitness, gym, wellness, cinema, etc.)
  • Accommodation
  • Relocation
  • Meals
  • Additional days off
  • Transportation
  • Communication
  • Hardware
  • Training budget
  • Equity / Shares

Voluntary and mandatory benefits in Poland

As per Polish social insurance system rules – employees working based on employment contract are obligatory covered by the widest scope of public benefits which we present in the below table.

Mandatory employee benefits The employer is obliged to cover the employee with the following mandatory public benefits:

  • occupational medicine (in occupational medical center)
  • occupational health and safety
  • retirement insurance
  • disability insurance
  • sickness insurance
  • accident insurance
  • health care insurance
  • employee capital plan (PPK) with opt-out option
Voluntary employee benefits All other employee benefits are voluntary

Benefits in other legal relationship Poland

Scope of mandatory benefits depends on the type of legal relationship between the engaging and engaged party. In the below table we are presenting mandatory and voluntary benefits for management contacts, contacts of mandate, project contacts / specific task contacts and B2B contact.

Contract of mandate (B2C) / Management contract
  • The ordering party is obliged to cover the contractor with the following mandatory public benefits:
    • retirement insurance
    • disability insurance
    • work accident insurance
    • health insurance
  • Voluntary public benefits
    • sickness insurance
  • All other benefits are voluntary
Specific-task contract (project contact)
  • No mandatory benefits
  • All benefits are voluntary
B2B contract
  • The B2B contractor is obliged to enroll (at its own request) to mandatory public benefits:
    • retirement insurance
    • disability insurance
    • work accident insurance
    • health insurance
  • Voluntary public benefits
    • sickness insurance
  • All other benefits are voluntary

Social security contributions

In Poland “social security insurance” is referred to as group of compulsory employment insurance that it consists of retirement insurance, disability insurance, sickness insurance, accident insurance and health care insurance

Amounts (percentages) of the contributions are presented in the below table. Those amounts shall be deducted by the employer from the gross salary of the employee and remitted to competent public authority each month (e.g. social insurance agency / social security agency). As a result – in Poland – it is an employer obligation to pay contributions for the employee.

Contribution Contribution amount Deducted and remitted by
Retirement insurance 19.52% of the calculation basis Employer
Disability insurance 8.00% of the calculation basis Employer
Sickness insurance 2.45% of the calculation basis Employer
Accident insurance 1.67% of the calculation basis Employer
Health care insurance 9.00% of the calculation basis Employer
Insurance for Labor Fund 2.45% of the assessment base Employer
Guaranteed Payments Fund 0,10 % of the calculation basis Employer
Employee Capital Pension Scheme

unless not outed out by the employee

3% (or voluntarily – more) of the calculation basis Employer

Retirement and pension

The retirement age in Poland is currently 65 for male employees and 60 for female employees.

Man retirement age
  • 65 years old
Woman retirement age
  • 60 year old

Pension eligibility and calculation

Polish social security system stipulates that Employees born before 1 January 1949 to be eligible for retirement pension must prove insurance seniority which is 20 years for women and 25 years for men. Insurance seniority includes contribution periods (e.g. periods of work) as well as non-contribution periods (e.g. periods of sickness). Minimum pension threshold applies if the pension calculated turns out to be lower.

Pension of the employees born after 31 December 1948 is calculated on the basis of the total amount of contributions collected on the individual pension account. This amount is increased by the so-called “initial capital”, which is a hypothetical amount that has been collected by a given employee prior to 31 December 1998 where the transition from the old to the new pension system took place.

Unemployment

The Polish employment law provides employees with unemployment support that consists of:
Unemployment support in Poland

  • unemployment allowance
  • various training programs to gain new qualifications
  • job search services
  • subsidies from the EU or labor offices to start new business

Unemployment allowance

Unemployment allowance for first 3 months
  • PLN 1,024.10 in 2022
Unemployment allowance for further months
  • PLN 1,304.10 in 2022

Other employee benefits in Poland

Minimum wage

In Poland full – time employees cannot be offered less than minimum wage. In 2022 national minimum wage amounts to 3.100,00 PLN gross per month.

Holiday leave / paid annual leave

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. Employees gain the right to full holiday leave on January 1st of a given calendar year, except the situation of the first employment of an employee (first job in person’s life) when the right to a leave is acquired each month, proportionally to employment period.

Private health insurance

Private health insurance is one of the most popular supplemental benefits in Poland. Polish employees appreciate employers who provide access to private healthcare. This is due to the fact that public hospitals are overloaded and waiting time for medical treatment in public facilities can take months or even years.

Gym / sport card

Gym and sports facilities card are very common benefit offered by most of the employers.

Paid leaves

Polish local labor laws provide employees with number of paid leaves, e.g.

  • Sick leave
  • Disability leave
  • Occasional leave
  • Childcare leave
  • Paternity leave
  • Maternity leave
  • Parental leave
  • Leave for the purpose of job seeking
  • Training leave (,,urlop szkoleniowy”)

You may read more about each type of leave in employment law guide book prepared by labor attorneys of our Law Firm.

FAQ – Poland /employee benefits

Does Poland have unemployment benefits?

Yes, Polish labour law provides unemployment allowance for first 3 months PLN 1,024.10 (2022) and PLN 1,304.10 (2022)

What are typical maternity and paternity benefits in Poland?

In case of giving birth to one child  the employee any benefit from maternity leave of 20 weeks, and parental leave of 32 weeks, as well as of family leave 35 months. Maternity and paternity leave and payable, while family leave is not payable.

What are typical employment supplementary employee benefits?

Private medical insurance, sports card, phone, life insurance, business travel insurance. 

What are mandatory employee benefits in Poland?

The following benefits are compulsory in Poland for employee working in employment relationship (employment contracts): occupational medicine (in occupational medical center), occupational health and safety, retirement insurance, disability insurance, sickness insurance, accident insurance, health care insurance, employee capital plan (PPK) with opt-out option.

How many vacation days do you get in Poland?

20 or 26 working days per year depending on seniority + public holidays.

What are the social security contributions in Poland?

Social security contributions for 2022 amount to: 19.52% of the calculation basis – retirement insurance; 8.00% of the calculation basis – disability insurance;  9.00% of the calculation basis – health insurance; 2.45% of the calculation basis – sickness insurance; 2.45% of the assessment base – insurance for the Labor Fund; 1.67% of the calculation basis – accident insurance; 0,10 % of the calculation basis – Guaranteed payments Fund 3% (or voluntarily – more) of the calculation basis – Employee Capital Pension Scheme if the employee did not opt- out from the scheme.

Expert team leader DKP Legal Michał Dudkowiak
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Write an inquiry: [email protected]
check full info of team member: Michał Dudkowiak
Expert team leader DKP Legal Alicja Myśluk-Landowska
Contact our expert
Write an inquiry: [email protected]
check full info of team member: Michał Dudkowiak