Employment Law Services in Poland

What we do?

Day to Day Employment Law Advisory / Labour Law Hotline Service

Our employment attorneys provides Employment Law Hotline Service, i.e. day to day support and employment law advisory to HR department of our customers. Hotline services usually cover:

• daily issues regarding working time, breaks, holidays, allowances, warnings, terminations, business trips, posting of workers, benefits, tax and social security contributions, etc.
• update and alerts on changes in law
• grievance procedures and disputes with employees
• hiring of foreigners
• alternative forms of employment
• employment of managing staff
• IP & copyrights in employment
• collective bargaining
• tax and social security contributions
• capital and pension programs
• health and safety regulations
• data protection and background checks
• internal investigation
• crisis management in case of accidents

Employment Start-up Services / Workplace Set Up Services

We have particular experience in advisory and providing Employment Start-up Services in Poland, i.e. establishment of new workplaces. Scope of our services usually includes:

• Employment Model Advisory: advisory as to forms and models of employment, costs of employment, designing HR structures, shifts schemes etc. We also assist in establishment of internal employment bodies (structures), e.g. employee representation bodies, employee councils.
• Employment Templates: We provide our customers with set of employment templates, which includes over 40 pieces of Polish – English documents used in recruitment, employment, onboarding and offboarding. Alternatively, we adapt customers templates to Polish requirements. We tailor and advice regarding content of each document.
• Employment Trainings and Guidebooks: Newcomers to Polish HR market usually require: training of HR departments regarding basics of Polish employment law, employment of foreigners and calculation of employment cost; and advisory regarding contract types, working schemes, working hours, shifts planning and business trips. All above is usually followed by tailored guidebooks, handbooks and policy documents.
• Internal Regulations and Procedures: As a part of employer set up we advise and introduce: onboarding and offboarding procedures, GDPR policy (incl. background checks), remote work regulation, and for employers over 50 employees mandatory work and remuneration regulations.
• PPK, OHS, Medical:  We will advise and help with selection and conclusion of mandatory agreements with PPK (Employee Capital Plans), OHS & Medical services providers.
• Benefits, ZUS and GUS: We will help in establishing of voluntary Benefits Programs, as well as, advise on tax and payroll consequences of such programs. We will assist in opening of ZUS (Social Security) and GUS (Statistical Institution) online accounts for your company.

Outsourced Employee Onboarding Services

For selected customers we provide the outsourced service of onboarding new employees – limiting involvement of customer to minimum. The service usually comprises of:

• Recruitment: Recruitment is usually handled by customers HR departments or third parties. We may coordinate or assist in the process. It always finishes with customer filling-in our online candidate acceptance form that allows our team to kick off the onboarding process. Often LoI or offer document is drafted and provided to the candidate.
• Candidate Paperwork: Along with the candidate we collect required documents (work certificates, qualifications certificates, etc.), provide and gather mandatory forms (questionnaires and various statements). We make sure that the set is complete and correct.
• Employment Documents Preparation: According to customers instruction we draft employment contract and other employment related documents (non-compete, confidentiality, training, property liability). We approve it internally with the customer prior to delivering to the candidate.
• Employment Documents Execution: Upon approval, we execute the employment contract and ancillary documents. We hand over to the employee mandatory notices and instructions. Alternatively, customer is provided with full set of documents and executes the agreements on its own
• OHS and Medical Check: We arrange appointments and coordinate with the employee OHS training and medical check. We collect the certificates and make sure they are all correct and complete.
• Payroll Registration: Once employment documents are executed, all required documents and forms gathered – we pass such a complete set to our Payroll Department or to outsourced Payroll Provider for employee registration in ZUS, PPK and files opening in payroll software.

Employment Contracts Drafting / Employment Documentation Preparation

With years of experience, our employment lawyers have developed a comprehensive collection of legal templates tailored to the employment process in Poland. We offer our clients a complete set of employment law documents, all available in bilingual format (Polish and English). These templates are invaluable tools throughout every stage of the employment lifecycle—from recruitment and contract execution to onboarding and termination of the employment relationship. In addition, our labour law experts provide bespoke, professionally drafted agreements, customized to meet the specific needs of your business.:

• employment contracts, amendments and annexes to employment
• alternative engagement contracts
• contacts of mandate, service contacts, tasks and project contracts
• confidentiality contracts, non-compete contracts,
• training contracts, delegation contracts, property liability contracts
• agreements in H&S – Health and Safety
• medical check obligations contracts
• contracts in pension schemes
• PPK (Employee Capital Plans) related contracts
• contracts on overtaking social security obligations
• contracts between employers (e.g. transfer between entities), etc.

Labor Law Litigation Services / Employment Law Dispute Resolution

As a part of dispute resolution practice our labour law experts:

• advise in employment disputes in Poland
• represent in employment litigations
• represent in out of court negotiations and mediations
• represent before labor courts in Poland
• represent and advise in disputes for unjust terminations, damages, severance, remuneration, bonus, mobbing or discrimination
• advise and represent in disputes with labour authorities, e.g. with National Employment Inspectorate (PIP), Social Security Agency (ZUS) or National Fund of Health (NFZ)

Labour Law Advisory in M&A Transactions / Employment Unit Acquisition

In collaboration with our M&A department, our labour law experts provide comprehensive legal support on employment-related aspects of mergers and acquisitions in Poland. Our services include:

• Employment law due diligence – aimed at identifying employment-related risks in target companies, as well as potential issues arising post-transaction, such as pay disparities or workforce integration challenges.
• Advisory and support in post-transaction restructuring – including the planning and implementation of restructuring or workforce adaptation programs.
• Legal advice and execution of employee transfers – particularly the transfer of organized parts of the workforce in compliance with applicable Polish labour laws.

Navigating Employment Termination and Collective Redundancies

We provide legal services related employment termination and redundancy in Poland, in particular:

• advise and represent in individual employment termination
• design strategies and represent in collective redundancies
• evaluate risks regarding termination / redundancies
• provide recommendations regarding termination / redundancies
• draft termination letters, redundancy rules and strategies
• represent / assist in the redundancy processes
• represent in redundancy litigations
• advise in employment termination disputes

Employment of Foreigners and Work Permits Advisory

Our immigration lawyers work closely the employment team regarding:

• navigation in hiring of of foreigners in Poland
• representation in work permit procedures
• advisory on simplified routes of foreigners employment
• advisory on residence permits for foreigners in Poland
• representation in legalization of employment of foreigners
• representation before immigration authorities in Poland

Advisory as to Forms of Employment of Senior and Managing Staff

Employment of senior and managerial staff in Poland is governed by a distinct set of rules—not only under employment law, but also in areas such as taxation and social security. Our services include comprehensive guidance and advisory support in relation to:

• structuring employment terms and conditions for senior executives
• optimizing tax and social security obligations
• drafting and negotiating management contracts, non-compete clauses, and bonus schemes;
• navigating and executing corporate compliance requirements

IP and Copyrights in Employment

Our team has deep expertise in employment law advisory for clients in the software development, IT, TMT, and technology sectors.

• advisory as to safety of IP and copyrights acquisition by the employers,
• designing introducing safety procedures and confidentiality related documents
• advisory as to protection of copyrights and IP from infringements by the employees
• advisory as to tax benefits for copyrights creators and advisory on IP Box benefits

Collective Labour Law Advisory

• Advisory in collective labour law
• Advisory and negotiating of collective labour agreements
• Representation in relationships with trade unions
• Advisory and representation in collective disputes
• Advisory and representation in collective redundancies

Employer & Employee Taxes Advisory

• advisory in taxation of employers and employees
• advisory on social security contributions
• advisory regarding benefits, incl. mandatory schemes
• representation in tax and social security inspections
• representation in disputes with tax and social security authorities
• advisory on tax optimization in employment

Capital and Pension Programs Advisory

• introduction of PPK / PPE pension programs
• negotiating PPK management contracts
• introducing PPK / PPE procedures / documents
• PPK and PPE guidebooks and training for HR departments

Health & Safety in Workplace Advisory

• advisory regarding health & safety obligations
• representation before H&S authorities
• drafting health & safety procedures
• drafting  health and safety documentation

Investigations and Crisis Management / Accidents at Work Advisory

• advisory and crisis management in the event of:
  • employment accidents
  • employment data protection leaks
  • criminal acts at workplace
  • strikes at workplace
  • critical safety / confidentiality breaches
  • critical IP leaks
  • management disputes
• defense in employment related criminal cases, e.g. employment accidents, H&S breach cases
• advisory to directors and crisis management in criminal accidents at the workplace
• advisory as to insurance for administrative and criminal risks related to employers obligations

Data Protection in Employment Units

• data protection due diligence in employment units
• introducing GDPR safety procedures in employment units
• drafting GDPR required documentation in employment units
• day to day advisory on data protection in employment,
• drafting and negotiating data protection contracts in employment law
• advisory regarding processing and administering of employees data by third parties