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Controversial draft Act for the employment of foreigners

The government’s draft law on the conditions of possibility of employing foreigners in the territory of Poland raised a lot of emotions and triggered a heated discussion among entrepreneurs, experts and employers’ organisations. Particularly controversial was the provision that would make it obligatory to employ foreigners only under a contract of employment. These provisions were discussed at a meeting of the Council of Ministers on 18 December 2024.

The government’s arguments – protecting workers and preventing fraud

According to the project’s explanatory document, the introduction of a work contract requirement was intended to provide foreigners with better social protection and greater employment stability. The authors of the regulation pointed out that third-country nationals are a group particularly vulnerable to exploitation, so the requirement to conclude an employment contract was intended to limit the possibility of abusing civil law contracts. At the same time, the draft provided for the digitalisation of procedures and an increased role for public employment services in work permit applications.

Criticism of entrepreneurs – restriction of economic freedom and increased costs

Representatives of the employer community and labour market experts have clearly criticised these provisions.  Many experts have assessed that such a solution violates the freedom of contract and may lead to an increase in the costs of employing foreigners and a reduction in the availability of many services.

It has been highlighted that limiting the forms of employment may result in the development of the shadow economy and reduce the attractiveness of Poland as a place of work for foreigners. It was also pointed out that it is crucial to increase the control capacity of institutions responsible for supervising the labour market rather than imposing a compulsory form of contract.

‘’Fatal legislation’’ and extremely strange professional groups

One of the more criticised elements of the draft was the list of professions exempted from the obligation of an employment relationship, including, among others, athletes, coaches and artists. It should be pointed out that this list ignores professions that are strategic for the Polish economy and in which civil law contracts are justified by the nature of the work, and there were also claims that such a solution is an example of ‘fatal legislation’ that ignores the needs of many sectors of the market.

Changes in the most recent draft

Discussions and multiple comments made by the business community and the social partners have shown visible results. In the latest draft of the law of 31 December 2024, we will no longer find the provision on the necessity to conclude employment contracts, as it has been removed. This is a change that brings hope for a more flexible approach to the employment of foreigners, although it cannot be ruled out that similar regulations may be reconsidered in the future.

In addition, we will also no longer find provisions concerning the extension of the control competences of the State Labour Inspectorate or the Border Guard. The plans to introduce full electronic processing of work permits, to specify and add new cases of refusal to issue a work permit by a voivode – e.g. when an employer does not carry out activities justifying the employment of a given foreigner in a given period of time or acts mainly in order to facilitate entry of foreigners into the territory of the Republic of Poland – do so still remain. In addition, the current draft introduces stricter penalties for illegal employment of foreigners – no longer threatened by a fine of PLN 1,000 – 30,000, but by a fine of PLN 3,000 – 50,000 for each case of illegal employment.

Currently, on 7 January 2025, the draft as presented above was submitted to the Polish Sejm, which strongly indicates that with the new year we are entering a completely different level of discussions regarding the proposed law.

The question therefore remains whether the amended law will indeed reduce administrative barriers and at the same time provide protection for foreigners, or whether there will be further challenges to its implementation. Time will tell how the labour market will react to these regulations and whether the Polish economy will become more attractive to foreign workers.