Katarzyna Sawicka
Katarzyna Sawicka, adwokat, practises individual and collective employment law, particularly covering global mobility and relocation. She has many years of experience advising companies on hiring, conducting employee litigation, and pursuing administrative proceedings, legalisation of work and residence of foreigners, seconding of citizens of third countries to Poland, and seconding of Polish citizens abroad.
In the Polish legal system, giving work to a foreigner who has not been authorised to undertake it, entails a liability for the employer. At present, Article 120 par. 1 of the Act on the Promotion of Employment and on Labour Market Institutions envisages a fine for illegally employing a foreigner. The fine may range from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.
Amendments are now being planned to limit the extent of an employers’ liability, by changing the requirements for liability under this petty offence. The proposed amendments have been accepted by the Council of Ministers and are currently at the consultation stage.
On 1 July 2024, another amendment to the Act of 12 March 2022 on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict in that country will come into force. It introduces a number of important changes concerning the legality of residence and employment of Ukrainian citizens in Poland.
Changes regarding stay
The most important change in the amendment is an extension until 30 September 2025 of:
- the period of legal residence in Poland of Ukrainian citizens under temporary protection (who arrived legally in Poland starting from 24 February 2022 and declared their intention to stay in Poland),