articles - Labour and employment law

The Polish so-called “anti-crisis shield” (The Act of 31 March 2020 amending the Act on special solutions related to the prevention and eradication of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them, as well as some other acts) has introduced a series of legal solutions aimed at solving the problems caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus epidemic for the legality of foreign citizens staying and working in Poland. The new regulations are in force as of 31 March 2020.

The Polish so-called "anti-crisis shield" proposal assumes changes in a number of legislative acts, including the provisions governing the stay of foreigners on the territory of Poland. Among other things, these changes are necessary because of the limited activities of the authorities responsible for receiving and processing applications for residence permits as well as restrictions in cross-border traffic. Among other changes, the proposal assumes an amendment to the Act on Foreigners as regards the deadline for submitting applications for residence permits.

In the case of a foreigner who has lost or not yet obtained rights to work and stay in Poland, the issues of conclusion and termination of the employment contract and setting the starting date for work (discussed in earlier blog posts) largely boil down in practice to the issue of the employer’s obligation to pay salary to such an employee. This issue is basically resolved in its entirety by the applicable regulations.

Employers often have trouble selecting the type of contract for a foreigner. This is because the documents allowing foreigners to work and stay in Poland typically are issued for fixed periods. At the same time, the regulations do not provide any special conditions for employment contracts with foreigners. In particular, Polish law does not contain any regulations excluding or limiting the use of any of the various types of contracts in the case of foreigners.

Employers intending to hire a foreigner who has yet to obtain the documents required by law to legalise the person’s work and stay in Poland often wonder how to establish the starting date in the employment contract. Under the Labour Code, setting the start date is a mandatory element of an employment contract. At the same time, however, it may be difficult to set a specific date for the start of work, or even impossible, in a situation where the parties do not know and cannot predict when the foreigner will receive the legally required documents (which happens more and more frequently,...

Efforts to obtain documents legalising a foreigner’s work and stay in Poland often entail a state of uncertainty, particularly concerning the date when the documents can be obtained. But foreigners increasingly condition acceptance of an offer of employment on conclusion of an employment contract (or possibly some other document containing a commitment to hire the person and confirming the terms of employment) prior to commencement of the process of legalising their work and stay in Poland. This gives rise to significant practical problems.