On 17 November 2021, the Polish Parliament adopted
an amendment to the Act on Foreigners (Journal of Laws
2020.35) and to certain other acts. One of these acts is
the amended Act on Promotion of Employment and on
Labor Market Institutions (Journal of Laws 2021.1100),
hereinafter referred to as the Amendment. It puts in
place certain changes, significant for businesses, to the
rules regarding employment of foreigners. One of the
most important of them is the change to employment of
foreigners under the statement on assignment of work
to a foreigner. So far, this method of employment was
considered to be one of the simplest. In order to apply
it, the employer is only required to enter the statement
in the register maintained by the county employment
office. In turn, a foreigner is required to hold a
document confirming their right to reside in Poland. So
far, in the case of employment based on a statement on
assignment of work to a foreigner, there was a 12-
month settlement period between the periods of
employment. As from 1 January 2022, it will no longer
apply, thus ensuring greater stability and continuity of
work. The term of employment under the statement will
also be extended. Instead of the current 12 months, it
will be 24 months. The above changes apply to
foreigners from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova,
Russia, and Ukraine.
Another important change to the regulations, in this case
applicable to all foreigners, is making the entry of the
statement in the register conditional upon the employer
offering pay at a level comparable to that of other
positions of the type. This measure will significantly
contribute to improving the level of protection for the
employee and ensure fair pay for the work performed.
A foreigner, regardless of the length of working time,
has to receive at least the minimum wage. The
requirement to have health insurance will also be
modified. Under the new regulations, the requirement is
deemed fulfilled if it follows from the foreigner’s
employment in Poland.
The Amendment also contains a number of facilitations
for employers. One of them is the extension to 7 days
of the period in which to notify the county employment
office of the commencement of work by a foreigner.
Another new provision benefitting both the employer
and the foreigner is also worth mentioning. As from 1
January 2022, the minister with jurisdiction over the
economy will be able to determine, by way of
regulation, the entities whose business is of strategic
importance for the national economy. Should a
foreigner apply for a work permit in such an entity, their
application will be processed as a matter of priority.
This will facilitate bringing in specialists to Poland.
The changes will also benefit foreigners who applied
for a permit to perform work prior to 1 January 2022.
An accelerated procedure has been instituted for their applications. Under the new procedure, neither the
entity engaging a foreigner nor the terms and
conditions of employment will be subject to verification.
These issues will be handled after the work permit has
been granted.
Clearly, the Amendment does not make any
groundbreaking changes to the overall process of
employing foreigners. However, it includes significant
improvements, both for the employees and the
employers. These will help streamline the process of
obtaining
an
employment
permit,
improve
competitiveness in the labor market, and ensure greater
stability. And yet, will this translate into a higher level
of skills? More relaxed procedures also mean less
rigorous selection, which may result in inferior skill sets.
This effect may be offset by easier hiring of foreign
specialists. Whether this will be the case, however, we
will only find out in the long run.
Disclaimer: This publication has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Miller Canfield. It is intended to provide only a summary of certain recent legal
developments of selected areas of law. For this reason the information contained in this publication should not form the basis of any decision as to a particular course of action;
nor should it be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in individual cases. The services of a competent professional adviser should be obtained
in each instance so that the applicability of the relevant legislation or other legal development to the particular facts can be verified.