Poland: An Employment Overview

Challenges for Clients in Poland

The growing importance of social dialogue in the context of employment restructuring

The year 2025 was a record year in Poland in terms of the number of employees who were designated by employers for dismissal in collective redundancies. According to data published by employment offices, last year’s collective redundancies affected over 97,600 employees. This is significantly higher than the previous year and the highest number since the global financial crisis of 2008–2009.

This high number is primarily due to employment restructuring and changes in the remuneration system at the state-owned postal operator, which, for formal reasons, also required the application of collective redundancy regulations to more than 50,000 employees. There is a clear trend on the Polish labour market towards broadly understood employment restructuring and labour cost reduction, particularly in large entities in the automotive, logistics and business services sectors. This is due, among other things, to the technological transformation underway in many companies, including the implementation of AI-based solutions.

In view of the above, in the case of employers whose employees’ interests are represented by trade unions, it is particularly important to co-operate with social partners when implementing changes that may reduce the cost of employment. In the context of employment restructuring, in accordance with the applicable law on collective redundancies, the employer and trade unions are required to consult with each other in order to reach an agreement on the rules for carrying out redundancies. Such an agreement should not only specify the occupational groups to be made redundant and the criteria for selecting specific employees for redundancy, but should also grant additional benefits to employees, including so-called outplacement programmes, which aim to provide dismissed employees with better prospects on the labour market.

It is worth noting that employers are increasingly opting for so-called voluntary redundancy programmes, without applying the full collective dismissal procedure. In such cases, the employer often guarantees the employees significantly higher benefits than in the case of statutory collective redundancies, such as higher severance pay in connection with the termination of employment or additional benefits for reskilling. In this way, the employer has the opportunity to reduce employment while limiting the social and image costs of such a process.

However, the goal of reducing employee costs can be achieved not only by applying the collective redundancy procedure, but also by changing the remuneration system, regulated in a collective bargaining agreement or remuneration regulations. Trade unions operating at the employer play a particularly important role in determining the content of both of these acts. Furthermore, in the event of a particularly difficult financial situation on the part of the employer, the employer and trade unions may conclude an agreement on the temporary suspension of the labour law provisions applicable at the employer, in particular, the collective bargaining agreement.

In this context, particular attention should be paid to the legislative changes that took place at the end of 2025. On 13 December 2025, the Act on Collective Labour Agreements and Collective Agreements came into force, implementing Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council on adequate minimum wages in the EU into Polish law. In accordance with the provisions of this Directive, each member state in which the collective bargaining coverage rate is below the 80% threshold is required to establish a framework of conditions favourable to collective bargaining. Given the very low coverage rate of collective bargaining, Poland was obliged to introduce appropriate solutions encouraging the conclusion of collective agreements or other collective arrangements at a greater number of employers.

The aim of the new Act is therefore to encourage the parties to use social dialogue to conclude collective labour agreements, to simplify the procedure for concluding agreements and to resolve certain doubts that arose on the basis of the previously existing provisions of the Labour Code concerning collective bargaining agreements. One of the most important changes is the introduction of the National Register of Collective Bargaining Agreements, to which employers should report not only collective bargaining agreements and amendments thereto, but in fact all collective agreements concluded with trade unions that affect the terms and conditions of employment. On the basis of the Act, the minister of labour, in consultation with national trade union organisations and employers’ organisations, drew up an action plan providing for measures to increase the coverage rate of collective bargaining.

The future of B2B in Poland: increasing regulatory and enforcement risks

The engagement of independent contractors in Poland is commonly referred to as the B2B (business-to-business) model, under which professionals provide services through their own business activity, most often as sole proprietors. For many years, this structure has been widely used across the Polish labour market, particularly in sectors such as IT, consulting, finance, marketing and other professional services.

However, both the current legal framework and market practice show that in many cases B2B arrangements may function as disguised employment relationships. These structures are often knowingly accepted by both parties, largely because they benefit from more favourable tax treatment and lower social security contributions. In principle, a genuine B2B relationship should not include features typical of employment, such as managerial subordination, fixed working hours, or work performed at a place and time determined by the employer. In practice, however, many self-employed individuals provide services under conditions very similar to those applicable to employees.

At the same time, the regulatory, tax and social security risks associated with such arrangements are increasing. Legislative uncertainty, pressure arising from Poland’s obligations under EU law, and more sophisticated enforcement mechanisms used by public authorities mean that companies must manage B2B co-operation more carefully and systematically.

Historically, supervisory authorities had limited capacity to effectively monitor these arrangements. However, the growing scale of potential abuses and the conditionality linked to the disbursement of funds under the National Recovery Plan have prompted legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening the powers of the Polish National Labour Inspectorate. Proposed reforms would allow labour inspectors to independently determine the existence of an employment relationship – even against the will of the self-employed contractor.

Such reclassification could trigger a range of consequences for businesses, including retroactive social security contributions for up to five years with interest, obligations to settle outstanding personal income tax advances, and the potential liability of managers under fiscal-penal regulations. In addition, payments made to the contractor could be denied tax deductibility, and companies might be required to recognise additional taxable income linked to minimum wage thresholds. Contractors could also bring employment-related claims, including those relating to paid leave, overtime remuneration, sickness benefits and protection against termination.

Although legislative work on amendments to the rules governing labour inspections is still ongoing, and the final shape of the regulations remains uncertain, the public debate around the reforms is already influencing market behaviour. Many companies are becoming increasingly cautious about engaging contractors under B2B arrangements.

Regardless of the legislative process, enforcement authorities – including the Polish National Labour Inspectorate, the Social Insurance Institution and the National Revenue Administration – are intensifying data-sharing and risk-analysis activities, significantly increasing the likelihood of targeted inspections.