The type of contract does not exempt from the permit

The Act on the Conditions for Permitting the Entrusting of Work to Foreigners (hereinafter: the Act on Entrusting Work) covers every contract under which you work: an employment contract, a contract of mandate, a contract for the provision of services, a contract for a specific task and a contract for assistance with harvesting (Art. 2 point 9). A work permit or another basis for work is needed regardless of the type of contract.

A written contract before work

The employer concludes a written contract with you before allowing you to work (Art. 5 para. 1). Work without a written contract is illegal entrusting of work (Art. 2 point 2 letter f). An exception concerns members of the management board of a company, persons managing the affairs of a limited partnership and commercial proxies (prokurents) (Art. 6 para. 1 point 2). What about the language of the contract is explained in the guide contract in the foreigner's language.

Conditions from the permit

A work permit specifies the position, working time, the lowest remuneration and the type of contract (Art. 32 para. 1). With a residence and work permit, these data are in the decision (Art. 118 para. 1 of the Act on Foreigners). The contract must take them into account (Art. 17 para. 1 point 1). Work on other conditions or in another position is illegal, unless the regulations permit a change (Art. 2 point 2 letters d and e).

Changing the type of contract

  • A contract of mandate replaced by an employment contract. A change of the permit is not required with a work permit (Art. 33 para. 2 point 3, from 8 July 2026), with a declaration (Art. 69 point 5) or with a residence and work permit (Art. 119 para. 1 point 5 of the Act on Foreigners). In the last case, the employer notifies the voivode within 15 working days (Art. 119 para. 2).
  • An employment contract replaced by a contract of mandate - this is a different contract from the one in the permit, so a change of the permit is usually needed. See: changing work conditions.

From 8 July 2026 the National Labour Inspectorate may, after an order has not been complied with, establish by decision the existence of an employment relationship when a civil-law contract was concluded and it should have been an employment contract (Art. 11 para. 1 point 7a of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate).

Remuneration

In 2026 the minimum wage is 4 806 PLN and the minimum hourly rate is 31,40 PLN. The remuneration cannot be lower than that of employees in a comparable position or lower than the minimum (Art. 30 para. 1 point 2 of the Act on Entrusting Work). The employer adjusts it to the minimum wage or the minimum hourly rate (Art. 17 para. 1 point 3). With a residence and work permit, the monthly remuneration must be at least the minimum wage regardless of working time and the type of contract (Art. 114 para. 1 point 5). Working time in a work permit is from 1/4 to a full-time position (Art. 30 para. 1 point 3).

A copy of the contract for the office

Before entrusting the work, the employer gives a copy of the contract in Polish, through the ICT system, to the authority that issued the work permit or entered the declaration in the register (Art. 17 para. 1 point 2 and Art. 68 para. 1 point 2). Failure to fulfil this obligation carries a fine from 1 000 PLN to 3 000 PLN (Art. 84 para. 6).