📣 In October 2024, the Council of Ministers adopted Poland’s Migration Strategy for 2025–2030, declaring its intention to tighten the conditions for access to the domestic labour market. In parallel, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is preparing a new Act on the Conditions for Permissible Employment of Foreign Nationals in the Territory of the Republic of Poland, which is theoretically expected to enter into force on 1 January 2025.
📣 KEY ASSUMPTIONS
The Act is intended to replace the provisions of the Act on Employment Promotion governing the rules for entrusting work to foreign nationals, including the issuance of work permits, seasonal work permits, and entrusting work on the basis of declarations.
The principal assumptions of the draft Act include several significant changes:
- mandatory employment contract – foreign nationals may be employed exclusively on the basis of an employment contract, which is intended to eliminate the use of civil law contracts, such as contracts of mandate;
- restrictions on outsourcing – the new regulations aim to limit the possibility of employing foreign nationals within the framework of outsourced services;
- work permit quotas – the Council of Ministers will be authorised to introduce annual quotas for work permits, which may affect the cost of employing foreign nationals;
- digitalisation of procedures – processes related to obtaining work permits and other formalities will be automated and conducted electronically.
The draft also provides for the simplification of certain stages of the procedure for entrusting work to foreign nationals. Undoubtedly, the elimination of the labour market test and the digitalisation of proceedings constitute steps in the right direction. However, the restriction of permissible forms of employment exclusively to employment contracts raises concerns. In other respects, the solutions proposed in the draft are similar to those currently in force under the Act on Employment Promotion.
📣 PLANNED DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE
The Act is intended to enter into force on 1 January 2025. Legislative work remains at the ministerial stage, and the draft has not yet been submitted to the Sejm. Once the Act enters into force, ongoing administrative proceedings will continue to be governed by the existing regulations until their conclusion. Furthermore, transitional provisions envisage the application of the new rules to work permits and declarations on entrusting work to a foreign national.
In my assessment, foreign nationals currently employed on the basis of civil law contracts will be able to continue performing work under such contracts until the expiry of work permits issued pursuant to the Act on Employment Promotion.
📣 OUR RECOMMENDATION
The costs borne by employers who engage foreign nationals under civil law contracts will not increase until the expiry of the currently valid work permits. Employers relying on this form of cooperation, or those working with temporary employment agencies, should assess the financial implications and potential viability of employing foreign nationals in the future under employment contracts. It may be advisable to submit applications for work permits before the end of 2024 so that the existing regulations continue to apply.
Legislative work on the draft Act is ongoing. The final shape of the regulation may change at any stage. We continue to monitor the process.