Employment by a temporary employment agency

There are many employment agencies in Poland offering job to potential employees which is of a temporary nature. Some of these agencies specialize in recruiting employees for specific positions or industries while others offer a wide range of services, such as HR consulting, training or employee outsourcing.

How do employment agencies work?

Agencies act as an intermediary between a foreigner and an employer in Poland. They help you find a right job and will support you in the application process and in obtaining appropriate documents, including a document legalising employment and, in some cases, a visa.

After a successful recruitment process, an employee signs a contract to perform temporary work with an employment agency and is sent to work for a particular business /enterprise called the ‘user-employer’.

Specifics of temporary work

Temporary work is seasonal, intermittent, ad hoc work to cover staff shortages only at particular times or to replace employees on parental leave or long sick leave. In addition, temporary work must not be of a particularly dangerous nature. Thus, temporary employees cannot perform jobs that include construction work, work at height and work with hazardous materials, among others.

In the case of temporary work, the amount of time an employee can work for one user-employer is limited and may not exceed a total of 18 months in a period covering 36 consecutive months.

Before you sign a contract with an agency

Before you start your work with an employment agency, check whether it is listed in the National Register of Employment Agencies: https://stor.praca.gov.pl/portal/#/kraz

Please, remember, that an employment agency may not charge you a fee for placement. Instead, the agency may charge you for costs associated with:

• commuting and returning to the workplace;
• visa issuance;
• medical examinations;
• document translation.

Information about the above costs must be included in the contract concluded with the agency.

Obligations of an employment agency towards a foreigner

It is the responsibility of the employment agency to ensure the legality of the stay and employment of the foreigner whom the agency refers to the user-employer. This means that the agency must:

• check the legality of your stay in Poland or support you in the process of obtaining the appropriate document - visa or residence card. The agency will keep a copy of the document but under no circumstances may it keep your document. The agency must inform you of the legalization procedures that have been initiated and provide you with confirmation that such procedures have been initiated;
• take care of the legalization of your employment, i.e. apply for a work permit, a seasonal work permit, a statement on entrusting work to a foreigner, or notify the District Labor Office of your employment. Having obtained any of the above documents, the agency must provide you with a copy. For more information about documents legalizing your work in Poland, click here: https://poland.iom.int/pl/micro/legalna-praca.
• provide you with a contract in a language you understand. More information about the types of contracts is found here: https://poland.iom.int/pl/micro/rodzaje-umow-na-podstawie-ktorych-mozna-podjac-za trudnienia
• if you have previously performed work in Poland, the agency will ask you to present employment certificates, other documents confirming your employment or submit a written statement to verify that you have not already performed temporary work at the user-employer where you are to be employed now.
• provide, no later than seven days from the date of the employment contract, information that allows direct contact with the agency - the address of the place of contact, telephone number and e-mail address as well as the days and hour range when such contact is possible.
• provide the foreigner with a labor certificate or a certificate confirming the period of work after the termination of employment

Contract with an employment agency - what should it contain?

The contract between the temporary employment agency and the temporary employee should specify the parties to the contract and the date on which the contract was concluded, and indicate:

• user-employer and the agreed period of performance of temporary work for them;
• remuneration for work and the date and method of payment of this remuneration by the temporary employment agency.

In addition, in the case of foreign employees, the contract concluded with the agency must be in accordance with the terms of the document legalizing the foreigner's work, i.e. the work permit, the statement of intent to perform work by a foreigner or the seasonal work permit. If the conditions of employment specified in the contract do not correspond to those specified in the aforementioned documents, the work will be considered illegal.

Obligations of the user-employer

• provide the temporary employee with work clothes and footwear and personal protective equipment,
• conduct health and safety training,
• provide the temporary employee with safe and sanitary working conditions at the place designated for temporary work;
• keep records of the temporary employee's working time to the extent and in accordance with the rules applicable to employees;
• the user-employer may not entrust the temporary employee to perform work for and under the direction of another entity;
• A temporary employee, during the period of work for a user-employer, may not be treated less favorably in terms of working conditions and other terms and conditions of employment than employees employed by that user-employer in the same or similar jobs, that is, for example, deprived of access to training, bonuses or premiums.

What to do in case of problems?

If the user-employer, i.e. the business where you in fact perform your work, treats you inappropriatly and does not fulfill its obligations in the first place you should contact the employment agency with which you have a contract. If you do not get support there, contact the State Labor Inspectorate: https://www.gov.pl/web/pip/nieodplatne-porady-prawne

Sources: Act of July 9, 2003 on the Employment of Temporary Employees