Employment
Labour Code protection with heavily used civil-law contracts
The 1974 Labour Code governs employment, with notice periods by length of service and a statutory minimum wage revised at least annually. A large share of work is performed under civil-law mandate contracts, which attract fewer protections and are a recurring reclassification issue.
Key rules
- Notice ranges from two weeks to three months depending on service length.
- The third fixed-term contract, or 33 months in total, converts to an indefinite contract.
- Annual leave is 20 or 26 days depending on total employment history.
- Since 2023 remote work and employer-initiated sobriety checks have express statutory bases.
Governing law
- Labour Code (1974)Kodeks pracy, extensively amended.
- Act on the minimum wage (2002)Includes the hourly minimum for mandate contracts.
- Trade Unions Act (1991)Extended in 2018 to non-employees.
In practice
Labour court claims are cheap and fast by Polish standards, and a dismissal appeal must be filed within 21 days of receiving the notice.