Poland: International assignments – new labour law and standpoint of tax authorities

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Poland: International assignments – new labour law and standpoint of tax authorities

intl-updates

The Act on the posting of workers in the territory of Poland entered into force on June 18 2016.

misiak.jpg

Anna Misiak

The provisions implement EU Directive 2014/67/EU of May 15 2014, which enforces Directive 96/71/EC on the secondment of employees to provide services. The Act regulates, among other things, the obligation for foreign employers to provide detailed information about employees delegated to work in Poland to the National Labour Inspectorate as well as to ensure the proper conditions of employment of posted workers.

The scope of the foreign employer's obligations includes, inter alia:

  • Submitting a detailed statement on the posting of workers to the National Labour Inspectorate;

  • Appointing a person staying in Poland as an intermediary between the employer and the Inspectorate;

  • Keeping the chosen employee documents in Poland; and

  • Making available the required documents, together with their translation into Polish, to the inspectorate within 5 days of a demand.

In the case of the secondments running on June 18 2016, the foreign employer is obliged to comply with the obligations by September 18 2016. Failure to fulfil the obligations will subject the employer to a fine of between PLN 1 ($0.26) and PLN 30.

The foreign employer must ensure that the employee's working conditions in Poland are not less favourable than those applicable under the Polish Labour Law. In particular, it refers to working hours, the length of annual leave, minimum pay for work, allowance for overtime work, health and safety at work, equal treatment and non-discrimination.

The Act refers also to joint and several liability in respect to overdue salary on the foreign employer and contractor (e.g. Polish party), who entrusts construction works, as well as to the rules of the execution of penalty payments imposed abroad.

It is worth mentioning that in recent months, the administrative courts have adopted a new approach regarding the taxation of accommodation and another benefits provided to posted employees. The courts have confirmed that such benefits may not constitute taxable income for employees if some conditions are met.

Anna Misiak (anna.misiak@mddp.pl)

MDDP

Tel: +48 22 322 68 88

Website: www.mddp.pl

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The tariffs are disrupting global supply chains and creating a lot of uncertainty, tax expert Miguel Medeiros told ITR’s European Transfer Pricing Forum
Corporate counsel should combine deep technical knowledge with strategic dynamism, says Agarwal, winner of ITR’s EMEA In-house Indirect Tax Leader of the Year award
Luxembourg’s reform agenda continues at pace in 2025, with targeted measures for start-ups and alternative investment funds
Veteran Elizabeth Arrendale will lead the new advisory practice, which will support clients with M&A tax structuring, post-deal integration, and more
MAP cases keep increasing, and cases closed aren’t keeping pace with the number started, the OECD’s Sriram Govind also told an ITR summit
Nobody likes paperwork or paying money, but the assertion that legal accreditation doesn’t offer value to firms and clients alike is false
Ryan hopes the buyout will help it expand into Asia and the Middle East; in other news, three German finance ministers have called for a suspension of pillar two
SKAT, which was represented by Pinsent Masons, had accused Sanjay Shah and other defendants of fraudulent dividend tax refund claims
TP managers must be able to explain technical issues in simple terms, ITR’s European Transfer Pricing Forum heard
Prudential had challenged HMRC over VAT group relief; in other news, Donald Trump unveiled timber and wood tariffs, and the European Commission published a ViDA implementation strategy
Gift this article