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

In an exclusive interview with ITR, Ian Gary calls for a central public CbCR database and bemoans the US’s lack of involvement in international tax transparency
Reckitt Benckiser is to divest its Essential Home business, which includes more than 70 brands, to private equity firm Advent International
In the first of a new series of weekly opinion pieces, ITR Editor Tom Baker reflects on the OECD’s attempts to sanitise the US’s brazen pillar two negotiations
The threat of 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods coincides with new Brazilian legal powers to adopt retaliatory economic measures, local experts tell ITR
The country’s chancellor appears to have backtracked from previous pillar two scepticism; in other news, Donald Trump threatened Russia with 100% tariffs
In its latest G20 update, the OECD also revealed tense discussions with the US where the ‘significant threat’ of Section 899 was highlighted
The tax agency has increased compliance yield from wealthy individuals but cannot identify how much tax is paid by UK billionaires, the committee also claimed
Saffery cautioned that documentation requirements in new government proposals must be limited if medium-sized companies are not exempted from TP
The global minimum tax deal is not viable without US participation, Friedrich Merz has argued
Section 899 of the ‘one big beautiful’ bill would have spelled disaster for many international investors into the US, but following its shelving, attention turns to the fate of the OECD’s pillars
Gift this article