After the amendment to the provisions on the posting of workers, employers focused mainly on providing employees with appropriate employment conditions, in accordance with the provisions of the Polish Labor Code. An employer who temporarily changes the workplace of an employee from another Member State to the territory of Poland must remember that posting entails a number of obligations that the employer must face towards state institutions dealing with the protection of employee rights in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
The authority responsible for the control of cross-border employees working in Poland is the National Labor Inspectorate. The National Labor Inspectorate is the competent authority responsible for informing about the current provisions on the posting of workers, but also for communication between competent entities of other Member States in the field of monitoring compliance with the posting regulations.
The basic obligations of the posting employer to the National Labor Inspectorate are:
1.Obligation to submit a statement
The employer posting an employee to the territory of Poland, not later than on the day of commencement of work, submits to the National Labor Inspectorate a statement containing data on the posting of an employee, in particular:
- employer data – name of the posting company, registered office address with contact details, tax identification number
- start and end dates of the posting
- data on the posted employee / employees – name and surname, citizenship and date of birth
- work address of the posted employees
- the nature of the work performer
- place of storing the documentation related to the posting
- data on the person authorized to contact the National Labor Inspectorate
The declaration containing the above information is submitted to the NLI in paper or electronic form in English or Polish. In order to submit the declaration in electronic form, use the website: https://www.biznes.gov.pl/pl/e-uslugi/00_1328_00 .
In the event of any changes during the posting period in the scope of the above data, the supervisory body should be notified within 7 working days from the date of the change.
2.Appointing a person authorized to contact the National Labor Inspectorate
The Act (on the posting of workers as part of the provision of services of June 10, 2016, Journal of Laws 2016, item 868) indicates that the employer is also obliged to appoint a person residing in Poland who will mediate in contacts between the posting employer and the National Labor Inspectorate. It is primarily about activities consisting in sending and receiving documents and notifications as well as intermediation during a possible inspection. It should be noted that there are no obstacles for the posted employee to be the contact person acting on behalf of the employer.
3.Storage of documentation related to the delegation
During the posting period, the employer is obliged to store, in paper or electronic form, on the territory of Poland, the employee documentation of the posted worker, containing at least:
- a copy of the employment contract or other document confirming the terms of employment under the employment relationship
- documents confirming the amount of remuneration of the posted employee, including the specification of all remuneration components and confirmation of payment of remuneration
- documents containing information on the working time of the posted employee, including the number of hours worked each day and recording the start and end times of the working day
At the request of the National Labor Inspectorate, the employer is required to submit the above documentation within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the notification. In the notification, the NLI may also oblige the employer to submit the documentation in Polish. Therefore, it is worth ensuring that all documents are immediately prepared in a bilingual version when posting employees.
Moreover, the National Labor Inspectorate, within 2 years from the end of the period of posting an employee, has the option of obliging the posting employer to provide documentation of the posted employees for inspection. In such a situation, the posting entrepreneur provides the controlling authority with all required documentation within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the notification.
An employer who fails to fulfill one or more of the above obligations as part of posting an employee to Poland is subject to a fine from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.