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  1. Overview: Poland
  2. Work permit for hiring expats via PEO
  3. Global PEO and Payroll
  4. Global HR Compliance
  5. Expand without a Company Set Up
  6. Contractor vs. employee: which is better?
  7. Global Payroll Calculator
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Global HR Compliance in Poland

International business compliance is a challenge for many companies. Global compliance management can be difficult and costly. With the help of express global employment PEO and EOR solutions, you’ll be able to simplify your compliance process, streamline your global HR, payroll, and tax functions, expand to more countries and territories faster, and reduce your costs and risk exposure while gaining access to valuable insights that will help you make smarter business decisions.

Non-Compliance Risk. How It Affects Your Global Operations

Today, there are so many employment laws to comply with. The governments have created employment laws that protect workers, provide benefits, ensure fair labour practices, and ensure that companies report wages correctly. The labour laws aim to create a level playing field for all companies, no matter how large or small. Keeping up with the requirements is like running a marathon unless you stop midway and return to run the rest later. The risk of being non-compliant can result in significant penalties for businesses, including fines, litigation, and negative publicity.

Most companies would rather stay compliant and keep their HR headaches at bay than deal with non-compliance issues—they just don’t realize the risk they face until it’s too late.

Like most business owners, you may be tempted to focus on profit margins and growth without having the resources to keep up with all the laws and regulations that could affect your business.

Let’s look at some of the most common labour and tax regulations that impact employers. Companies have to take into account a variety of risks, both tangible and intangible. Financial penalties are one example of a tangible risk, while bad publicity or damage to a company’s reputation is an intangible risk that can ultimately affect the bottom line.

HR Compliance Risks to Global Employers

  1. Complex in-country tax and social security regulations
  2. Ubiquitous and highly demanding trade unions
  3. Labour laws favouring the rights of employees over employers
  4. Employee misclassification risk
  5. Reputational damage risk.

Employee Misclassification Risk Prevention in Poland

Fueled by the development of technology, globalization, and the power of media, the world has become a much smaller place. As a result, companies are continually facing challenges to stay competitive while complying with increasingly complex laws at home and abroad. While some current laws can be easily navigated, others are ambiguous or require significant resources to decipher. Misclassification risk is one example that can be particularly problematic for global organizations.

Many factors contribute to misclassification risk, including a lack of understanding about what it means to be an employee and how certain actions can jeopardize your organization’s tax status. The Employee Misclassification risk becomes even greater when a business owner hires independent contractors — who are classified as self-employed rather than traditional full-time employees. Businesses may hire independent contractors to save money on expenses normally covered for full-time employees: benefits, vacation time, and paid sick days. While this may save you money upfront, it also increases indirect costs down the line: you’ll have to do more paperwork at tax time and pay steep penalties if the government authorities audit you and discover a misclassification case. In addition to severe financial repercussions, such as lost revenue due to back taxes and penalties, a company’s reputation can suffer.

Global companies are increasingly at risk of employee misclassification and the possibility of legal action against their organizations. A PEO can help you enhance your HR compliance and avoid these risks by providing on-site customer support and in-depth expertise in local labour law and tax and compliance regulations. Acumen International’s in-country managers will speak your language, making it much easier to employ legally, onboard, and payroll your globally distributed teams of professionals; you will save time and money with less need for recruitment or training.

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Big or Small, Be Compliant with Global PEO Services

Non-compliance can put businesses at a significant competitive disadvantage, so it is vital for companies of all sizes to use the many tools and services available to stay compliant.

Acumen’s Global employment solutions, such as PEO (Professional Employment Organisation) and EOR (Employer of Record), help organizations identify their crucial compliance risk areas by providing a single solution for managing a global workforce. We administrate payroll, benefits management, and tax withholdings, helping achieve 100% compliance and mitigate risk.

Acumen provides legal guidance and assists you in tackling compliance management when expanding into new markets. It also automates many HR compliance tasks that are time-consuming and expensive to keep track of and manage manually. Leveraging technology allows you to gain a unified view of global employment and tax legislation across 190 countries.

Compliant PEO and EOR solutions are aimed at identifying the most important risk areas of employment law across 190 countries, giving you access to crucial information regarding local laws such as country-specific minimum wages, labour, tax, and immigration requirements. This helps you stay aware of potential issues within your organization to address them proactively before they become bigger problems.

Acumen International Comprehensive Global EOR and PEO Solution

Acumen International is a leading provider of global EOR and PEO services, offering fully compliant and cost-effective solutions for businesses that need to manage international payroll, HR & benefits administration across 190 countries. The team of Acumen PEO provides strategic guidance and a wide array of high-quality, cost-effective services tailored to your specific requirements that can help your company grow and scale up safely. Here are some of them.

  1. Processing Immigration requirements
  2. Business visa applications & extensions
  3. Work permit sponsorships 
  4. Streamline onboarding, benefits, payroll, PTO
  5. Local labour law compliance across 190 countries
  6. Audit-proof compliance requirements
  7. Employee benefits management
  8. Handling employment contracts, terminations, and compensation
  9. Processing medical insurance and benefits
  10. Payroll, including year-end tax statements 
  11. Relocation services & housing  
  12. Benefits administration
  13. Special needs or requirements  
  14. Multi-country employment without limitations 
  15. Handling contract workers and ex-pat workforce management
  16. Compliant employment or termination within 72 hours.

Global Employment Cost Estimation. Actionable Insights

Unless you have had experience with overseas expansion or established multiple offices abroad in the past —you may not know which country is the most cost-effective place to hire employees.

Global employment is a tricky, tedious affair. Since every country has its labour laws and tax regulations, it’s easy to miss out on certain hidden factors that could make setting up operations abroad less cost-efficient and more time-consuming than expected.

Imagine a tool that helps you calculate the cost of labour, establishment, legal, and tax compliance worldwide, helping you find the cost-effective country to hire workers and save up to 50%.

This is the power of the Global Payroll Calculator. A fast and simple SaaS solution keeps you up-to-date with all the 190 countries’ regulations and payroll requirements, allowing you to make informed decisions when planning your business expansion globally.

Global Payroll Calculator helps you identify the most cost-effective country to hire employees based on local tax and labor regulations, legal entity setup, and current and future expenses related to global expansion.

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Global Employment Guide: Hire Talent in Poland without Falling into the Compliance Pitfalls

Recruiting and hiring a legally compliant workforce in Poland without establishing a legal in-country corporate entity can be a gnarl of red tape that leads you in circles. Yet many businesses either need to get things up and running while they file corporate paperwork, or they want to test the Polish business waters before jumping into the pool’s deep end.

In either case, Acumen International has the perfect global employment and compliance solution to help your business hire and payroll Polish workers without concern for HR compliance risks.

Labour Law in Poland

Polish labor law has its roots in the Constitution of 1997, and while many updates were made by that, mostly focused on worker rights, laws governing employer-employee relations are still evolving. In 2004, Poland became an official member of the European Union, and as such, employer HR compliance requirements must also meet the employment standards set forth by the EU.

In addition to complying with laws established by the Polish Constitution and the EU, global employers must be in full HR compliance with the following:

  • International agreements that concern labour laws
  • Local labor code
  • Acts and secondary legislation defining employer and employee rights and obligations
  • Provisions outlined in collective labour agreements and statutes governing employment relationships

Polish Laws Governing Discrimination

Discrimination in hiring is currently a hot topic on a global scale. While discrimination laws are nothing new, they are being expanded around the globe to prevent unfair hiring practices on the part of local and global organizations. The real challenge for businesses is shouldering the onus of disproving allegations of discrimination since anyone who feels they were unfairly passed over for a job opportunity is entitled to file a complaint.

Becoming entangled in a Polish discrimination lawsuit can cause problems for your company on multiple fronts:

  • It can disrupt your business processes and undermine your growth strategy
  • It can result in fines and penalties that cost you money, time, and headaches
  • It can tarnish your company’s reputation, especially on social media and online business review platforms

Polish anti-discrimination laws are established to ensure that employers respect employees’ dignity and personal rights and provide equal rights for the equitable performance of the same job duties. In particular, this applies to the equal treatment of male and female employees. In addition, employers may not discriminate in hiring on any of the following grounds: sex, gender or sexual orientation, age, disability, religion or religious denomination, race, nationality or ethnic origin, political beliefs, trade union affiliation, etc.

Polish labour law also prohibits harassment or bullying of employees on the part of the employer or other employees in the workplace. It further requires that employers accommodate physically challenged or disabled employees.

It is common in Poland for employers to implement specific anti-discrimination policies in addition to those covered by the Labor Code.

Background Checks for Polish Employees

Employee background checks are restricted by the Labor Code and by Polish data privacy laws. Polish law does not generally allow employers to run background checks on employees, including criminal records or credit checks, unless specific types of jobs are involved. The Labor Code specifies that employers can only request personal data such as date of birth, education, residence address, previous employment, and parents’ names.

Employment Agreements in Poland

The Polish Labour Code provides for three types of employment agreements:

  • The employment contract for a trial period is limited to three months, after which the employee will either be terminated or become an unlimited-term employee.
  • Employment contract for a fixed term, with a pre-defined date or event for termination of labour.
  • Employment contract for an unlimited term, where the employee is hired for a permanent full-time position.

All employment agreements are concluded in writing, and they must clearly outline the terms and conditions of employment, including:

  • Date of agreement
  • Parties involved
  • Contract type (trial, fixed term, or unlimited)
  • Type and venue of work
  • Remuneration for work performed
  • Working hours
  • Date of employment commencement

Part-time employees are entitled to the same employment conditions and terms as full-time employees performing identical or similar work.

Fixed-Term vs Indefinite-Term Contracts in Poland

In Poland, a fixed-term employment contract ends on an agreed-upon calendar date or when a specific event, such as the conclusion of a project, occurs. Fixed-term contracts can be renewed between the same parties up to three times, but the total duration of employment may not exceed 33 months.

Except for time limitations, the Polish Labor Code does not distinguish between the fundamental principles of employment contracts, whether fixed-term, trial or indefinite.

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Employment Termination in Poland

Employment contracts in Poland can only be terminated on grounds outlined by the Labor Code, and other grounds for termination cannot be established.

Grounds for termination are considered valid when:

  • Both parties agree to the termination
  • One party issues a notice of termination that includes the reason for termination
  • Immediate termination is made without notice due to employee misconduct, including gross violation of job duties, the commission of a crime that impacts the employment relationship, or loss of necessary authorization, such as termination of a work permit or visa

Dismissal of certain categories of employees may require the employer to provide severance pay. Appeals for wrongful termination can be filed with a labour court within 21 days of the employee receiving notice.

Outsourcing your company’s HR management to Acumen International is a smart move to remain compliant with evolving requirements. Our team of global employment experts works tirelessly to keep pace with Poland’s local and national legislative changes. Partnering with Acumen ensures that your company remains compliant in turbulent times.

Employee Benefits in Poland

The Polish Social Insurance system provides mandatory pension, disability, health, and accident insurance. Contributions are calculated by percentage and made by both employer and employee. The employer must calculate the number of contributions to be withheld from the employee’s income and paid to the Social Insurance Agency.

Social insurance contributions cover employee sick, maternity, compensation, and funeral allowance. They also cover damages paid for bodily on-the-job injuries. Employees also have free access to public health care centres.

Other Mandatory Benefits in Poland

  • Uninterrupted paid holiday leave of 20-26 days, depending on the length of employment
  • Maternity and paternity leave
  • Sick leave of up to 33 days per year
  • Disability leave of 10 additional paid holidays per year
  • Mandatory retirement pension at age 60 for female employees and age 65 for male employees

Let Acumen Global EOR Handle HR Compliance Aspects in Poland

As you can see, Global EOR is an option for business owners who want to expand their operations internationally. It’s a revolutionary way to internationalize your business without setting up a new entity, hiring local employees in each country where you have operations, or worrying about the legal and regulatory complexities of operating in multiple jurisdictions.

Expand your global operations into the Polish market, onboard your international talent, and manage them while remaining fully compliant with local regulations. Acumen International’s global employment and compliance solution ensures that all your Polish legal, tax and HR compliance obligations are met so you can focus on growing your business.

Acumen Global EOR can help you by removing some of the burdens of your busy schedule and the risks involved. Rest easy knowing that everything is taken care of. Global hiring is no more a hassle! With Acumen Global Employer of Record, you can employ, manage, and pay your employees in over 190 countries. No entity is needed; start international operations with no delay.

To find out more about how Global Employer of Record can help your organization grow into new markets, contact Acumen International today to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals.

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