Payroll in Poland

Polish payroll runs monthly. The law requires salary to be paid at least once a month on a fixed date, and the date should be written into the employment terms.

Payday rules

Monthly pay in arrears must be paid as soon as the amount is established, and no later than the first ten days of the next calendar month. If the payday falls on a non-working day, pay on the preceding day. Keep the payroll records behind each payment, because the employee can ask to inspect them.

Agree with your provider or payroll team who supplies variable pay inputs and who approves payroll, and set those deadlines before the first pay run.

Payslips and deductions

Show gross pay, each supplement and each deduction as its own line. The deductions an employee will see are:

• Employee social contributions: 9.76% pension, 1.5% disability and 2.45% sickness insurance, 13.71% in total on the applicable base.
• Health insurance, normally 9% of the relevant pay after employee social contributions.
• Income tax withholding.
• Any employee PPK contribution.

These amounts are withheld from the employee's gross pay. Do not add them again to your gross-salary budget.

Extra annual payments

There is no general 13th-month payment in Poland. The statutory additional annual payment known as the thirteenth salary covers public-budget employees only. For a private-sector hire, check the employment contract, any collective agreement and the pay regulations for bonuses or other extra annual pay, and state any such payment in the contract so it is neither missed nor counted twice.

Remitting contributions and tax

You must calculate and remit the social contributions and keep the payroll records. ZUS contribution and reporting deadlines are normally the fifth of the following month for budget units, the fifteenth for payers with legal personality, and the twentieth for other payers. Confirm which deadline applies to the employing entity.

The employer also withholds income tax. For 2026 the ordinary scale is 12% on taxable income up to PLN 120,000, less the PLN 3,600 tax reduction. Above that, tax is PLN 10,800 plus 32% of the excess. Check withholding rules, reliefs and the employee's residence position before calculating. Confirm the tax remittance deadline and the PPK administration process with your adviser rather than assuming they match the ZUS dates.

Employer contributions with a 1.67% accident rate and no fund exemptions come to 20.48% of the relevant pay base. The pension and disability base is capped at PLN 282,600 in 2026, so track the worker's earnings across employers.

Working time that affects pay

The ordinary schedule is eight hours a day and an average of forty hours a week across the reference period, normally up to four months. Average weekly hours including overtime normally cannot exceed 48.

Overtime carries a 50% supplement generally, or 100% for specified night, non-scheduled Sunday or holiday and weekly-excess cases. Time off can replace the supplement at 1:1 on the employee's request, or 1:1.5 when you grant it without a request. Special-needs overtime normally has a 150-hour annual limit.

Night work, in an eight-hour period you define between 21:00 and 07:00, earns an additional 20% of the hourly rate derived from the minimum wage. It is separate from overtime. The minimum wage is PLN 4,806 gross per month from 1 January 2026, and overtime and night supplements are excluded from that comparison.

There are fourteen statutory public holidays. A holiday that is not a Sunday reduces the working-time total by eight hours, so a holiday on a Saturday requires another day off within the reference period.

Poland taxes employment income on a two-band scale, with a tax-free amount built into the first band. Payroll withholds income tax, employee social contributions and health insurance from each payment and remits them. The figures below are the ordinary 2026 rules. Check each employee's residence position and reliefs before you calculate withholding.

Income tax bands

For 2026, the ordinary annual scale has two bands. The 12% rate applies to taxable income up to PLN 120,000, less a PLN 3,600 tax reduction. Above that threshold, tax is PLN 10,800 plus 32% of the excess. The 32% rate applies only to the excess taxable income, not to the whole gross salary.

The PLN 3,600 reduction corresponds to a tax-free amount of PLN 30,000.

How withholding works

The employer calculates and withholds income tax from pay. Before doing so, apply the employee's social contribution deductions, allowable employment costs, any reliefs and their residence position. The dossier does not set out the exact monthly withholding method or the relief forms an employee must file, so confirm those with the tax authority guidance or your payroll provider. Two employees on the same gross pay can have different net pay for this reason.

Employee deductions

Ordinary employee social contributions are 9.76% pension, 1.5% disability and 2.45% sickness insurance. That totals 13.71% on the applicable base, before the pension and disability cap. Health insurance is normally 9% of the relevant pay after employee social contributions. Income tax and any employee PPK contribution are separate deductions.

The annual contribution base for pension and disability insurance is capped at PLN 282,600 in 2026. Track the worker's relevant earnings across employers. The cap does not apply to the sickness, accident, health or labour-fund contribution bases.

PPK

PPK normally requires a 2% employee contribution and a 1.5% employer contribution, with optional extras. An eligible employee whose total monthly pay does not exceed 1.2 times the minimum wage can reduce their own basic contribution to as low as 0.5%. Automatic enrolment generally covers eligible workers aged 18 to under 55 who have not opted out. People aged 55 to under 70 join on request.

Employer contributions also include accident insurance, 2.45% combined Labour and Solidarity Funds and 0.1% employee-guarantee fund where payable. With a 1.67% accident rate and no exemptions, the employer subtotal is 20.48% of the relevant pay base. Do not add the employee's withheld amounts again to the employer's gross-salary budget.

Business taxes are a separate matter

Corporate income tax is normally 19% of taxable profit. A 9% rate can apply to qualifying small or new taxpayers on eligible non-capital-gain income. The standard VAT rate is 23%, and its treatment on a provider invoice depends on the service, customer and cross-border rules. These are business and transaction taxes. Neither is an extra percentage taken out of an employee's salary.

For an ordinary employment contract in Poland, the employer subtotal is 20.48% of the relevant pay base. That figure assumes a 1.67% accident-insurance rate and no fund exemptions. Employer PPK contributions come on top.

Employer contribution rates

Accident rates and exemptions vary, so confirm the rate that applies to the employing entity. Some summary sources quote a lower headline employer rate of 16.26%. Budget from the component list above and check which components any quoted figure includes.

Employee contributions

Health insurance is normally 9% of pay after the employee social contributions. Income tax and any employee PPK contribution (normally 2%) are separate deductions. All of these are withheld from the employee's gross pay. Do not add them to the employer budget.

Ceiling and what it covers

The annual contribution base for pension and disability insurance is capped at PLN 282,600 in 2026. Track the worker's relevant earnings across employers. The ceiling does not cap the bases for ordinary sickness, accident, health or labour-fund contributions, so those continue above it.

What is and is not included

• Included in the 20.48%: pension, disability, accident, Labour and Solidarity Funds, and the employee guarantee fund where payable.
• Added separately: employer PPK, any welfare-fund cost, benefits, equipment, absence cover, provider fees and applicable invoice tax.
• Not an employer cost: employee social contributions, health insurance, income tax and employee PPK. These come out of gross pay.

Payroll must calculate and remit the contributions and keep the records behind them. The normal ZUS deadline is the fifth of the following month for budget units, the fifteenth for payers with legal personality, and the twentieth for other payers. Confirm which applies to the employing entity.

Worked cost example

Take a full year at PLN 10,000 gross per month.

Annual leave

A full-time employee ordinarily receives 20 working days of paid annual leave with under ten years of credited service, or 26 days with at least ten years. Qualifying education can count towards service, including up to eight years for completed higher education. Since 1 May 2026 for private employers, qualifying earlier self-employment, mandate or agency-service contracts and certain other documented work can also count. Overlapping periods count once. Ask for ZUS certificates and other admissible records before fixing the entitlement.

Part-time entitlement is proportional with statutory rounding. Temporary-agency workers use a separate system of two days for each month at the disposal of client employers, so do not apply the 20/26-day formula to them.

In a person's first-ever employment calendar year, leave accrues at one-twelfth of the annual entitlement for each month worked. Four days on request form part of the total. If leave is split, one part should span at least fourteen consecutive calendar days. Ordinary unused leave is generally due by 30 September of the next year. When employment ends, unused-leave compensation is paid on the established salary payment date, or within ten days of termination if that date falls before employment ends.

Public holidays

There are fourteen statutory public holidays, including 24 December since 2025. A holiday that does not fall on a Sunday reduces the working-time total for the reference period by eight hours. For a usual Monday-to-Friday schedule, a holiday on Saturday therefore requires another day off within the reference period. A Sunday holiday does not create that extra day. Work on holidays is restricted to permitted cases and has separate time-off and pay rules.

Sick pay

The employer normally funds the first 33 calendar days of qualifying sickness in a calendar year, reduced to fourteen from the year after the employee turns fifty. Ordinary sick pay is 80% of the applicable base, with specified 100% cases. After that, insurance sickness benefit follows, subject to eligibility, including the usual thirty-day mandatory-insurance waiting period and exceptions.

The normal benefit period is 182 days and includes the employer-funded days. It is 270 days for pregnancy or tuberculosis. Confirm the applicable base and any exceptions before paying.

Maternity and paternity leave

Maternity leave is twenty weeks for one child, 31 for twins, 33 for triplets, 35 for four children and 37 for five or more. Up to six weeks can be taken before birth. The mother normally takes at least fourteen weeks after birth before any permitted transfer of the remainder. The ordinary maternity benefit is 100% of its assessment base. A timely combined maternity/parental election can instead use 81.5%.

Qualifying parents of premature or hospitalised newborns can receive additional maternity leave of up to eight or fifteen weeks, depending on the circumstances, at 100% of its assessment base. Check the individual facts before setting a return date. Adoption and non-professional foster care can give leave on maternity-leave terms, normally twenty weeks for one child.

An eligible employee-father can take two weeks of paternity leave, together or in two one-week parts, by the time the child reaches twelve months. The application is due at least seven days before the planned start. It carries a maternity-insurance benefit at 100% of the applicable base.

Parental and childcare leave

Parents together can normally use 41 weeks of parental leave for a single birth or 43 for a multiple birth. Nine weeks are reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred. The ordinary benefit is 70% of the base. The combined 81.5% option requires a request within 21 days after birth, and the other parent's non-transferable nine weeks remain at 70%.

Unpaid childcare leave is separate. An employee with at least six months of employment can normally request up to 36 months, to the end of the calendar year in which the child turns six. One month is normally reserved for each parent.

Other paid and unpaid time off

• An employee raising a child under fourteen has two days or sixteen hours of paid time off per calendar year, shared between working parents.
• Family emergencies give two days or sixteen hours per calendar year at half pay.
• Carers' leave is five unpaid working days per calendar year.
• Family events such as marriage, a child's birth or a funeral give one or two days off, separate from annual leave.

The dossier does not set out who funds each of these beyond the pay rules above. Confirm the funding and reporting route with your payroll provider or the social insurance authority before processing.

Compliance in Polish payroll comes down to a handful of areas: written terms before work starts, monthly pay and social insurance deadlines, fixed-term limits, notice and dismissal procedure, and the records behind each payslip. Confirm the actual employing entity first, because deadlines and some duties depend on it.

Written terms before work starts

Sign a written contract, or give written confirmation of the parties, contract type and terms, before the employee is admitted to work. State the duties, workplace, gross pay, working time and start date. Give the required additional employment information within seven days. Use Polish, plus an understandable translation where needed. Contracts for foreign workers must be written before work starts and have separate translation and filing requirements.

Paid work under the employer's direction, at the place and time the employer sets, is employment whatever the contract is called. A B2B invoice does not settle that question. Since 8 July 2026, PIP has additional powers to address misclassification, including a written corrective order. Assess the real relationship before engaging an individual as a contractor.

Pay and social insurance deadlines

Pay salary at least once a month on a fixed date. Monthly pay in arrears is due as soon as the amount is established and no later than the first ten days of the next calendar month. If payday falls on a non-working day, pay on the preceding day.

The employer calculates and remits social contributions and keeps the payroll records behind each payslip. ZUS contribution and reporting deadlines depend on the type of payer:

Also confirm the employee registration process, tax withholding and PPK administration for the employing entity. The dossier for this guide does not cover form names or registration timing, so check these with ZUS or your payroll provider.

Contract types and probation

Ordinary fixed-term employment between the same parties generally cannot exceed three contracts in total or 33 months. The fourth contract, or work beyond the time limit, becomes indefinite employment. Statutory exceptions exist, with any required notification. A probation contract can last up to three months.

Notice and termination

For ordinary fixed-term or indefinite employment, notice is two weeks with under six months at the employer, one month from six months, and three months from three years. The same periods apply to resignation. Apply the calendar-end rules and any qualifying seniority. Probation and temporary-agency employment have separate notice rules.

The employer's notice must be written, state a valid reason for both fixed-term and indefinite contracts, and explain the right to challenge it. Consult the representing union where required and check protected circumstances first, such as pregnancy, maternity leave and the pre-retirement protection period. The ordinary court-appeal deadline is 21 days. Immediate dismissal has its own limited grounds and procedure.

Collective redundancy rules apply to employers with at least twenty employees, and statutory severance can apply to qualifying redundancies. Severance is one month's pay under two years of employment, two months for two to eight years, and three months above eight years.

Final pay and records

Unused-leave compensation is paid on the established salary payment date. If that date falls before employment ends, pay it within ten days of termination. Settle other earned pay and benefits under their own rules. The work certificate is normally due when employment ends.

Keep payroll records available for the employee to inspect on request. Apply GDPR principles to recruitment, payroll and employee files, including a legal basis, limited data collection and lawful retention periods. The dossier does not set the retention period for payroll records, so confirm it before you set a schedule.