Spotlight on Poland

GoGlobal launched its Employer of Record (EOR) services in Poland early 2021, and the country has quickly become one of the company’s fastest growing markets in the Europe region.

Why Poland:

  • Poland has rapidly become a sought-after country to hire top talent within the past few decades, offering a highly educated workforce that ranks amongst the world’s most digitally literate.
  • Poland is home to a thriving video gaming industry, with a distinct designation for video games on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Polish developers are highly sought after due to their talent but also because wages in Poland have remained consistently lower than wages for similar industries in places like the U.K. and France.
  • Poland’s labor force is educated, motivated and entrepreneurial, with over 44% of Polish adults having obtained higher education; many Polish professionals also choose to obtain master’s degrees before starting their careers. Poland boasts a high English literacy rate among professionals, with English being the most popular language after native Polish.

Q&A with Kurt Von Moos, Director of GoGlobal

What should employers expect when hiring in Poland?

There are three main areas of consideration when hiring in Poland:

  • Evolving Regulatory Environment: Employers should prepare for an ever-evolving tax and social security system, high presence of trade unions for major employers, labor courts sensitive to employee rights and strict data protection regulations as per the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
  • Working Time Regulations: In Poland, an employee’s working time may not exceed eight hours per day and 40 hours in an average five-day working week during the agreed settlement period, which is not to exceed four months. The legislation permits the possibility to shorten or extend the settlement period and the working time in a day, but it must be done in accordance with the specific cases defined in the Labor Code. The weekly working time, including overtime, cannot exceed an average of 48 hours in the adopted settlement period. Moreover, every employee is entitled to uninterrupted daily rest of at least 11 hours.
  • Bonuses: It is quite common in Poland for companies to award bonuses to employees. Although the law does not regulate bonuses, they are usually divided into awards of a discretionary nature (which employees cannot effectively claim) and non-discretionary bonuses (which can be claimed by employees). Bonuses are awarded to employees on the fulfilment of objective criteria, as defined by the employment contract, employer’s internal labor law regulations or other documents.

What makes GoGlobal’s Employer of Record services in Poland special?

With a local team that has a lot of experience in hiring and managing workforces in Poland, GoGlobal consults and supports clients throughout the whole EOR process – from employee engagement and onboarding through the entire employee life cycle. The same GoGlobal team that conducts the onboarding will serve as the personal point of contact for the employee(s) for the entirety of the arrangement. They are available to answer any questions regarding payroll, HR, or any other local matters that our clients would not be able to address due to a lack of presence in the country.

What’s led to the explosive growth of Poland’s service sector?

Poland was also the only EU country to continue tracking GDP growth during the financial crisis of 2008-2010, signifying a rapid expansion of Poland’s service industry during this period. Currently, around 54% of Polish workers are employed in the service industry, with much of that employment being in IT services. Poland’s metropolitan areas – especially Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź – account for almost half of Poland’s GDP. With relatively low wages when compared to other service-intensive markets, hiring in Poland is a fast-growing trend for U.S. and U.K. companies searching for IT services and digital marketing talent.

About GoGlobal

GoGlobal is the world’s fastest growing, privately owned Global Employer of Record (EOR) service provider, with a globally distributed and remote workforce. GoGlobal’s technology-enabled EOR solution allows businesses of all sizes and geographies to hire staff globally without the need to set up a local entity, opening new doors to rapid expansion and growth. GoGlobal clients can hire top talent anywhere in the world – quickly, cost effectively and compliantly.

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