Responsibilities of an employer when employing foreigners

What are the responsibilities of an employer when employing a foreigner?

The employer is obliged to:

• verify, prior to taking up employment by a foreigner, whether he has a valid document entitling him to stay on the Polish territory, do a copy of this document and store this document for the entire period employment,

• conclude a written contract with a foreigner under the terms included in the work permit,

• present a foreigner with a contract translated into a language that he/she knows before concluding it,

• hand over one copy of the work permit to a foreigner, in writing,

• inform an employee about all actions regarding work permit application procedure, issued documents, decisions issued by authorities let it be refusal, approval or withdrawal,

• exercise due diligence during the procedure of application for a work permit or prolongation and repeal of a work permit,

• present the authorities (competent Province Governor, head of the competent tax office, local ZUS office, consul, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP), Customs Service, Polish Border Guard and Police) with the documents, that confirm fulfilling of the above requirements.

• informing the voivode who issued the permit about the circumstances within 7 days, i.e .:

  • about commencement of work of a foreigner of a different nature or in a position other than specified in the work permit, under the conditions referred to in art. 88f paragraph. 1b,

  • about a change of the seat or place of residence, name or legal form of the entity entrusting the foreigner with work or taking over the workplace or its part by another employer,

  • about the transfer of the workplace or its part to another employer,

  • about a change of a person representing the employer,

  • the foreigner has not started work within 3 months from the initial validity date of the work permit,

  • the foreigner has interrupted work for a period exceeding 3 months,

  • the foreigner has finished work earlier than 3 months before the expiry of the work permit.

What are the consequences of breaking the law when employing foreigners?

Illegal work of foreigners refers to:

• work performed by a foreigner who is not entitled to perform work pursuant to Article 87 par. 1 of the Act or does not have an appropriate work permit or stays in Poland on the basis of a document that does not entitle him/her to perform work in this country,

• basis of residence which does not entitle him to work or

• work is performed by a foreigner in a different position or under different terms than those indicated in the work permit, with the exemption of Article 88f par. 1a-1c or art. 88s par. 1 i 2, or work performed in a different position or under different terms than those included in the temporary work permit as referred to in Article 114, 126, 127 or Article 142 par. 3, with the exemption of Article 119 ad Article 135 par. 3 of the Act of 13 December 2013 on aliens.

• work is performed without concluding a contract of employment or a civil law contract in the required form.

What are the penalties for illegal employment of a foreigner or failure to fulfill obligations related to his employment?

• Anyone who entrusts a foreigner with illegal work performance shall be subject to a fine from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.

• A foreigner who performs work illegally is subject to a fine.

• Whoever causes the foreigner to perform work illegally by misleading a foreigner, exploiting an error, exploiting professional dependence or inability to properly understand the undertaken activity, shall be subject to a fine from PLN 3,000 to PLN 30,000.

• Whoever demands a financial benefit from a foreigner in return for taking actions aimed at obtaining a work permit or other document authorizing him to perform work, shall be subject to a fine from PLN 3,000 to PLN 30,000.

• Whoever, by means of deception, exploitation of an error or inability to properly understand the undertaken action, causes another person to entrust a foreigner with illegal work, shall be subject to a fine from PLN 3,000 to PLN 30,000.

• Whoever fails to fulfill the obligation referred to in Art. 88i (information obligations of the entity entrusting the work to a foreigner) shall be subject to a fine of not less than PLN 100.

• Whoever entrusts employment or other gainful work to a foreigner headed by an entity other than an employment agency, shall be subject to a fine of not less than PLN 3,000.

• Who, while running a temporary employment agency or acting on its behalf, fails to fulfill the obligation referred to in art. 88s (entrusting a foreigner with work of a different type) sec. 3, is punishable by a fine from PLN 200 to PLN 2,000.

• Whoever fails to fulfill the obligation referred to in Art. 88 (the requirement to obtain a work permit) in sec. 1 or 3, shall be subject to a fine from PLN 200 to PLN 2,000.

• Whoever fails to fulfill the obligation referred to in Art. 90d (obligation to conclude an employment contract with a foreigner) sec. 1 or 2 shall be subject to a fine from PLN 200 to PLN 2,000.

   

Legal basis:

Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions (art. 88h and 120)

Act of 15 June 2012 on the effects of entrusting work to residing foreigners against the regulations on the territory of the Republic of Poland

Development: Editorial team of Zielona Linia