Hiring foreigners is becoming more and more popular in Poland. However, entrepreneurs who decide on such a solution should keep in mind all the formalities that must be completed so that the work of a foreigner is based on fully legal conditions.

Mandatory documentation necessary for the legal employment of a foreigner

At the very beginning of the process of hiring a foreigner, it is necessary to verify whether he / she has the appropriate document entitling him / her to take up legal work. However, the employer should remember that not every residence permit allows you to work – it will be impossible to hire a person who came to the country for tourist purposes, has temporary protection or a residence permit for humanitarian reasons. In order to work legally, a foreigner, in addition to documentation on the topic of legal residence, should have one of the certificates, which include:

• work permit – the employer applies for it, it is described below;

• seasonal work permit-requested by the employer;
• statement on entrusting the work performed to a resident-the employer sends it to the district labor office and can do this only for citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia , Moldova, Russia and Ukraine;

• temporary residence and work permit – a foreigner applies for them to the provincial office.

When a foreigner presents a visa, residence card or biometric passport, the employer should make a copy and keep the document for the entire period of employment of the foreigner. Then it will be necessary to apply for an employment permit for a foreigner to the appropriate Voivode. To obtain such permission, it is necessary to draw up an agreement in which it will be confirmed that the salary for a foreigner will not be lower than for employees in a similar position.
If the employer fulfills this condition, he will obtain a permit to employ a foreigner for a period not exceeding 3 years. It is also important that the concluded contract should be translated into the language used by the future employee. It should be fully understandable to both parties and contain the exact terms of cooperation.

Working conditions

It is important that an employer employing a foreigner must comply with the same legal provisions as in the case of employing a Polish citizen. The employer is obliged to report a new employee to the Social Insurance Institution and thus pay monthly contributions for him. In turn, as for the minimum wage in the case of an employment contract, it cannot be less than PLN 2800 gross, while in the case of an order contract, the minimum rate is PLN 18.30 gross per hour.