Contract
of employment

A contract of employment is notable for the fact its terms are defined by the Labor Code, granting the employees a number of benefits, such as a holiday leave.

A contract of employment can be signed

for a trial period of up to 3 months
for a fixed period, defined upfront with concrete start and end dates of the employment
for an indefinite period

An fixed period contract can cover a period of up to 33 months and the parties can only sign up to three of them. Should they exceed this limit, their fourth fixed period contract will be automatically transformed into an indefinite period contract. The trial period contract, despite covering a fixed period, doesn’t count for this limit. It means that an employee can be hired for up to 36 months under fixed period agreement (3 months of the trial period + 33 months of fixed-period contract employment, under up to 3 contract).

The February 22 2016 amendment to the Labor Code removed fixed period contracts to substitute for an absent employee

However, one can still sign such agreements, which is now simply defined as one of the subtypes of fixed period contracts (art. 251, § 4, pt. 1 of Labor Code):

with a goal to substitute an employee during their justified absence at work,
with a goal to perform casual or seasonal work,
with a goal to perform work through a term of office.

Main benefits of a contract of employment:

right to benefits arising from the Labor Code,
the employer being obliged to pay social security contributions,
protection from contract termination,
guarantee of a minimal wage.

Disadvantages of a contract of employment:

the employee cannot delegate their work to another person;
the place and time of work are strictly defined.

Frequently asked question, contract of employment

Signing the agreement

What kind of contract of employment can I be employed under?
You can be employed under all of the contract types described above. Usually, the first agreement takes form of a trial period contract, for a period of up to 3 months, followed by another contract for a fixed period. An indefinite period contract is usually considered the safest from employee perspective, due to providing strongest protections against termination by the employer. In accordance with the art. 30 § 4 of the Labor Code, terminating such an agreement requires stating a real, specific reason for doing so. Furthermore, an indefinite period contract doesn’t define an expiration date
What is a notice period of a contract of employment?
In the event of terminating a contract of employment for a trial period, the notice period equals:
- 3 working days, if the trial period did not exceed 2 weeks,
- 1 week, if the trial period exceeds 2 weeks,
- 2 weeks, if the trial period is equal to full 3 months.
In the event of terminating a contract of employment for an indefinite or fixed period, the notice period depends on the duration of employment for a given employer:
- 2 weeks if the worker has been employed for less than 6 months,
- 1 month if the worker has been employed for at least 6 months,
- 3 months if the worker has been employed for at least 3 years.
Am I entitled to health insurance?
Yes. As the employer, Gi Group is obligated to report and pay health insurance, disability pension, sickness and accident insurance contributions.
As an unemployed person registered in the Labor Office, do I need to report taking up work under a contract of employment?
Yes. Someone registered as an unemployed person is bound to inform the Powiat Labor Office about taking up employment within 7 days.

Holiday leave

How many vacation days are you entitled to under a contract of employment?
You are entitled to annual, uninterrupted paid holiday leave.

Its length is equal to:
- 20 days if you have less than 10 years of professional experience,
- 26 days if you have 10 or more years of professional experience.
If you’re being employed for the first time, you will be steadily gaining paid leave rights throughout the calendar year. With each passing month, you will become entitled to 1/12^th of the annual paid leave allotment.
How many days of leave on demand am I entitled to under a contract of employment?
Your employer is obligated to give you up to 4 days of leave on demand in each calendar year, on requested dates. The request for such a leave should be submitted no later than the day it begins on.
How many days of a leave am I entitled to, as a temporary worker,to take care of a child up to 14 years of age?
If you’re raising at least one child up to 14 years of age, you are entitled to 16 hours or 2 days of paid leave in each calendar year.
How can I check how many remaining leave do I have at my disposal?
Contact your Consultant, who will then inform you about how many days of leave you have left at your disposal.
Are part-time employees entitled to the same time of paid leave as full-time employees?
If you were employed part-time, the paid leave you are entitled to is calculated proportionally to your worktime – therefore it will be proportionally lower.
How will my compensation be calculated during a paid leave?
During a paid leave, you will be paid the same amount as if you spent that time working. The variable components of your pay will be calculated based on the period of 3 months prior to the leave taking place.

Medical leave (e-ZLA, L4)

What changed concerning the L4 sick leave?
According to the new regulations:
1. You are obliged to provide the physician with your address of residence during the temporary inability to work if it differs from the address provided to their informational profile or in your medical documentation. You’re also obliged to inform the payer of your social security contributions and ZUS (the social security authority) about a change of address during the inability to work period, no later than 3 days after its occurrence. If you fail to fulfill this obligation, ZUS will assume that a notice sent to the address provided in the medical certificate has been delivered.
2. The notification about the date of medical examination (carried out by certifying or consulting physician) or the results of supplementary examinations, in the event of a validity check of the temporary inability to work. These can be delivered by:
  – the post office,
  – a ZUS employee or another authorized person,
  – the employer.
The notice can be delivered in writing, through a phone call or electronic means (that is, your email or your profile on the ZUS website).
In what amount and way is the compensation being paid out for every day of L4 medical leave?
In case of an inability to work due to an illness, the payments are equal to 80% of the base sickness benefit.

If the inability to work was caused by a commute incident, an illness during the pregnancy or tuberculosis, the payments are equal to 100% of the base sickness benefit.

The indicated values are used when the internal labor law regulations don’t specify a higher sum.

The base sickness benefit is the average monthly pay for the period of 12 calendar months prior to the occurrence of inability to work as specified in art. 36, pt. 1 of the act on social security payments in the event of illness or motherhood. According to the law, this compensation is calculated based on a basis defined before the first absence. These base benefits are only updated in case of a gap of full three months between the sick leaves.
Can a physician issue an L4 retroactively?
Generally speaking, the physician should issue the L4 on the day of examination. The exception is situations when they are certain that you couldn’t have been able to work over the past three days. The sick leave can only be granted for up to three days prior to the examination. Issuing sick leaves retroactively for a longer period is only possible in case of mental disorders.
Can I remain on the medical leave, and get the allowance, after terminating the work contract?
If you become sick in the notice period, you remain entitled to the allowance. You will get it even if the work agreement was already terminated – but no longer than 14 days after termination (or 3 months in case of contagious diseases) and only if the disease lasts at least 30 days. The medical allowance will be paid out by ZUS up to 182 days.

Compensation

When will I receive compensation for my work?
The compensation for your work will be paid out according to the work agreement between you and the employment agency, which should define: the sum of compensation for work, date and form of payment. The money will be transferred to a provided bank account or through a postal transfer.
What net sum (take-home pay) will I receive for my work?
You can utilize one of the many commonly available online salary calculators.
How is overtime calculated and when could I expect the payment for them?
You are entitled to additional bonuses for any overtime work. Its exact sum depends on the number of hours spent on such additional work:
- if the overtime work took place: in night hours, on Sunday or work-free holidays, you are entitled to a 100% pay bonus,
- if the overtime work took place on any other day, you are entitled to a 50% pay bonus.
Upon your written request, the employer might grant you work-free time equal to the length of your overtime work instead. In such a case, you are no longer eligible for the pay bonus.
Am I entitled to bonuses?
Aside from the compensation, the employers often provide their employees with additional cash bonuses. They are entirely dependent on the employer’s decision. The right to a bonus usually depends on a company’s internal regulations, but can also be defined in the work agreement itself.
Will I receive a bonus for work during night hours?
According to the Labor Code, if you’re working in night hours, you are entitled to a pay bonus for each nighttime hour spent working, equal to 20% of the minimum hourly pay.

However, bear in mind that the nighttime pay can exceed the legally mandated value above based on the provisions of your work agreement or workplace internal regulation.
When will I receive a pay stub (RMUA)?
RMUA is issued no earlier than a day after payment. On your request, the employer may send you the document through either traditional or electronic mail.
How to read the RMUA pay stub?
You can find full instructions in the “How to read RMUA” file.

Insurance

Can I purchase group insurance through Gi Group?
Yes. We can provide you with a voluntary group insurance. If you want to learn more, ask your coordinator about it.
Can I submit a family member to be eligible for ZUS insurance? How can I do this?
To make a family member eligible for insurance, you must fill out an additional ZUS ZCNA application. You can download it here. Give the filled out form to your personal consultant.
How can I check whether I’m registered at ZUS?
You can do this personally in a ZUS office or online on the PUE Platform.

Other

Where should I send my request for a certification?
Send us the scan of a request for certification (e.g. employment certification, income statement, etc.) using the contact form or physical mail. Detailed information about the rules for issuing certificates and sample forms can be found in the Certificates and PIT section.
When will I receive a certificate of employment after my contract ends?
In the event of your employment expiring or becoming terminated, Gi Group will be obligated to provide you with a certificate of employment within 7 days.
When are the Consultants available?
If you want to know the exact hours of availability in your location, ask your dedicated Personal Consultant about it.
As an underage person, can I become employed under a contract of employment?
No. Gi Group won’t employ underaged people in any way, shape or form. To employ underage workers, one must fulfill a number of legal obligations, such as notifying the National Labor Inspectorate and creating a list of permitted tasks. Due to our inability to verify their fulfillment, we are not employing any underage workers.
What part of one’s earnings can be taken by a court enforcement officer?
A court enforcement officer can take:
- under recovery of maintenance claims for children – up to 3/5 of your earnings
- under recovery of other claims – up to half of your earnings; in such an event the current minimal wage (after deduction of social security and income tax payments) forms a sum cleared from any further deductions.
The claim recovery rules for temporary work agreements are the same as for other agreements under the labor law. Upon receiving a notice from a court enforcement officer, the employer is obligated to provide them with a part of your salary covered by the recovery proceedings.

Such a notice is sent to both employer and employee. If you fail to receive it, or it hasn’t been delivered for any other reason, it won’t stop the recovery proceedings – the employer will be obliged to hand over the money regardless of your agreement to it.

If for some reason you didn’t receive such a notice and don’t know why the money was taken from you, contact our consultant who will check the address information of the court enforcement officer and your case number. This will allow you to contact the enforcement officer yourself.

Files for download

Files for download
- How to read RMUA (pdf)
  download
- Request to change bank account (docx)
  download
- Request to amend your information (docx)
  download
- Request for a leave – TW (docx)
  download
- Request for a maternal or parental leave – in parts (docx) download
- Statement of a child’s father concerning lack of intent to utilize the parental leave (docx)
  download
- Statement about the payer of the maternity allowance (docx)
  download
- ZUS ZCNA – Submission of family members’ data for the purposes of health insurance (pdf)
  download
- Z-15 – Request for an attendance allowance (pdf)
  download
- Agreement of the Parties concerning contract termination (docx)
  download

Contractof employment