A Warsaw-based IT company decides to part ways with a senior developer. The manager drafts a termination letter, hands it to the employee on a Friday afternoon, and considers the matter closed. Three months later, the company receives a court summons. The termination letter lacked a required justification, the consultation with the trade union was skipped, and the notice period was calculated incorrectly. What looked like a simple HR decision has become a costly dispute.
Employment termination in Poland is governed by the Kodeks pracy (Labour Code, KC), which imposes strict procedural requirements on employers. A valid dismissal requires a written notice with a stated reason, correct notice period calculation, and – where applicable – prior trade union consultation. Failure to follow any of these steps entitles the employee to reinstatement or compensation of up to three months' salary.
This guide walks through each procedural stage in sequence: the written form requirement, grounds and justification, notice periods, special protection categories, and the litigation risk that follows procedural error. Three business scenarios – manufacturing, IT services, and a foreign investor's subsidiary – illustrate how the rules apply in practice. A checklist at the end summarises what to prepare before issuing any termination.
What does Polish law require before a termination letter is issued?
Polish employment law sets a clear sequence. Before the letter reaches the employee, the employer must complete three preliminary steps: verify the grounds, check protection status, and – if a trade union operates – consult the relevant organisation. Skipping any step does not merely create a procedural irregularity. It gives the employee a standalone ground for a successful unfair dismissal claim, regardless of whether the underlying reason was justified.
The Labour Code requires that every termination of an indefinite-term employment contract be made in writing and state the reason for termination. The reason must be real, specific, and verifiable. Courts consistently reject vague formulations such as "loss of confidence" without supporting facts. The National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) treats the absence of a stated reason as an automatic defect. The PIP conducts inspections and may issue binding instructions to employers found in breach.
Trade union consultation is the step most often overlooked by foreign-owned businesses. Where a trade union operates, the employer must notify it in writing of the intended termination and wait – in most cases – five working days for a response. If the union objects, the employer may still proceed, but must inform the works council or employee representative. The National Court Register (KRS) filings for the employing entity do not affect this obligation. It applies to every employer with a unionised workforce, irrespective of company size or ownership structure.
Special protection applies to a defined list of employees. Pregnant workers, employees on parental leave, employees within four years of retirement age, and – since the whistleblower legislation came into force – employees who have reported workplace violations under the whistleblower Poland framework all enjoy heightened protection. Terminating any of these employees without satisfying the additional conditions triggers personal liability exposure for the manager who signed the letter.
- Confirm the contract type (indefinite, fixed-term, probationary)
- Check whether any protection category applies
- Identify whether a trade union is active and covers the employee
- Draft the termination reason with specific, verifiable facts
- Calculate the correct notice period before issuing the letter
How are notice periods calculated under the Labour Code?
Notice period length depends on the employee's continuous service with the same employer. The Labour Code sets three tiers. Employees with under six months of service receive two weeks' notice. Those with at least six months but under three years receive one month. Employees with three or more years of service receive three months' notice. These periods run from the first day of the calendar month following delivery of the termination letter – not from the delivery date itself.
The "same employer" rule catches many foreign investors. Service with a predecessor entity counts toward the total if the business was transferred under the rules governing transfer of undertakings (przejście zakładu pracy). A German manufacturing group that acquires a Polish plant through an asset deal must account for the acquired workforce's pre-existing seniority. Ignoring prior service when calculating the notice period is one of the most frequent errors we see in cross-border transactions.
We secured a reversal of an underpayment claim exceeding PLN 180,000 for a manufacturing client in the Silesia region (autumn 2025). The dispute arose because the employer had calculated notice periods from the acquisition date rather than from the employees' original hire dates. The correct calculation added, on average, fourteen months of additional seniority per affected employee.
During the notice period, the employer may release the employee from the duty to work while continuing to pay full remuneration. This "garden leave" arrangement is widely used in IT and financial services. It protects sensitive data and client relationships. However, the salary obligation continues for the full notice period. There is no mechanism in Polish law to shorten a contractual notice period unilaterally once it has started to run.
For a practical reference on cross-border employment situations that affect seniority calculations, see our analysis of posted workers from Czech Republic to Poland and A1 certificates.
Which employees enjoy special termination protection?
Polish employment law creates a layered protection system. Some employees cannot be dismissed at all during a protected period. Others can be dismissed only with prior consent from a trade union or court. Understanding which category applies – before the letter is drafted – is the single most important pre-termination check.
Absolute protection applies to pregnant employees and those on maternity leave. The employer cannot terminate the employment contract for the duration of pregnancy and for the full maternity leave period. This protection applies even if the employer was unaware of the pregnancy at the time of termination. Courts have consistently held that subsequent proof of pregnancy voids a termination already issued.
Pre-retirement protection covers employees who are no more than four years from reaching the statutory retirement age, provided their continued employment would allow them to acquire pension entitlement. This protection lasts until the retirement age is reached. An employer who dismisses a pre-retirement employee without valid grounds faces reinstatement orders rather than compensation – meaning the employee returns to the payroll regardless of operational changes.
Since the ustawa o ochronie sygnalistów (Whistleblower Protection Act) entered into force, employees who have made protected disclosures enjoy a rebuttable presumption that any termination within twelve months of the disclosure is retaliatory. The burden of proof shifts to the employer. Under the work permit Poland and EU Blue Card frameworks, foreign nationals whose residence status is tied to their employment contract face an additional compliance layer when termination is being considered.
Our team obtained interim measures protecting the employment status of a whistleblower at a logistics company in the Mazowieckie region (spring 2026). The employer had issued a termination letter within eight weeks of the employee's internal report. The court suspended the termination pending full proceedings.
What are the most common procedural mistakes – and what do they cost?
Three scenarios illustrate how procedural errors translate into financial exposure. Each maps to a distinct business profile: a manufacturing operation, an IT services provider, and the Polish subsidiary of a foreign investor. In each case, the underlying business reason for termination was legitimate. The cost arose entirely from procedural failure.
Scenario 1 – Manufacturing. A plant in Lower Silesia terminates twenty employees as part of a restructuring. The employer follows the collective redundancy procedure under the Act on Group Dismissals but fails to notify the District Labour Office (Powiatowy Urząd Pracy, PUP) within the required seven-day window. The PUP treats this as a procedural defect in the collective redundancy process. Each affected employee acquires an independent right to claim the equivalent of up to eight weeks' additional severance. On average salaries for that sector, the aggregate exposure exceeds PLN 400,000.
Scenario 2 – IT services. A Warsaw-based software house terminates an employee on probation. The manager issues the letter by email, believing that electronic delivery is equivalent to written form. Under the Labour Code, electronic delivery satisfies the written form requirement only if the employee has a qualified electronic signature or has explicitly consented to electronic service of legal documents. Neither condition was met. The court treats the termination as void. The employee is reinstated and receives back-pay for the full period of disputed employment.
Scenario 3 – Foreign investor's subsidiary. A Dutch holding company instructs its Polish subsidiary to terminate the country manager. The subsidiary's management board signs the letter. However, Polish corporate law requires that employment contracts with board members be signed by the supervisory board or a shareholder-appointed proxy – not by the board itself. The termination is procedurally invalid. For an analysis of how liability flows within Polish corporate groups in situations like this, see our guide on subsidiary liability in Polish corporate groups.
The common thread across all three scenarios is that the substantive reason for termination was sound. The employer had a genuine business case. The cost – ranging from PLN 50,000 to over PLN 400,000 in the examples above – arose from procedural steps that were either skipped or executed incorrectly. Each defect was avoidable with a pre-termination legal review lasting no more than two working days.
For employers operating across multiple jurisdictions, the compliance obligations differ significantly. Our detailed review of employment law compliance for Slovakia companies in Poland illustrates how foreign entities must adapt their home-country HR processes to Polish requirements.
Employers planning terminations should prepare the following documentation in advance:
- Written termination letter with specific, verifiable grounds
- Evidence of trade union consultation (or confirmation that no union is active)
- Seniority calculation and notice period confirmation
- Protection status check for each affected employee
- PUP notification (for collective redundancies above the statutory threshold)
To receive an expert assessment of your termination procedure before the letter is issued, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can a Polish employment contract be terminated by mutual agreement to avoid the procedural requirements?
A: Termination by mutual agreement (rozwiązanie umowy za porozumieniem stron) bypasses the notice period and trade union consultation requirements. However, the employee must genuinely consent. Courts scrutinise mutual agreements signed under pressure. If an employee can show that consent was not freely given – for example, because the employer threatened disciplinary dismissal as the alternative – the agreement may be set aside. Mutual agreement is the fastest route to a clean separation, but it requires documented, voluntary consent from the employee.
Q: How long does an employee have to bring an unfair dismissal claim in Poland?
A: An employee who receives a termination notice has twenty-one days to file a claim with the labour court (sąd pracy). The deadline runs from the date the termination letter is delivered. Missing this deadline is generally fatal to the claim, though courts may restore it in exceptional circumstances. First-instance labour court proceedings in Warsaw currently take between eight and fourteen months on average. Employers should budget for this timeline when assessing litigation risk.
Q: Is severance pay always required when terminating employment in Poland?
A: Statutory severance applies only in the case of collective redundancies or individual dismissals for reasons not attributable to the employee, where the employer has at least twenty employees. The amount ranges from one month's salary (for employees with under two years of service) to three months' salary (for employees with eight or more years of service). Outside these situations, severance is not mandatory – though employers frequently negotiate a contractual severance payment as part of a mutual agreement to reduce litigation risk.
KORDECKI & Partners is a law firm based in Warsaw and Krakow, advising business clients across 30 jurisdictions. Our team combines expertise in Polish and international law with a practical approach to employment law, workforce restructuring, and cross-border mobility. We work with Polish entrepreneurs, foreign investors, and in-house legal teams. To discuss your situation, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. KORDECKI & Partners assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@kordeckipartners.com.