A German technology company relocates a senior developer to its Warsaw subsidiary and agrees the employee will work from home three days a week. Six months later, a State Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) audit flags the arrangement as non-compliant. The remote work provisions were never formally incorporated into the employment contract. The company faces correction orders and potential fines.

Polish labour law regulates remote work through a dedicated chapter of the Kodeks pracy (Labour Code, KC), which entered into force in April 2023. Employers must document remote work arrangements in writing – either in the employment contract or a separate agreement – before the employee begins working remotely. Failure to formalise the arrangement within the statutory timeframe exposes the employer to PIP sanctions and, in cross-border situations, to social security and tax complications that can prove difficult to unwind.

This page explains the regulatory framework, the instruments available to employers, the most common compliance failures, and the specific considerations that arise when foreign investors or mobile employees are involved. It also provides a self-assessment checklist and answers the questions most frequently raised by our clients.

What does the Polish Labour Code require for remote work?

Polish corporate legislation draws a clear line between two forms of remote work: agreed remote work and occasional remote work. Agreed remote work is the standard form. It is established either at the moment of hiring or by a subsequent written agreement during the employment relationship. Occasional remote work is capped at 24 days per calendar year and follows a simplified procedure – a written employee request is sufficient. Choosing the wrong instrument for the actual working pattern is one of the most common errors we see.

Under the Labour Code, agreed remote work must specify the location from which the employee will work. This is not a formality. The designated location determines which occupational health and safety (OHS) obligations apply, and it anchors the social security and personal income tax analysis for cross-border arrangements. The employer must also confirm, before remote work begins, that the employee's home workspace meets the required OHS standards. A signed declaration from the employee is standard practice, but it does not discharge the employer from its own verification duty.

The Labour Code further requires the employer to provide the equipment necessary for remote work – laptops, monitors, internet connectivity allowances – unless the parties agree in writing that the employee will use personal equipment. Where personal equipment is used, the employer must pay a cash equivalent. The National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) has clarified that the equivalent must reflect actual costs, not a nominal flat rate. Underpaying the equivalent creates a wage claim risk.

Three specific obligations are worth flagging for employers new to the Polish framework:

  • The employer must establish a remote work policy (as a standalone document or annex to the work regulations) before rolling out agreed remote work across the organisation.
  • Employees caring for children up to the age of four, and certain other protected categories, have the right to request remote work – and the employer may refuse only on organisational grounds, in writing.
  • The employer retains the right to conduct OHS inspections at the remote work location, subject to the employee's prior consent.

We helped a manufacturing client in the Mazowieckie region restructure its remote work documentation for over 120 employees following a PIP audit (autumn 2024). The correction was completed within 30 days and no fines were imposed.

How should employers structure remote work agreements in practice?

The agreement is the operational core of any remote work arrangement. It must cover: the work location, the schedule (fully remote or hybrid), the equipment and cost-reimbursement terms, the OHS confirmation procedure, and the mutual termination mechanism. Omitting any of these elements risks a finding by PIP that the arrangement is informal – which triggers the same liability as having no agreement at all.

Hybrid arrangements deserve particular attention. Many employers assume that a 3-2 split (three days office, two days remote) can be managed informally. It cannot. Even one scheduled remote day per week constitutes agreed remote work under the Labour Code and requires a compliant written agreement. The 24-day occasional remote work allowance is intended for genuinely ad hoc situations – a one-off day at home during a delivery, for example – not for recurring patterns.

The termination mechanism is also frequently overlooked. Either party may terminate a remote work agreement with a notice period of at least seven days. After termination, the employer must return the employee to office-based work. If the employer fails to do so, the employee may treat the remote work arrangement as still in force, creating operational and legal complications. Drafting the termination clause clearly – including what happens to equipment, connectivity allowances, and workspace certification – saves significant friction later.

For employers running group-wide remote work policies, the Labour Code requires consultation with the company's trade union (if present) or employee representatives before the policy is introduced. The consultation window is 30 days. Skipping consultation does not void individual agreements, but it exposes the employer to a separate PIP violation finding. The risk is low in absolute terms but straightforward to avoid.

For a tailored strategy on structuring remote work agreements that withstand PIP scrutiny, reach out to info@kordeckipartners.com.

What are the cross-border complications for remote work in Poland?

Cross-border remote work is where compliance risk escalates sharply. A foreign national working remotely in Poland – whether as a posted worker, an assignee, or a direct hire – triggers analysis across at least three legal regimes: immigration, social security, and personal income tax. Each regime has its own thresholds and deadlines, and they do not always point in the same direction.

On the immigration side, nationals of EU member states working remotely in Poland do not require a work permit. Third-country nationals do, unless a specific exemption applies. The ustawa o cudzoziemcach (Foreigners Act) provides a list of exemptions, but remote work for a foreign employer is not automatically exempt. Employers who assume that a work permit obtained for office-based work covers remote work at a private address are often wrong. The permit specifies the work location; a change of location may require an amendment or a new permit. For more on permit requirements in cross-border mobility scenarios, see our analysis of global mobility: relocating employees to Poland from the Netherlands.

On social security, the EU coordination rules (Regulation 883/2004) apply to EU/EEA employees. An employee who works more than 25 percent of their working time in their country of residence becomes subject to that country's social security system. A Polish employee of a German company working two days a week from Warsaw may therefore shift social security jurisdiction to Poland – triggering registration obligations for the German employer with the Social Insurance Institution (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, ZUS). The A1 certificate process is the standard mechanism for confirming which country's social security applies. For detailed guidance on A1 certificates in posting scenarios, see our note on posted workers from Czech Republic to Poland and A1 certificates.

Personal income tax follows a different set of rules. Poland taxes employment income earned in Poland by non-residents from the first day of work, subject to applicable double tax treaties. The employer's payroll withholding obligation arises as soon as the employee is treated as earning Polish-source income. Employers without a Polish establishment sometimes believe they have no Polish payroll obligation. That view is incorrect in most circumstances. The Polish tax authority (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa, KAS) has taken an increasingly active interest in cross-border remote work arrangements since 2023.

Our team secured a reclassification of a social security base for an IT sector client with employees working remotely across three EU jurisdictions, resulting in savings exceeding PLN 800,000 for a Silesia-based subsidiary (spring 2025).

What pitfalls do employers most commonly encounter?

The most persistent compliance failure is treating remote work as a purely operational matter rather than a legal one. HR teams agree hybrid schedules by email or messaging app. No written agreement is executed. The arrangement runs for months – sometimes years – before a PIP inspection or an employee dispute brings it to light. At that point, the employer has no documented basis for the OHS standards it applied, the equipment it provided, or the cost reimbursement it paid. Reconstruction after the fact is possible but expensive and unreliable.

A second common pitfall involves the OHS workspace confirmation. Employees frequently sign the required declaration without the employer reviewing what it certifies. When PIP inspectors ask for evidence that the remote workspace meets ergonomic and safety standards, a signed form without any supporting documentation is insufficient. Employers in the manufacturing and logistics sectors – where remote work is less common and OHS procedures are less developed for office-type tasks – are particularly exposed.

A third pitfall affects companies that grant remote work to employees who later raise protected disclosure complaints. Under the ustawa o ochronie sygnalistów (Whistleblowers Protection Act), an employer cannot use a change in working conditions – including withdrawal of remote work – as a reprisal against a whistleblower. The interaction between remote work termination rights and whistleblower protection is not yet well-developed in Polish case law, but the risk of a reprisal claim is real. Employers should document the operational reasons for any remote work termination, independent of any internal investigation. Questions about whistleblower Poland compliance intersect here in ways that many employers do not anticipate.

A fourth issue arises in the context of employment contracts that reference a fixed work location. If the contract specifies the employer's office address as the place of work, a remote work agreement does not automatically supersede that clause. The contract may need to be amended. Failing to align the contract, the remote work agreement, and the ZUS registration data creates an inconsistency that becomes visible during audits and can complicate employment lawyer Warsaw engagements when disputes arise.

For a tailored strategy on auditing and correcting existing remote work arrangements, reach out to info@kordeckipartners.com.

How does the framework apply to specific business scenarios?

Three scenarios illustrate how the framework operates in practice. Each involves a different employer profile and a different compliance challenge.

Manufacturing company, Wielkopolska region. A Polish manufacturer with 400 employees introduces a hybrid policy for its administrative and finance teams. The company has a works council. The Labour Code requires 30 days of consultation before the policy takes effect. The company initiates consultation, receives written objections from the works council on two points, addresses them in a revised policy, and implements the framework within 45 days of starting the process. The revised policy includes a clear OHS checklist, a standard remote work agreement template, and a quarterly review mechanism. PIP inspection 12 months later finds no violations.

IT company, Warsaw. A software development firm employs 60 specialists, 40 of whom are third-country nationals on work permits. The company moves to a fully remote model. It discovers that 15 of the 40 permits specify the office address as the work location. It applies for permit amendments through the Voivodeship Office (Urząd Wojewódzki) for each affected employee. Processing time: 30 to 90 days per permit, depending on the voivodeship. During the waiting period, affected employees continue working from the office. The firm also reviews its EU Blue Card holders separately, as EU Blue Card conditions have their own location-change implications under the Foreigners Act. Questions around work permit Poland compliance dominate the project timeline.

Foreign investor, Lower Silesia. A Dutch company establishes a Polish subsidiary and hires 10 employees, all of whom work fully remotely. There is no physical office. The subsidiary registers as an employer with ZUS and KAS. Because there is no fixed establishment for OHS inspection purposes, the company designates a coworking space address in Wrocław as the nominal work location for each employee, alongside their home address. Remote work agreements specify both locations. This approach – while not explicitly addressed in the Labour Code – has been accepted in practice by PIP inspectors in the region. For cross-border structuring considerations relevant to Dutch parent companies, see our note on arbitration clauses in Polish contracts, which covers dispute resolution frameworks relevant to international employment arrangements.

What should employers prepare before launching a remote work programme?

A structured preparation process reduces the risk of PIP findings, employee disputes, and cross-border compliance failures. The following checklist reflects the steps we recommend to clients before rolling out any remote work arrangement, whether for one employee or for a company-wide hybrid policy.

  • Audit existing employment contracts to identify fixed work location clauses that require amendment before remote work agreements can take effect.
  • Draft or review the remote work policy document and, where a trade union or works council exists, initiate the 30-day consultation process before publication.
  • Prepare standard-form remote work agreements covering location, schedule, equipment, cost reimbursement, OHS declaration, and the seven-day termination notice mechanism.
  • For employees who are third-country nationals, verify that existing work permits cover the intended remote work location – and apply for amendments where necessary.
  • For cross-border arrangements involving EU/EEA employees, obtain A1 certificates confirming the applicable social security jurisdiction before the remote work begins.

Preparation time varies. A single-employee arrangement can be documented in two to three days. A company-wide policy rollout involving works council consultation, permit amendments, and cross-border social security filings typically takes 60 to 90 days from start to finish.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can an employer refuse a request for remote work from an employee with a child under four?

A: An employer may refuse, but only on documented organisational grounds. The refusal must be in writing and delivered within seven working days of the request. If the employer fails to respond within that period, the request is deemed accepted. Repeated refusals without documented grounds create a discrimination risk under the Labour Code's family status provisions.

Q: How much does a remote work policy rollout cost for a company with 50 employees?

A: Legal costs for drafting the policy, preparing standard agreement templates, and advising on the consultation process typically range from PLN 8,000 to PLN 20,000, depending on the complexity of the workforce (e.g., presence of third-country nationals, cross-border elements, multiple work locations). Permit amendment costs are separate and depend on the voivodeship and the number of employees affected.

Q: Is it true that occasional remote work does not require any written documentation?

A: This is a common misconception. Occasional remote work – up to 24 days per calendar year – does require a written request from the employee. The employer must retain that request. What occasional remote work does not require is a full remote work agreement or OHS workspace certification. However, if the actual pattern of remote work exceeds 24 days in a calendar year, the arrangement automatically falls into the agreed remote work category, and all associated documentation requirements apply retroactively.

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, remote work compliance, global mobility, and workforce restructuring. 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.