Time Harmony

Time Harmony https://timeharmony.pl Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:29:59 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 Pregnancy sick pay in Poland: what the draft bill proposes https://timeharmony.pl/en/pregnancy-sick-pay-in-poland-what-the-draft-bill-proposes/ https://timeharmony.pl/en/pregnancy-sick-pay-in-poland-what-the-draft-bill-proposes/#respond Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:08:08 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=25703 How pregnancy sick pay in Poland works today Under current Polish law, an employer pays sick pay for the first 33 days of an employee's incapacity for work in a calendar year (14 days for employees over 50). From day 34 onward, ZUS takes over and pays a sickness benefit from the Social Insurance Fund (FUS). During pregnancy, the split between employer and ZUS is the same as for any other employee — only the amount differs. Under the Polish Labour Code, incapacity for work during pregnancy is already paid at 100% of the assessment basis, whether the payer is the employer or ZUS. The maximum period for receiving this benefit during pregnancy is 270 days. So the issue the new bill addresses isn't the amount of the benefit — it's who pays for the first weeks of leave, and how much of a burden that is for smaller employers.

What the draft bill on pregnancy sick pay proposes

The bill (Sejm druk no. 2416) would amend the Labour Code and the Act on cash benefits from social insurance in case of sickness and maternity so that pregnancy sick pay in Poland is paid entirely by ZUS from the Social Insurance Fund, from the very first day of incapacity for work — removing the employer's share of the first 33 days entirely. Key points of the proposal:

Employers would no longer bear the cost of the first 33 days of sick leave for a pregnant employee.
The benefit would remain 100% of the assessment basis — nothing changes financially for the employee.
The maximum benefit period (270 days) would stay the same.
Rules for issuing electronic sick notes (e-ZLA) would not change.

The bill was submitted by MPs from Polska 2050. Its first reading took place during a Sejm sitting on 9 June 2026, after which it was referred to the Special Committee on Amendments to Codifications for further work. Before it could take effect, it still needs to go through committee work, a second and third reading in the Sejm, a Senate vote, and the President's signature — so there is currently no confirmed date for entry into force.

Why lawmakers say the change would help women in Poland's labour market

The bill's authors argue that the current system may discourage some employers — particularly smaller companies — from hiring young women on employment contracts, since the employer has to both fund sick pay and arrange cover for the absence. Shifting this cost to the Social Insurance Fund is intended, according to the bill's sponsors, to reduce the risk of discrimination against women in recruitment and to encourage employment contracts over civil-law contracts. The proposal also ties into a broader policy discussion in Poland about demographic policy and family support.

What the reform would cost, and open questions

The change would mean an additional cost for the Social Insurance Fund. Based on estimates cited in Polish media, the additional annual cost to the fund would be roughly PLN 1.5 billion — part of which simply shifts existing employer costs onto the social insurance system rather than creating new spending from scratch. Experts have flagged a risk of abuse — for example, employers or employees arranging a short period of high-salary employment shortly before sick leave begins, to inflate the benefit's assessment basis. Additional safeguards against this kind of practice may be added as the bill moves through further committee work.

How to prepare your business for changes to pregnancy sick pay in Poland

Even if the bill changes further as it moves through the Sejm, the fact that it is now part of the public debate is a good reason to review how your company handles pregnancy-related and general sickness absence — regardless of who ends up paying for which stage of the leave, employers still need to record it accurately, settle it correctly, and plan cover. This is where the Time Harmony electronic leave requests module helps: it lets you log sick leave alongside every other type of absence, track limits and history, and gives managers real-time visibility into how many people on their team are currently on sick leave. That makes planning cover and organizing work simpler, no matter how the rules on funding sickness benefits are ultimately shaped. Changes to sick leave rules in Poland have come up regularly this year — for what already took effect in April 2026 (including new ZUS inspection rules and permitted activities during sick leave), see our article New sick leave rules in Poland from April 13, 2026: What has changed?.

Summary

The bill introducing pregnancy sick pay in Poland funded by ZUS from day one is, for now, a legislative proposal rather than law — it is still at an early stage in the Sejm. If passed, the cost of the first 33 days of a pregnant employee's sick leave would shift to ZUS, easing the burden on employers and, according to its sponsors, reducing hesitation around hiring young women. Until then, it's worth following the bill's progress and — regardless of the outcome — making sure pregnancy and sickness absences are recorded efficiently and in line with Polish labour law. ]]> How pregnancy sick pay in Poland works today Under current Polish law, an employer pays sick pay for the first 33 days of an employee's incapacity for work in a calendar year (14 days for employees over 50). From day 34 onward, ZUS takes over and pays a sickness benefit from the Social Insurance Fund (FUS). During pregnancy, the split between employer and ZUS is the same as for any other employee — only the amount differs. Under the Polish Labour Code, incapacity for work during pregnancy is already paid at 100% of the assessment basis, whether the payer is the employer or ZUS. The maximum period for receiving this benefit during pregnancy is 270 days. So the issue the new bill addresses isn't the amount of the benefit — it's who pays for the first weeks of leave, and how much of a burden that is for smaller employers.

What the draft bill on pregnancy sick pay proposes

Employers would no longer bear the cost of the first 33 days of sick leave for a pregnant employee.
The benefit would remain 100% of the assessment basis — nothing changes financially for the employee.
The maximum benefit period (270 days) would stay the same.
Rules for issuing electronic sick notes (e-ZLA) would not change.

Why lawmakers say the change would help women in Poland's labour market

What the reform would cost, and open questions

How to prepare your business for changes to pregnancy sick pay in Poland

Summary

The bill introducing pregnancy sick pay in Poland funded by ZUS from day one is, for now, a legislative proposal rather than law — it is still at an early stage in the Sejm. If passed, the cost of the first 33 days of a pregnant employee's sick leave would shift to ZUS, easing the burden on employers and, according to its sponsors, reducing hesitation around hiring young women. Until then, it's worth following the bill's progress and — regardless of the outcome — making sure pregnancy and sickness absences are recorded efficiently and in line with Polish labour law. ]]> https://timeharmony.pl/en/pregnancy-sick-pay-in-poland-what-the-draft-bill-proposes/feed/ 0 How to set performance targets for teams and track them in real time https://timeharmony.pl/en/how-to-set-performance-targets-for-teams-and-track-them-in-real-time/ https://timeharmony.pl/en/how-to-set-performance-targets-for-teams-and-track-them-in-real-time/#respond Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:22:34 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=25686 Setting performance targets for teams is one of the most effective ways to turn company strategy into the daily rhythm of a warehouse, a production line, or a service team. Problems start when a target is picked "by feel," without real data behind it and without a way to track how it's being met. The result is targets that are unrealistic, demotivating, or simply impossible to measure. This guide walks through how to set performance targets for teams on solid productivity norms, and how to monitor progress as it happens instead of finding out about a problem at the end of the month.

What performance targets are, and why it pays to formalize them

A performance target is a concrete, measurable reference value against which the actual output of an employee, a team, or an entire site is compared over a set period. Unlike a vague expectation like "work faster," a well-built target is anchored to a productivity norm assigned to a specific activity, and it accounts for the real conditions under which that activity is performed. Formalizing performance targets pays off in a few concrete ways:

objective performance reviews — results are compared to a number, not to a supervisor's subjective impression,
a basis for bonus and piece-rate schemes — bonuses are calculated from a clearly defined completion threshold,
early detection of deviations — a drop in output becomes visible before it turns into late deliveries,
better resource planning — knowing a team's real throughput makes it easier to staff upcoming days or shifts.

Performance targets for teams only make sense, though, when they're built on reliable norms and monitored regularly — otherwise they turn into a number with no grounding in reality.

Where to start: mapping activities and choosing the right productivity norm

Before setting a target, it's worth answering one question first: what exactly are we measuring? Many companies make the same mistake — applying one averaged norm across an entire warehouse or department, regardless of whether an employee is picking small items, moving pallets, or working a packing station. The starting point should be an analysis of the activities actually performed — their type, their duration, and the conditions under which they take place. Only then can a norm be assigned that reflects the real work, rather than an averaged picture of the whole organization.

Advanced norms in Time Harmony: matching targets to real working conditions

Time Harmony offers over a dozen built-in productivity norms, so every activity can be parameterized individually — depending on the type of work, the size of the site, or the specifics of a given location. Instead of one universal norm for the whole facility, each activity can have its own point of reference. In practice, this means:

the same activity (e.g. order picking) can carry different norms at different sites — because layouts and travel distances differ,
norms can be varied by client, product group, or team,
results are shown both as nominal productivity (units completed per hour) and percentage productivity (rate of norm completion), making it possible to assess work quality at both a micro level (a single employee) and a macro level (a whole team or site).

You can read more about this mechanism on the workforce productivity tracking tool page. In short: why one norm for everything doesn't work ● An averaged norm hides differences between sites and types of work. ● A dozen-plus norms in Time Harmony let you fit the target to reality, not the other way round. ● Results can be read nominally (units per hour) and as a percentage (rate of norm completion).

Step by step: how to set performance targets for a team

Map activities and assign norms. Break the team's work down into concrete activities and assign each one an appropriate norm from those available in the system, factoring in location and type of work.
Set a baseline from historical data. Before you impose a target, check what productivity has actually been achieved so far. A target disconnected from historical data quickly turns unrealistic.
Define the target per team, employee, and settlement period. Decide whether the target applies to a day, week, or month, and whether it covers a single employee, a shift, or an entire site.
Configure how it's measured. Decide whether the result should be shown nominally, as a percentage, or both — depending on who's reading the report (operational staff or management).
Communicate the target to the team. A target employees don't know about doesn't motivate anyone. It's worth making progress visible at the team level too.
Roll out real-time monitoring and a response mechanism. Set up a manager dashboard that shows target progress as it happens, rather than only in a report at month end (see the section below).

Who enters target data: the supervisor's role (new in version 3.19)

How reliable a target is depends on the quality of the data it's calculated from. The catch is that some of the parameters needed to settle an activity correctly — an order number, a pallet count, or other data requiring a decision or verification — shouldn't be filled in by the employee themselves at the moment they log the activity on a terminal. Often, that data simply can't be determined with certainty at that point. In version 3.19, Time Harmony introduced a mechanism that moves the completion of this kind of data to the supervisor:

in the activity tree, you can mark which attributes are to be completed by the supervisor rather than the employee,
those attributes are then hidden on the terminal during the employee's own logging,
events that need completion are flagged and appear on an "action required" list on the working-time events screen — collectively, for all direct reports at once.

As a result, the data underlying a performance target reaches the system from the right source, and a supervisor sees at a glance which activities need their input. We covered this feature in detail in the version 3.19 update. In short: the data behind a target ● Selected activity attributes (e.g. pallet count, order number) are completed by the supervisor, not the employee. ● These attributes are hidden on the terminal during the employee's own logging. ● Events "awaiting completion" are visible together in one list, flagged and filterable.

Tracking target progress on real-time manager dashboards

Setting a target is only half the job — the other half is tracking it as it happens. Time Harmony provides fully configurable manager dashboards, where every user can design their own widget layout and choose the scope of data shown. On a manager dashboard, you can keep an eye on things like:

overall average productivity as well as productivity for normed, productive activities,
a top-10 productivity ranking — who's actually driving the team's result,
cumulative, hour-by-hour data, so you can react to a slowdown during the shift itself instead of the next day,
employee productivity over time — broken down by day, week, and month, making it easier to spot seasonality and lasting trends,
data split by location, department, and team — useful for comparing multiple sites at once.

Data is available online, and can also be exported to Excel, delivered through automated email reports, or connected to Power BI for deeper analysis. You can find more on reporting options on the reports and online data page. In short: what real-time target monitoring gives you ● Target progress is visible hour by hour, not only once a settlement period closes. ● The manager dashboard is fully configurable — widgets, locations, teams. ● Data can be exported to Excel or Power BI, and its distribution by email can be automated.

What to do when a team misses its targets

Measurement alone doesn't improve productivity — what matters is what happens after a deviation is spotted. A few principles worth following:

Analyze the cause before drawing conclusions — a productivity drop may come from a different activity, a different site, or a poorly chosen norm, rather than from lower engagement. Granular data by activity and location lets you check this.
Look at the trend, not a single day — a one-off dip is often natural variation, not a signal to intervene.
Compare individual results with the team's overall result — a productivity ranking helps separate a systemic problem from an isolated case.
Check whether the norm is still realistic — if working conditions have changed (a new warehouse layout, a different product mix), it's worth updating the norm before writing a target off as unachievable.

If you're looking for hard numbers on how much a company can realistically gain from cutting non-productive time, see the case story: idle activities reduction — an example of a client who cut the share of non-productive activity from roughly 20% to about 2% within a few months.

Common mistakes when setting performance targets

One norm for every site and type of work — this ignores differences in conditions and leads to unfair evaluation.
A target set without historical data behind it — a target pulled "out of thin air" usually turns out either too easy or demotivatingly high.
No communication of the target to the team — employees don't know what they're working toward or how their current result compares.
Monitoring only at the end of the settlement period — the problem is caught too late, once the lost time can no longer be recovered.
Critical data entered by the employee instead of the supervisor — wherever a data point needs verification (e.g. pallet count, order number), its accuracy should be confirmed by the supervisor, not by the person performing the activity on the move.

What performance targets are, and why it pays to formalize them

objective performance reviews — results are compared to a number, not to a supervisor's subjective impression,
a basis for bonus and piece-rate schemes — bonuses are calculated from a clearly defined completion threshold,
early detection of deviations — a drop in output becomes visible before it turns into late deliveries,
better resource planning — knowing a team's real throughput makes it easier to staff upcoming days or shifts.

Performance targets for teams only make sense, though, when they're built on reliable norms and monitored regularly — otherwise they turn into a number with no grounding in reality.

Where to start: mapping activities and choosing the right productivity norm

Advanced norms in Time Harmony: matching targets to real working conditions

the same activity (e.g. order picking) can carry different norms at different sites — because layouts and travel distances differ,
norms can be varied by client, product group, or team,
results are shown both as nominal productivity (units completed per hour) and percentage productivity (rate of norm completion), making it possible to assess work quality at both a micro level (a single employee) and a macro level (a whole team or site).

Step by step: how to set performance targets for a team

Map activities and assign norms. Break the team's work down into concrete activities and assign each one an appropriate norm from those available in the system, factoring in location and type of work.
Set a baseline from historical data. Before you impose a target, check what productivity has actually been achieved so far. A target disconnected from historical data quickly turns unrealistic.
Define the target per team, employee, and settlement period. Decide whether the target applies to a day, week, or month, and whether it covers a single employee, a shift, or an entire site.
Configure how it's measured. Decide whether the result should be shown nominally, as a percentage, or both — depending on who's reading the report (operational staff or management).
Communicate the target to the team. A target employees don't know about doesn't motivate anyone. It's worth making progress visible at the team level too.
Roll out real-time monitoring and a response mechanism. Set up a manager dashboard that shows target progress as it happens, rather than only in a report at month end (see the section below).

Who enters target data: the supervisor's role (new in version 3.19)

in the activity tree, you can mark which attributes are to be completed by the supervisor rather than the employee,
those attributes are then hidden on the terminal during the employee's own logging,
events that need completion are flagged and appear on an "action required" list on the working-time events screen — collectively, for all direct reports at once.

Tracking target progress on real-time manager dashboards

overall average productivity as well as productivity for normed, productive activities,
a top-10 productivity ranking — who's actually driving the team's result,
cumulative, hour-by-hour data, so you can react to a slowdown during the shift itself instead of the next day,
employee productivity over time — broken down by day, week, and month, making it easier to spot seasonality and lasting trends,
data split by location, department, and team — useful for comparing multiple sites at once.

What to do when a team misses its targets

Measurement alone doesn't improve productivity — what matters is what happens after a deviation is spotted. A few principles worth following:

Analyze the cause before drawing conclusions — a productivity drop may come from a different activity, a different site, or a poorly chosen norm, rather than from lower engagement. Granular data by activity and location lets you check this.
Look at the trend, not a single day — a one-off dip is often natural variation, not a signal to intervene.
Compare individual results with the team's overall result — a productivity ranking helps separate a systemic problem from an isolated case.
Check whether the norm is still realistic — if working conditions have changed (a new warehouse layout, a different product mix), it's worth updating the norm before writing a target off as unachievable.

Common mistakes when setting performance targets

One norm for every site and type of work — this ignores differences in conditions and leads to unfair evaluation.
A target set without historical data behind it — a target pulled "out of thin air" usually turns out either too easy or demotivatingly high.
No communication of the target to the team — employees don't know what they're working toward or how their current result compares.
Monitoring only at the end of the settlement period — the problem is caught too late, once the lost time can no longer be recovered.
Critical data entered by the employee instead of the supervisor — wherever a data point needs verification (e.g. pallet count, order number), its accuracy should be confirmed by the supervisor, not by the person performing the activity on the move.

Setting performance targets for teams only pays off once the targets are anchored in real productivity norms and paired with real-time visibility into how they're being met. Want to see how Time Harmony's advanced norms and manager dashboards would work for your organization? Book a free system demo.]]> https://timeharmony.pl/en/how-to-set-performance-targets-for-teams-and-track-them-in-real-time/feed/ 0 35-hour workweek in Poland: draft law, 2026 pilot and measuring team productivity https://timeharmony.pl/en/35-hour-workweek/ https://timeharmony.pl/en/35-hour-workweek/#respond Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:54:51 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=11598 1. 35-hour workweek in Poland compared with other European countries Poland has long ranked among the most overworked countries in the European Union. Under current regulations, the basic working time norm set out in the Polish Labour Code is 40 hours a week, which in practice means 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The Polish Labour Code does allow for other working time systems — equivalent, continuous, interrupted, task-based or weekend — but for most people working in Poland, the workweek still comes down to the basic model. Shortening the statutory working time norm in Poland is being justified by the need to meet the expectations of younger generations entering the labour market and by a broader push for a better work-life balance. It is also a direction that a large share of European countries have already taken.

2. The draft law on a 35-hour workweek – current status in Poland (2026)

In 2026, the discussion about a 35-hour workweek in Poland moved from announcement to an actual legislative proposal. A private member's bill submitted to the Sejm proposes a gradual reduction of the weekly working time norm, spread over three years, from an average of 40 to an average of 35 hours, without reducing current wages. Under the bill, the norm would drop to 38 hours a week for the first two years, before reaching the target of 35 hours in the third year. The proposed new wording of Article 129 § 1 of the Polish Labour Code states that working time may not exceed 8 hours a day and an average of 35 hours in an average five-day workweek, within a settlement period not exceeding 4 months. The bill covers not only the Labour Code itself but also amendments to 32 other Polish acts regulating working time, service duty, and vocational training or internships. The bill's explanatory memorandum cites health-related evidence: the risk of stroke rises by 10% at a weekly working time of 41–48 hours, and by as much as 33% for those working more than 55 hours a week. The proposal has gained the backing of part of the Polish trade union movement, including the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions. The bill is currently at the consultation stage, so it's worth following its progress closely — if the new norm is adopted, it will require virtually every company operating in Poland to rework its working time settlement systems.

3. The Polish government's shortened working time pilot – how it works

Independent of the draft law, since 1 January 2026 Poland's Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has been running a separate government pilot of shortened working time, with participants keeping their current pay. The application window, which closed in September 2025, drew almost 2,000 applications from companies and public-sector bodies, ranging from tech startups to manufacturing plants. The pilot, running throughout 2026, ultimately involves close to 100 companies from the private and public sectors and more than 5,000 employees. The programme does not impose a single model. Participating companies could choose from several options:

a classic 4-day workweek, keeping the full weekly hour count,
an actual reduction of the weekly hour norm, for example to 32 hours,
intermediate solutions, including flexible compression of the workweek tailored to individual team needs.

Early months of the pilot suggest that shortening working time works best in organisations that had already streamlined their processes and increased automation beforehand. A full evaluation of the results is expected in spring 2027.

4. 35 hours or less – where in Europe people work the shortest

France was the first country to shorten the standard workweek, introducing the so-called "Aubry law" back in 2000, which cut the standard workweek to 35 hours. According to Eurostat data, Norwegians (34.2 hours a week) and the Dutch (31.6 hours a week) work even fewer hours. Belgium has offered a 4-day workweek option since 2022. It's also worth looking at countries that, like Poland, have tested shortened working time through pilots. Iceland ran one of the most widely cited experiments between 2015 and 2019, covering around 2,500 public-sector employees. Productivity mostly stayed the same or improved, while employee well-being improved markedly — after the trials ended, most Icelandic workers negotiated a permanent right to a shorter workweek. Spain has been running a three-year pilot programme since 2023, covering around 200 companies, with the government partly covering the costs of reduced working time; early signals are mixed, with some companies reporting efficiency gains and others facing organisational problems. Germany has taken a more bottom-up approach, with individual companies — including Volkswagen, Audi and Deutsche Telekom — testing their own shortened working time models without government support.

5. A bit of history

The idea of shortening the workweek has a long history, dating back to the late 19th century, when labour movements fought to limit working hours to 8 hours a day. At the peak of industrialisation, the working day could stretch to 18 hours. In Poland, the five-day workweek still in place today became a reality after the political changes of 1989. Free Saturdays were introduced gradually — in 1973, employees were granted two paid Saturdays off a year, later increased to six, and from 1975 onward, Polish employees gained 12 Saturdays off a year, or one a month. Today, a free Saturday is taken for granted in Poland — everything suggests that, over a longer timeframe, Friday could follow the same path.

6. Challenges for Polish employers and the role of technology

Shortening working time also raises legitimate concerns among Polish employers, mainly around rising costs linked to adapting processes and, in some cases, hiring additional staff to maintain production or service continuity. The challenge is particularly acute in sectors already facing labour shortages. The Polish Economic Institute, in a study on shortening working time, found that 51% of companies in Poland consider a shift to a 4-day workweek impossible given the specifics of their industry. Supporters of the change argue that new technology, automation and process robotisation could offer a way to meet these challenges.

7. Will the benefits outweigh the challenges

Available research — both international studies and early observations from the Polish pilot — suggests that shortening working time can bring a range of benefits: a better work-life balance, more time for recovery, better sleep quality, lower stress levels, less burnout, and improved physical health. The scale of the problem facing Polish employees today is significant. According to a June 2026 study by UCE Research and the ePsycholodzy.pl platform, 78.3% of working Poles report at least one of 14 recognised burnout symptoms — up 13 percentage points in just three years. It's worth bearing in mind a risk flagged by labour market experts, though: employees may fill an extra day off with additional paid work and, as a result, lose most of the positive effects of a shorter workweek. That's another reason to track the real impact of any change using hard data, rather than relying on assumptions.

8. How a time and attendance system helps measure productivity in a shorter workweek

The biggest concern around shortening working time is always the same: can a company maintain its current level of productivity if employees spend fewer hours at work? That question shouldn't be answered by guesswork — it requires reliable data, and that's exactly what a time and attendance (T&A) system provides. Regardless of whether the 35-hour workweek bill is eventually adopted, the Polish Labour Code will continue to require accurate working time records, correct overtime calculation, and compliance with rest-period rules — including in companies currently testing shortened working time as part of the government pilot. A T&A system paired with an activity and productivity tracking module, such as Time Harmony, allows companies to:

compare actual working time before and after introducing a shorter workweek, broken down into standard hours, overtime and absences,
combine working time data with activity and performance analysis, showing whether a shorter week actually reduces — or in fact improves — team efficiency,
identify unproductive stretches of working time that can be eliminated instead of being offset with extra overtime,
prepare the reports needed to evaluate the pilot or decide whether to permanently adopt a new working time model,
stay fully compliant with the Polish Labour Code, whichever working time system a company uses — basic, equivalent, or task-based.

A shorter workweek changes the number of hours on the schedule, but it doesn't change the need to reliably measure what happens within those hours. Companies that already have solid data on working time and team productivity will be in a much stronger position once a change to the working time norm becomes reality in Poland — whether through new legislation or growing labour market pressure. ]]> 1. 35-hour workweek in Poland compared with other European countries Poland has long ranked among the most overworked countries in the European Union. Under current regulations, the basic working time norm set out in the Polish Labour Code is 40 hours a week, which in practice means 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The Polish Labour Code does allow for other working time systems — equivalent, continuous, interrupted, task-based or weekend — but for most people working in Poland, the workweek still comes down to the basic model. Shortening the statutory working time norm in Poland is being justified by the need to meet the expectations of younger generations entering the labour market and by a broader push for a better work-life balance. It is also a direction that a large share of European countries have already taken.

2. The draft law on a 35-hour workweek – current status in Poland (2026)

3. The Polish government's shortened working time pilot – how it works

a classic 4-day workweek, keeping the full weekly hour count,
an actual reduction of the weekly hour norm, for example to 32 hours,
intermediate solutions, including flexible compression of the workweek tailored to individual team needs.

4. 35 hours or less – where in Europe people work the shortest

5. A bit of history

6. Challenges for Polish employers and the role of technology

7. Will the benefits outweigh the challenges

8. How a time and attendance system helps measure productivity in a shorter workweek

compare actual working time before and after introducing a shorter workweek, broken down into standard hours, overtime and absences,
combine working time data with activity and performance analysis, showing whether a shorter week actually reduces — or in fact improves — team efficiency,
identify unproductive stretches of working time that can be eliminated instead of being offset with extra overtime,
prepare the reports needed to evaluate the pilot or decide whether to permanently adopt a new working time model,
stay fully compliant with the Polish Labour Code, whichever working time system a company uses — basic, equivalent, or task-based.

A shorter workweek changes the number of hours on the schedule, but it doesn't change the need to reliably measure what happens within those hours. Companies that already have solid data on working time and team productivity will be in a much stronger position once a change to the working time norm becomes reality in Poland — whether through new legislation or growing labour market pressure. ]]> https://timeharmony.pl/en/35-hour-workweek/feed/ 0 Sham B2B contracts in Poland: new labour inspectorate powers https://timeharmony.pl/en/sham-b2b-contracts-in-poland-new-labor-inspectorate-powers/ https://timeharmony.pl/en/sham-b2b-contracts-in-poland-new-labor-inspectorate-powers/#respond Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:59:22 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=24403 sham contract disguising an employment relationship. No court filing required. If your company engages contractors in Poland under B2B agreements, this changes the practical risk calculus: it is no longer enough for the contract to say "B2B" — you need to be able to show how the collaboration actually works day to day. Here is what counts as a sham B2B contract under Polish law, what new powers PIP has gained, and how systematic time and task records can serve as real evidence if an inspection happens.

What makes a B2B contract "sham" under Polish law

The concept of a sham contract is not new — it is a long-standing feature of Polish civil law, and the 2026 reform simply gives labour inspectors a faster way to act on it. Under Article 83 of the Polish Civil Code, a declaration of intent made to another party with that party's consent, purely for appearances, is void. Applied to B2B collaboration, this describes a situation where both sides sign a B2B contract while never actually intending to operate under the terms typical of a civil-law relationship — from day one, both parties know the arrangement will function like regular employment. This rule applies directly to labour relations through Article 300 of the Polish Labor Code, and the key reference point is Article 22 § 1, which defines an employment relationship as one where a person:

performs work personally,
works under the direction and supervision of the other party,
has a place and time of work assigned to them,
and receives remuneration in return.

The Polish Supreme Court settled the underlying principle back in a ruling dated March 26, 2008 (case no. I UK 282/07): what determines the nature of a contract is not its title, but the actual purpose and intent of the parties, and how it is carried out in practice. A document headed "B2B cooperation agreement" offers no protection if the day-to-day reality looks like a regular job. It's worth stressing what Poland's Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy states clearly: the reform does not change the legal definition of an employment relationship or introduce new criteria. Properly structured and properly executed B2B contracts remain fully legal. What changes is how effectively PIP can now detect and act on the ones that were sham from the start.

New Polish labour inspectorate powers from July 2026

The act amending PIP's powers was passed by the Sejm on March 11, 2026, signed by the President on April 2, and published in the Journal of Laws (Dz.U. 2026, item 473). The core provisions took effect on July 8, 2026.

Administrative decision instead of a court case

Previously, reclassifying a civil-law contract into an employment contract required a lawsuit — a slow process that depended on the worker's own initiative. Now, a District Labour Inspector can issue an administrative decision establishing the existence of an employment relationship directly. The procedure is staged:

If an inspector identifies irregularities during an audit, they first issue a compliance order — setting a deadline to either sign an employment contract or restructure the terms of cooperation so they genuinely match a civil-law relationship.
Only if that order is ignored can the inspector request a decision reclassifying the contract as an employment contract.
Both the company and the worker can appeal to a labor court within 30 days, and filing an appeal suspends enforcement of the decision until a final ruling — except for workers under special legal protection (e.g. trade union representatives, employees nearing retirement age), where immediate enforceability can be granted.

Higher fines and possible backdated liability

Maximum fines for violations of worker rights have doubled, from PLN 30,000 to PLN 60,000, rising to PLN 90,000 for repeat offences. If a reclassification decision is upheld, authorities may also recalculate outstanding social security contributions and taxes up to 5 years back — a materially different (and stricter) outcome than what was floated during the earlier legislative draft stage.

A 12-month transition window — with real limits

Companies that voluntarily bring a civil-law contract into compliance (by signing an employment contract where one is genuinely warranted) by July 8, 2027 are exempt from fines for that period. This "amnesty" is narrower than it sounds: it covers fines tied to the new regulations specifically, not automatically every other consequence of a contested collaboration model (for example, backdated contribution disputes in a live case). Treat the transition period as an audit window, not a blanket shield.

Remote inspections and cross-agency data sharing

PIP can now conduct parts of an inspection remotely — requesting electronic documents, interviewing witnesses online. Data sharing between PIP, ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) and KAS (National Revenue Administration) — including invoice data via KSeF, the national e-invoicing system — allows authorities to flag companies for audit based on data patterns (such as the ratio of employees to contractors on the payroll) before an inspector ever shows up. A report or complaint is a legal basis to open an inspection, and companies are not told who filed it. Employers can also request an individual interpretation from PIP — similar to tax rulings — to get an advance read on whether a specific collaboration model is compliant.

Red flags: what inspectors actually look at

Inspectors evaluate substance, not the contract's title. The most common warning signs that lead to a sham-contract finding include:

Fixed, named working hours — assigning a contractor specific shifts by name rather than ordering a block of hours or a deadline.
No genuine right of substitution — a contractual obligation to perform the work personally, just like an employee.
Operational rather than strategic supervision — a manager directing exactly how and in what order tasks are done, rather than setting quality or safety standards.
An imposed workplace with no objective business reason.
Process control instead of results-based scope — dictating the sequence and pace of work rather than defining an outcome or deliverable.
Internal policies and benefits designed for employees — requiring adherence to internal staff regulations, or automatically extending employee-only benefits and leave mechanisms to a contractor.
Contractors managing other people in a way typical of an internal reporting structure.

No single factor is usually decisive on its own — the risk grows when several of these signals appear together and paint a consistent picture of subordination.

How time and task records support your defence

No software can substitute for a properly structured collaboration model — whether a contract is a sham comes down to how the work is actually carried out, not what system is running in the background. But since inspectors evaluate facts and expect documentation, a tool that records those facts systematically becomes a genuine asset if an inspection happens. This is where two Time Harmony modules come in: Working time management (the T&A module) logs objective attendance data — clock-ins, clock-outs, breaks — in a form compliant with the Polish Labor Code, without forcing B2B contractors into the same rigid attendance rules as staff employees. That distinction matters: the system records facts, while the company retains control over how flexibly it structures contractor terms. Activity measuring (the Activity and Productivity module) lets contractors log completed tasks — automatically via integrations with WMS/ERP systems, scanners and access gates, or manually for off-system activities. Together, this builds:

A combined activity timeline merging T&A events, logged tasks and productivity data into one chronological view — a coherent record of what actually happened during the day, not just a raw hour count.
Activity dashboards showing how many people were working on a given task, and for how long — data that's easy to cross-check against the terms of the contract.
Output-based measurement, not process control — cumulative unit-completion tracking lets you settle work by outcome, which directly supports the "results, not dictated process" principle that matters most in a sham-contract assessment.
A ready-made audit trail — a full history of activity and time records that can be exported quickly if an inspector requests documentation electronically during a remote inspection.

Data is hosted on EU-based servers with encryption and MFA authentication, in line with GDPR — relevant if personal data about contractors ever needs to be shared with a controlling authority. In short: Working time management and Activity measuring don't make a collaboration model legally compliant on their own — but they generate the structured documentation that makes a genuinely compliant model much easier to defend.

A practical checklist before an inspection

Before PIP comes knocking, it's worth auditing your B2B contractor relationships against:

Contract wording — do the clauses on location, hours and method of work leave the contractor genuine independence?
Day-to-day practice — does how the collaboration is actually managed match what the contract says, or has it drifted?
Communication and instructions — do managers issue operational orders to contractors the same way they would to staff employees?
Documentation — can you reconstruct the history of the collaboration quickly: hours, tasks, deliverables?
Contribution mix — does the ratio of B2B/mandate contracts to employment contracts in a given team look defensible given the nature of the work?

Running this audit now — not to sidestep the law, but to consciously formalise employment where the work genuinely functions as one — is far cheaper than doing it under the pressure of an active inspection.

Sham B2B contracts in Poland - summary

The 2026 reform doesn't redefine what counts as a sham B2B contract in Poland — that test has existed for decades. What changes is how effectively it's enforced: an administrative decision instead of a lengthy court case, higher fines, remote audits and data-driven targeting via ZUS and KAS. Under this regime, a company's safety depends less on what the contract says and more on whether it can demonstrate how the collaboration actually works. Systematic time and task records won't replace a properly structured collaboration model, but they provide the evidence that makes defending it significantly easier. Related reading:

2026 Polish Labor Inspectorate reform (Reforma PIP 2026) in Logistics
Recording working hours in Poland – legal requirements and employer obligations
Legal source: Reform of the National Labor Inspectorate – gov.pl / Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy (Polish-language source)

]]> sham contract disguising an employment relationship. No court filing required. If your company engages contractors in Poland under B2B agreements, this changes the practical risk calculus: it is no longer enough for the contract to say "B2B" — you need to be able to show how the collaboration actually works day to day. Here is what counts as a sham B2B contract under Polish law, what new powers PIP has gained, and how systematic time and task records can serve as real evidence if an inspection happens.

What makes a B2B contract "sham" under Polish law

performs work personally,
works under the direction and supervision of the other party,
has a place and time of work assigned to them,
and receives remuneration in return.

New Polish labour inspectorate powers from July 2026

Administrative decision instead of a court case

If an inspector identifies irregularities during an audit, they first issue a compliance order — setting a deadline to either sign an employment contract or restructure the terms of cooperation so they genuinely match a civil-law relationship.
Only if that order is ignored can the inspector request a decision reclassifying the contract as an employment contract.
Both the company and the worker can appeal to a labor court within 30 days, and filing an appeal suspends enforcement of the decision until a final ruling — except for workers under special legal protection (e.g. trade union representatives, employees nearing retirement age), where immediate enforceability can be granted.

Higher fines and possible backdated liability

A 12-month transition window — with real limits

Remote inspections and cross-agency data sharing

Red flags: what inspectors actually look at

Inspectors evaluate substance, not the contract's title. The most common warning signs that lead to a sham-contract finding include:

Fixed, named working hours — assigning a contractor specific shifts by name rather than ordering a block of hours or a deadline.
No genuine right of substitution — a contractual obligation to perform the work personally, just like an employee.
Operational rather than strategic supervision — a manager directing exactly how and in what order tasks are done, rather than setting quality or safety standards.
An imposed workplace with no objective business reason.
Process control instead of results-based scope — dictating the sequence and pace of work rather than defining an outcome or deliverable.
Internal policies and benefits designed for employees — requiring adherence to internal staff regulations, or automatically extending employee-only benefits and leave mechanisms to a contractor.
Contractors managing other people in a way typical of an internal reporting structure.

No single factor is usually decisive on its own — the risk grows when several of these signals appear together and paint a consistent picture of subordination.

How time and task records support your defence

A combined activity timeline merging T&A events, logged tasks and productivity data into one chronological view — a coherent record of what actually happened during the day, not just a raw hour count.
Activity dashboards showing how many people were working on a given task, and for how long — data that's easy to cross-check against the terms of the contract.
Output-based measurement, not process control — cumulative unit-completion tracking lets you settle work by outcome, which directly supports the "results, not dictated process" principle that matters most in a sham-contract assessment.
A ready-made audit trail — a full history of activity and time records that can be exported quickly if an inspector requests documentation electronically during a remote inspection.

A practical checklist before an inspection

Before PIP comes knocking, it's worth auditing your B2B contractor relationships against:

Contract wording — do the clauses on location, hours and method of work leave the contractor genuine independence?
Day-to-day practice — does how the collaboration is actually managed match what the contract says, or has it drifted?
Communication and instructions — do managers issue operational orders to contractors the same way they would to staff employees?
Documentation — can you reconstruct the history of the collaboration quickly: hours, tasks, deliverables?
Contribution mix — does the ratio of B2B/mandate contracts to employment contracts in a given team look defensible given the nature of the work?

Sham B2B contracts in Poland - summary

2026 Polish Labor Inspectorate reform (Reforma PIP 2026) in Logistics
Recording working hours in Poland – legal requirements and employer obligations
Legal source: Reform of the National Labor Inspectorate – gov.pl / Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy (Polish-language source)

]]> https://timeharmony.pl/en/sham-b2b-contracts-in-poland-new-labor-inspectorate-powers/feed/ 0 Personnel files and GDPR in Poland – how to keep employee records compliant https://timeharmony.pl/en/personnel-files-and-gdpr-in-poland-how-to-keep-employee-records-compliant/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:57:34 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=25639 What personnel files are and why GDPR applies to them A personnel file (akta osobowe) is the set of documents and declarations that track an employee's relationship with their employer — from recruitment through to termination. The obligation to maintain one arises from the Polish Labour Code (Article 94, points 9a and 9b) and from the regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 10 December 2018 on employee documentation. Because personnel files contain personal data as defined by GDPR — including special-category data such as health information from medical certificates — the employer acts as the data controller for this documentation. That means the employer must ensure collection, storage and disclosure comply with GDPR's core principles: lawfulness, data minimisation, purpose limitation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability. Importantly, maintaining a personnel file does not require the employee's consent. The legal basis is the employer's legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, read together with the Labour Code and the documentation regulation. For health data such as medical certificates, Article 9(2)(b) GDPR provides the additional basis. Employee consent (Article 22¹a of the Labour Code) is only needed when an employer wants to collect data beyond the statutory catalogue.

The five-part structure: parts A, B, C, D and E

Since 21 March 2023, a Polish personnel file is divided into five parts: • Part A – documents collected during recruitment (personal questionnaire, CV with the candidate's consent) and referrals or certificates from pre-employment, periodic and follow-up medical examinations. • Part B – documents related to establishing employment and its course: the employment contract, job duties, remote-work arrangements, flexible working requests and parental-leave-related applications. • Part C – documents related to termination of employment (notice, employment reference/certificate). • Part D – documents related to an employee's disciplinary liability (warnings, reprimands) — removed from the file after a year of unblemished conduct. • Part E – documents related to sobriety checks or checks for substances with effects similar to alcohol. Documents in each part must be stored in chronological order, numbered, and preceded by a list of contents — a formal requirement regardless of whether the file is kept on paper or electronically. Mixing documents between parts A–E is one of the most frequent findings in labour inspections.

Common GDPR mistakes in personnel files

The same handful of errors turn up repeatedly in HR audits, and each one breaches both GDPR and Labour Code rules: • photocopying or scanning an ID card instead of noting only the necessary data from it, • collecting candidate or employee photographs without a legal basis, • requesting a criminal record certificate for positions where the law doesn't require one, • failing to provide a GDPR privacy notice at the point data is collected, • mixing documents across parts A–E, • storing files without access control (unlocked cabinets, shared folders without permissions). The data minimisation principle means an employer may only collect data that is strictly necessary to meet obligations under labour law — nothing more.

How long to keep personnel files in 2026

Retention depends on the employee's hire date: • 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which employment ended, for employees hired on or after 1 January 2019. • 50 years for employees hired earlier, with the option to shorten this to 10 years for those employed between 1999 and 2018, provided the employer files the ZUS OSW declaration and ZUS RIA information report with the Social Insurance Institution. Once the retention period expires, the employer must notify the former employee that the documentation is available for collection; if unclaimed, it may then be destroyed. Employees and former employees also have the right to request a copy of all or part of their file at any time — the employer must provide it within 30 days.

Electronic personnel files (e-akta) under GDPR

Polish law allows personnel files to be kept electronically, provided the system guarantees confidentiality, integrity, completeness and availability, and protects the documentation from damage or loss. The format must be uniform — an employer keeps either exclusively paper files or exclusively electronic ones (switching format is allowed but requires formal notice to employees). In practice, electronic files mean less paper, faster access to HR data, and an easier path to meeting retention and security obligations — as long as the system used genuinely satisfies the regulation's requirements.

How Time Harmony supports compliance with employee documentation rules

The electronic employee file module in Time Harmony brings together key HR data — occupational medical examinations, training and competencies, contracts and employment details, and assigned company resources — in one secure digital environment, instead of scattered paper records. The system automatically reminds HR of upcoming medical examination deadlines and expiring qualifications, reducing the risk of missing obligations under the Labour Code. Access is restricted to authorised users based on assigned roles, and data is encrypted both in transit and at rest — aligning with GDPR's requirements for the security and confidentiality of HR documentation. Because the employee file module is integrated with time-and-attendance tracking, data doesn't need to be duplicated across systems, which itself supports the data minimisation principle. Personnel files are only one part of an employer's record-keeping duties: the same regulation also requires separate documentation of working time, which we cover in Recording Working Hours – Legal Requirements and Employer Responsibilities.

Penalties for missing or incorrect personnel files

A labour inspector can request a fine of between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000 against an employer who fails to maintain or store employee documentation, or who stores it in conditions that risk damage or loss. Independently of Labour Code sanctions, a GDPR breach in how personnel-file data is processed can trigger separate proceedings before the President of UODO, Poland's data protection authority.]]> What personnel files are and why GDPR applies to them A personnel file (akta osobowe) is the set of documents and declarations that track an employee's relationship with their employer — from recruitment through to termination. The obligation to maintain one arises from the Polish Labour Code (Article 94, points 9a and 9b) and from the regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 10 December 2018 on employee documentation. Because personnel files contain personal data as defined by GDPR — including special-category data such as health information from medical certificates — the employer acts as the data controller for this documentation. That means the employer must ensure collection, storage and disclosure comply with GDPR's core principles: lawfulness, data minimisation, purpose limitation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability. Importantly, maintaining a personnel file does not require the employee's consent. The legal basis is the employer's legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, read together with the Labour Code and the documentation regulation. For health data such as medical certificates, Article 9(2)(b) GDPR provides the additional basis. Employee consent (Article 22¹a of the Labour Code) is only needed when an employer wants to collect data beyond the statutory catalogue.

The five-part structure: parts A, B, C, D and E

Common GDPR mistakes in personnel files

How long to keep personnel files in 2026

Electronic personnel files (e-akta) under GDPR

How Time Harmony supports compliance with employee documentation rules

Penalties for missing or incorrect personnel files

A labour inspector can request a fine of between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000 against an employer who fails to maintain or store employee documentation, or who stores it in conditions that risk damage or loss. Independently of Labour Code sanctions, a GDPR breach in how personnel-file data is processed can trigger separate proceedings before the President of UODO, Poland's data protection authority.]]> Working time in August 2026 – how many hours, and how to plan around it https://timeharmony.pl/en/working-time-in-august-2026-how-many-hours-and-how-to-plan-around-it/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:00:38 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=25626 Working time in August 2026 comes with one wrinkle that catches out even experienced HR teams managing Polish operations: 15 August, a statutory public holiday, falls on a Saturday this year. That's a materially different situation from a holiday falling on a Sunday or a weekday — and it changes both the total hours your team owes you and what you're required to do about it. 📌 Working time in August 2026 is 160 hours (20 working days) for a full-time employee under Polish labour law. The reason: a holiday falling on a Saturday reduces working time exactly like a holiday on any other weekday — and on top of that, employers must grant a separate day off.

1. Working time in August 2026 – the short answer

Full-time: 160 hours, 20 working days. Half-time: 80 hours. Three-quarter time: 120 hours. If that's all you needed, you have it. The rest of this article explains where the number comes from — and, more importantly, what you actually need to do in the schedule to hit it.

2. Where the number comes from

Under Article 130 §1–2 of the Polish Labour Code, working time for a settlement period is calculated as:

40 hours × the number of full weeks in the period,
8 hours for each remaining working day (Monday–Friday) outside those full weeks,
8 hours for each public holiday falling on a day other than Sunday.

For August 2026: 4 full weeks × 40 hours = 160 hours, plus one extra working day (Monday, 31 August) = 168 hours, minus 8 hours for the 15 August holiday = 160 hours. Notice that in this calculation, 15 August is treated exactly the same as a holiday falling on a Tuesday or Wednesday — even though it's a Saturday. That's the detail that most often gets missed when a schedule is put together quickly.

3. Saturday is not Sunday – why it matters

This is the core of the whole topic, so it's worth spelling out clearly: a holiday falling on a Sunday changes nothing — Sunday is already a non-working day by law, so working time stays the same. That's what happened in May 2026, when 3 May fell on a Sunday. A holiday falling on a Saturday works differently. Saturday isn't a statutory non-working day — it's only free because most employers operate an average five-day working week. Polish law therefore treats a Saturday holiday the same as a holiday on any working day: hours drop by 8, and the employer must additionally designate another day off within the same settlement period. In other words, reducing the hour total is only half the obligation. The part most commonly forgotten is the second half: physically assigning employees a specific day as their "day in lieu" for the Saturday holiday.

4. Common scheduling mistakes in August

Three scenarios come up repeatedly in HR practice: Forgetting the day off entirely. The schedule is built around 21 working days instead of 20, because someone accounted for the reduced hours but not the obligation to grant a specific day off. Result: employees end up working more hours than they should — and the Polish Labour Inspectorate treats this as a breach of the five-day working week rule, regardless of whether the total hours happen to balance out. Splitting the day off into partial hours. Shortening several days by a couple of hours each instead of granting one full day off is not permitted — it breaks the rule on the number of non-working days, even if the hour total technically matches. Pushing the day off into the following month. With a one-month settlement period, this is a straightforward compliance error — the day off for an August holiday must be used within August. The day off for a Saturday holiday must be granted before the end of the settlement period in which the holiday fell — not the calendar month. With a one-month settlement period the two coincide, so for August 2026 that means before the end of August. With longer periods (e.g. 3- or 6-month), the employer can pick any month within that period — what matters is the period's end date, not the calendar month.

5. Choosing the day off for 15 August

The choice of date is entirely up to the employer — you can decide unilaterally or agree it with staff, and you don't need to pick the same day for every department. In practice, two options work well:

Friday, 14 August — gives employees a three-day weekend (14–16 August) and is usually the best-received option.
Monday, 17 August — useful if you need coverage on the Friday (production, warehouse) and prefer to close the matter out right after the weekend.

Whichever you choose: communicate it with the same notice period you'd give for any other part of the work schedule (at least a week before the period it covers begins), and make sure the day falls within the current settlement period — see the next point for what that means if your settlement period is longer than one month.

6. Part-time staff and sick leave overlaps

For part-time employees, the rule is simple — multiply the full-time figure by the employment fraction: 160 hours × 1/2 = 80 hours, 160 hours × 3/4 = 120 hours. A more nuanced case: what if the day designated as the "day in lieu" for 15 August falls during an employee's sick leave, maternity leave, or parental leave? If the employee had no scheduled work on that day anyway, the employer is not obliged to grant a replacement day once they return — the hour reduction only applies to hours that were actually scheduled to be worked. This comes up often in questions to the Polish Labour Inspectorate, so it's worth having the rule ready before someone asks.

7. How a T&A system takes this off your plate

None of the rules above are complicated on their own, but they need to be tracked every month, for every settlement period and every group of employees — which is exactly where mistakes creep in, especially across multiple locations or working time systems. Time Harmony's working time calculation automatically settles working time in line with the current Polish Labour Code — including holidays that reduce working time, holidays falling on a Saturday, and the resulting day-off obligations within the correct settlement period. Instead of manually checking the calendar every time you adjust a schedule, it's calculated once, correctly, with no risk of a manual slip. Want to see how this would work for your organization? Contact us — we'll walk you through how Time Harmony settles working time step by step.]]> Working time in August 2026 comes with one wrinkle that catches out even experienced HR teams managing Polish operations: 15 August, a statutory public holiday, falls on a Saturday this year. That's a materially different situation from a holiday falling on a Sunday or a weekday — and it changes both the total hours your team owes you and what you're required to do about it. 📌 Working time in August 2026 is 160 hours (20 working days) for a full-time employee under Polish labour law. The reason: a holiday falling on a Saturday reduces working time exactly like a holiday on any other weekday — and on top of that, employers must grant a separate day off.

1. Working time in August 2026 – the short answer

2. Where the number comes from

Under Article 130 §1–2 of the Polish Labour Code, working time for a settlement period is calculated as:

40 hours × the number of full weeks in the period,
8 hours for each remaining working day (Monday–Friday) outside those full weeks,
8 hours for each public holiday falling on a day other than Sunday.

3. Saturday is not Sunday – why it matters

4. Common scheduling mistakes in August

5. Choosing the day off for 15 August

Friday, 14 August — gives employees a three-day weekend (14–16 August) and is usually the best-received option.
Monday, 17 August — useful if you need coverage on the Friday (production, warehouse) and prefer to close the matter out right after the weekend.

6. Part-time staff and sick leave overlaps

7. How a T&A system takes this off your plate

None of the rules above are complicated on their own, but they need to be tracked every month, for every settlement period and every group of employees — which is exactly where mistakes creep in, especially across multiple locations or working time systems. Time Harmony's working time calculation automatically settles working time in line with the current Polish Labour Code — including holidays that reduce working time, holidays falling on a Saturday, and the resulting day-off obligations within the correct settlement period. Instead of manually checking the calendar every time you adjust a schedule, it's calculated once, correctly, with no risk of a manual slip. Want to see how this would work for your organization? Contact us — we'll walk you through how Time Harmony settles working time step by step.]]> Occupational medical examinations in Poland – employer obligations and deadlines 2026 https://timeharmony.pl/en/occupational-medical-examinations-in-poland-employer-obligations-and-deadlines-2026/ Fri, 03 Jul 2026 10:14:09 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=25611 1. What are occupational medical examinations in Poland and what types exist The Polish Labour Code provides for three types of preventive occupational medical examinations:

Preliminary examinations – mandatory for people being hired and for employees transferred to a position involving factors harmful to health or burdensome working conditions. Without a valid medical certificate, the employer cannot allow the person to start work.
Periodic examinations – carried out on a recurring basis during employment. The Labour Code does not set one fixed frequency; the occupational medicine physician sets the next examination date in the certificate, based on the position and working conditions.
Follow-up (control) examinations – mandatory for an employee returning to work after a sickness-related incapacity for work lasting longer than 30 days, to confirm fitness to continue in the current position.

2. How long are occupational medical certificates valid

The Labour Code does not set one fixed interval for periodic examinations – the occupational medicine physician determines the next examination date in each certificate, based on the position, harmful or burdensome factors, and the employee's health. In practice, the most common validity periods are:

Preliminary examinations – typically valid from 1 to 5 years,
Periodic examinations – most commonly 2 to 4 years, though for particularly demanding conditions (e.g. noise, chemical exposure, machine operation) the physician may shorten this to as little as 1 year,
Follow-up examinations – the certificate remains valid until the date of the next periodic examination.

The date stated on the specific certificate is always decisive – the employer should refer the employee for the next examination before the previous certificate expires.

3. Legal basis – Article 229 of the Polish Labour Code

All three types of examinations are governed by Article 229 of the Labour Code. Key rules that follow from this provision:

Examinations are carried out only on the basis of a referral issued by the employer, which must describe the working conditions at the given position, including harmful and burdensome factors.
The employer may not allow an employee to work without a valid medical certificate confirming no contraindications to work at the specific position.
Periodic and follow-up examinations are carried out, as far as possible, during working hours – the employee retains the right to remuneration for the time spent, and to reimbursement of travel costs if the examination takes place in another town, on the terms applicable to business trips.
Employees rehired by the same employer for the same position or one with the same working conditions within 30 days of the previous contract's termination are exempt from preliminary examinations.

Employees, in turn, are obliged under Article 211(5) of the Labour Code to undergo the required medical examinations – refusal can be treated as a breach of basic employee duties.

4. Employer obligations: referral, costs, deadlines

In practice, the employer's obligation comes down to three elements:

Issuing a referral – in two copies (one for the employee, one for the occupational medicine physician), describing the position and working conditions in detail.
Sending employees for examinations on time – before allowing them to start work (preliminary examinations), before the previous certificate expires (periodic examinations), and after a long sickness absence (follow-up examinations).
Keeping the documentation – referrals and medical certificates, in the employee's personal file.

In practice, the hardest part isn't knowing the rules – it's keeping track of expiry dates in real time, especially in companies with dozens or hundreds of employees across different positions and different examination schedules.

5. Who pays for the examinations

All costs of preventive medical examinations – preliminary, periodic, and follow-up – are borne entirely by the employer (Article 229 § 6 of the Labour Code). This also covers other costs of preventive healthcare necessary due to working conditions. Charging the employee for these costs, even temporarily – for example, with a promise of reimbursement after a probationary period – is not permitted.

6. Changes from 17 April 2026 – electronic medical certificates

On 2 April 2026, the Polish Ministry of Health published a regulation amending the rules for conducting occupational medical examinations and issuing medical certificates. As of 17 April 2026, occupational medical certificates are issued in electronic form. The change is part of a broader digitalisation of healthcare documentation carried out under Poland's National Recovery Plan. For HR teams, this means a gradual shift away from paper certificates toward electronic documents – it's worth following official announcements from the Ministry of Health, as detailed implementation rules may still be refined.

7. Penalties for missing valid medical examinations

Allowing an employee to work without a valid medical certificate is an offence against employee rights related to failure to comply with occupational health and safety rules. Under Article 283 § 1 of the Labour Code, this carries a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000. In practice, during a Labour Inspectorate audit:

a labour inspector may impose an on-the-spot fine of up to PLN 2,000,
if the employer is fined a second time for an offence against employee rights within 2 years of the previous fine, the amount can reach up to PLN 5,000,
higher amounts (up to PLN 30,000) are decided by a court in misdemeanour proceedings.

In addition, if a workplace accident occurs involving an employee without valid medical clearance, the employer faces increased civil liability and the risk that an insurer may reduce or refuse compensation.

8. Keeping track of deadlines with Time Harmony's electronic employee file

Preliminary examinations – mandatory for people being hired and for employees transferred to a position involving factors harmful to health or burdensome working conditions. Without a valid medical certificate, the employer cannot allow the person to start work.
Periodic examinations – carried out on a recurring basis during employment. The Labour Code does not set one fixed frequency; the occupational medicine physician sets the next examination date in the certificate, based on the position and working conditions.
Follow-up (control) examinations – mandatory for an employee returning to work after a sickness-related incapacity for work lasting longer than 30 days, to confirm fitness to continue in the current position.

2. How long are occupational medical certificates valid

Preliminary examinations – typically valid from 1 to 5 years,
Periodic examinations – most commonly 2 to 4 years, though for particularly demanding conditions (e.g. noise, chemical exposure, machine operation) the physician may shorten this to as little as 1 year,
Follow-up examinations – the certificate remains valid until the date of the next periodic examination.

The date stated on the specific certificate is always decisive – the employer should refer the employee for the next examination before the previous certificate expires.

3. Legal basis – Article 229 of the Polish Labour Code

All three types of examinations are governed by Article 229 of the Labour Code. Key rules that follow from this provision:

Examinations are carried out only on the basis of a referral issued by the employer, which must describe the working conditions at the given position, including harmful and burdensome factors.
The employer may not allow an employee to work without a valid medical certificate confirming no contraindications to work at the specific position.
Periodic and follow-up examinations are carried out, as far as possible, during working hours – the employee retains the right to remuneration for the time spent, and to reimbursement of travel costs if the examination takes place in another town, on the terms applicable to business trips.
Employees rehired by the same employer for the same position or one with the same working conditions within 30 days of the previous contract's termination are exempt from preliminary examinations.

Employees, in turn, are obliged under Article 211(5) of the Labour Code to undergo the required medical examinations – refusal can be treated as a breach of basic employee duties.

4. Employer obligations: referral, costs, deadlines

In practice, the employer's obligation comes down to three elements:

Issuing a referral – in two copies (one for the employee, one for the occupational medicine physician), describing the position and working conditions in detail.
Sending employees for examinations on time – before allowing them to start work (preliminary examinations), before the previous certificate expires (periodic examinations), and after a long sickness absence (follow-up examinations).
Keeping the documentation – referrals and medical certificates, in the employee's personal file.

5. Who pays for the examinations

6. Changes from 17 April 2026 – electronic medical certificates

7. Penalties for missing valid medical examinations

a labour inspector may impose an on-the-spot fine of up to PLN 2,000,
if the employer is fined a second time for an offence against employee rights within 2 years of the previous fine, the amount can reach up to PLN 5,000,
higher amounts (up to PLN 30,000) are decided by a court in misdemeanour proceedings.

8. Keeping track of deadlines with Time Harmony's electronic employee file

Tracking examination expiry dates manually in a spreadsheet works fine for a handful of employees – but with larger teams, position changes, and staff turnover, it becomes a real operational and legal risk. The Electronic Employee File module in Time Harmony lets you record preliminary, periodic, and on-the-job examinations in one place, alongside the rest of the employee's HR data. The system automatically reminds you of upcoming deadlines, reducing the risk of failing to meet the obligation under Article 229 of the Labour Code – and the employer liability that comes with it.]]> Overtime – most important information https://timeharmony.pl/en/overtime-most-important-information/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:20:18 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=10192 1. Overtime – when does it occur? Overtime is work performed over: - the employee's daily working time norm, - extended daily working time, resulting from the employee's system and working time schedule - the applicable weekly standard of working time An order to work overtime can be given in any way, including implicitly. Thus, the supervisor's lack of objection to the employee's performance of professional duties in the presence of the supervisor during hours exceeding his or her daily working time may be classified as an order to work overtime. An employee is obliged to carry out an order to work overtime if the order to work overtime has been issued in accordance with the law and does not violate the rules of social coexistence and is not contrary to the employment contract. However, it is important to remember that the employer cannot plan overtime in advance.

2. Overtime – admissibility and limits

Overtime is allowed for: - the necessity to carry out a rescue operation in order to protect life or health, to protect property or the environment, and the need to remove failures (flood, fire, construction accidents, failures of machinery and equipment). - the employer's special needs, which may result, for example, from the need to perform the order urgently, on time or due to employees' sickness absence. The number of overtime hours resulting from the specific needs of the employer may not exceed 150 hours per calendar year for an individual employee. However, in the company's internal regulations (work regulations, collective agreement) or in the employment contract, the employer may set a different, higher limit of overtime, but it may not exceed 416 hours in a calendar year. Not all employees can be ordered to work overtime by their employer. These include:

3. Overtime for part time employees

Part-time employees are subject to the same daily and weekly work standards as full-time employees. In the case of work exceeding the working hours specified in the contract, but within the limits of the applicable standards, we are dealing with overtime work, it is not overtime work. Overtime starts only when the working time standards are exceeded, i.e. 8 hours a day or an average of 40 hours a week in basic working time. Example: A 1/2-time employee works from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 12:00. Work from 12 to 4 p.m. will be an additional work time, and any hour worked after 4 p.m. will be overtime. It is important that in the employment contract the employee and the employer specify the permissible number of additional work hours, the excess of which entitles the employee to extra remuneration for overtime work. This is to compensate a part-time employee for working more than his or her working time, which is not overtime work in the strict sense.

4. Overtime – compensation in the form of remuneration

One of the ways to settle overtime work is a cash equivalent, which includes:

normal remuneration, including basic salary and fixed allowances (e.g. function-related allowance, seniority allowance, fixed bonuses)
overtime allowance in the amount of:

100% of remuneration for overtime attributable to:

- at night – on Sundays and holidays that are not working days for the employee, in accordance with the applicable working time schedule, - on a non-working day granted to an employee in exchange for work on a Sunday or a holiday

50% of remuneration for overtime work falling on any day other than the one described above
100% of the remuneration for each hour of overtime work due to exceeding the average weekly standard of working time in the adopted settlement period.

5. Overtime with lump sum billing

In the case of employees who work outside the workplace on a permanent basis, the remuneration may be replaced by a lump sum, the amount of which should correspond to the expected number of overtime hours. The introduction of flat-rate overtime pay relieves the employer of the obligation to record the employee's working time. The lump sum may be reduced proportionately in the event of non-work, for example due to illness. On the other hand, working fewer hours than assumed is not the basis for reducing the lump sum amount. When determining the amount of the lump sum for overtime, it should be remembered that it cannot exceed 8 hours per week, as this would mean exceeding the weekly working time in the adopted settlement period.

6. Overtime – Compensation for Time Off

Another way to compensate for overtime work is to grant time off. This can be done at the employee's request or without the employee's request. With this form of compensation, the employee receives remuneration for time off, but without an allowance. Overtime work compensated by time off counts towards the annual overtime limit.

7. Overtime – working on a day off

An employee who worked on a non-working day resulting from the working time schedule in a 5-day work week is entitled to another non-working day granted to him or her until the end of the settlement period, on a date agreed with the employee. Importantly, the employee is entitled to a full day off in such a case, regardless of the number of hours worked on such a day. Example: An employee who worked from Monday to Friday was told to work 2 hours on Saturday. In exchange for this work, he is entitled to a full day off. Failure to grant a day off in exchange for work on the day off referred to above is an offence against employee rights — just like any other violation of working-time regulations, including exceeding the overtime limit or miscalculating the allowance. See the next section for how much this offence costs the employer in 2026.

8. Fine for violating overtime regulations – how much is the PIP penalty in 2026?

Violating working-time regulations — including failing to grant a day off in lieu, exceeding the overtime limit, or miscalculating the allowance — is an offence against employee rights under Article 281 § 1(5) of the Polish Labour Code. From 8 July 2026, the fine for this offence increases from the previous PLN 1,000–30,000 to PLN 2,000–60,000 — part of a broader reform of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) that doubles most fines under Articles 281–283 of the Labour Code. For the full scope of the reform and the Inspectorate's new powers, see our article 2026 Polish Labor Inspectorate reform: What awaits logistics after July 8 and how to prepare. The fine is imposed by a labour inspector in summary penal proceedings, or by a district court on the Inspectorate's motion. Repeated, persistent violations may additionally qualify as a criminal offence under Article 218 § 1a of the Polish Penal Code (a fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment of up to 2 years).

9. Overtime for executives

Employees who manage a workplace on behalf of the employer and managers of separate organisational units do not receive remuneration and an allowance for overtime work. The right to remuneration and an allowance in the amount of 100% is granted to managers working overtime on Sundays and holidays if they have not received a day off in exchange for working on such a day.

10. Overtime calculation in Time Harmony

Time Harmony – a system for electronic registration, planning and settlement of working time – automatically calculates overtime with the +50% and +100% allowance, settles night hours, and allows overtime to be settled with time off, at the employee's or employer's request. See also: Recording working hours in Poland – legal requirements and employer obligations]]> 1. Overtime – when does it occur? Overtime is work performed over: - the employee's daily working time norm, - extended daily working time, resulting from the employee's system and working time schedule - the applicable weekly standard of working time An order to work overtime can be given in any way, including implicitly. Thus, the supervisor's lack of objection to the employee's performance of professional duties in the presence of the supervisor during hours exceeding his or her daily working time may be classified as an order to work overtime. An employee is obliged to carry out an order to work overtime if the order to work overtime has been issued in accordance with the law and does not violate the rules of social coexistence and is not contrary to the employment contract. However, it is important to remember that the employer cannot plan overtime in advance.

2. Overtime – admissibility and limits

3. Overtime for part time employees

4. Overtime – compensation in the form of remuneration

One of the ways to settle overtime work is a cash equivalent, which includes:

normal remuneration, including basic salary and fixed allowances (e.g. function-related allowance, seniority allowance, fixed bonuses)
overtime allowance in the amount of:

100% of remuneration for overtime attributable to:

50% of remuneration for overtime work falling on any day other than the one described above
100% of the remuneration for each hour of overtime work due to exceeding the average weekly standard of working time in the adopted settlement period.

5. Overtime with lump sum billing

6. Overtime – Compensation for Time Off

7. Overtime – working on a day off

8. Fine for violating overtime regulations – how much is the PIP penalty in 2026?

9. Overtime for executives

10. Overtime calculation in Time Harmony

Time Harmony – a system for electronic registration, planning and settlement of working time – automatically calculates overtime with the +50% and +100% allowance, settles night hours, and allows overtime to be settled with time off, at the employee's or employer's request. See also: Recording working hours in Poland – legal requirements and employer obligations]]> Employee monitoring in Poland: GDPR and Labour Code Rules Employers Must Follow https://timeharmony.pl/en/employee-monitoring-in-poland-gdpr-and-labour-code-rules-employers-must-follow/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:59:20 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=25594 Employee monitoring in Poland, however, is an area where a poorly implemented system can be an expensive mistake — non-compliant monitoring can expose an employer to a financial penalty, a personal-injury claim from an employee, or a breach of personal rights. This article explains the legal basis on which employers in Poland may monitor employees, what formalities must be completed, and where the line runs between lawful oversight and excessive interference with privacy.

1. Legal basis for employee monitoring in Poland

Employee monitoring in Poland rests on two complementary legal sources:

The Polish Labour Code – Article 22² governs CCTV/video monitoring, while Article 22³ governs monitoring of company email and other forms of employee oversight (e.g. monitoring activity on a company computer or GPS tracking of company vehicles).
GDPR (Regulation 2016/679) – since video recordings, correspondence content, and activity data are personal data, the employer acts as a data controller and must meet, among other things, the information obligation under Articles 12–13 GDPR and the processing principles under Article 5 GDPR (purpose limitation, data minimisation, storage limitation).

The Labour Code provisions on video and email monitoring were introduced in 2018 as part of aligning Polish law with GDPR. Before that, employers applied monitoring without an explicit statutory basis, which created significant legal uncertainty.

2. CCTV monitoring – when it is allowed

Under Article 22² § 1 of the Labour Code, an employer may introduce special CCTV surveillance of the workplace or the area around it, but only where necessary to ensure:

employee safety,
protection of property,
control over the production process,
confidentiality of information whose disclosure could damage the employer.

This is a closed list — no other reason (for example, a wish to assess how fast employees work) justifies installing cameras. Importantly, CCTV monitoring under Polish law covers image recording only. The Labour Code gives no basis for simultaneously recording audio — doing so may be treated as an excessive interference with privacy.

3. Where cameras cannot be installed

Monitoring cannot cover premises made available to a workplace trade union organisation. It also cannot cover sanitary facilities, changing rooms, canteens, and smoking rooms — unless this is necessary to achieve one of the four purposes listed above and does not violate the employee's dignity or other personal rights, in particular through the use of techniques that prevent the identification of people present in those rooms. Extending monitoring to sanitary facilities additionally requires the prior consent of the workplace trade union organisation, or, where none operates at the employer, the consent of employee representatives elected under the procedure adopted by that employer.

4. Employer notice obligations

Introducing monitoring comes with several obligations, each with a strictly defined sequence and timing:

Purpose, scope and method of monitoring must be set out in a collective bargaining agreement, work regulations, or — where the employer is not bound by either — in an official announcement.
General notice to employees about the introduction of monitoring must be given no later than 2 weeks before it is launched, in a manner customary for that employer.
Newly hired employees must receive information about the purpose, scope and method of monitoring in paper or electronic form before they are admitted to work.
Marking the monitored area with clearly visible signs or audible announcements must happen no later than one day before monitoring starts. Pictograms alone are not enough — per the Polish Data Protection Authority's (UODO) position, the employer must still fulfil the information obligation under Article 13 GDPR, which in practice can be done through layered privacy notices (a short notice on-site plus the full text available elsewhere, e.g. in the work regulations).

Covert monitoring is never permitted under Polish law, regardless of the employer's motivation.

5. How long CCTV recordings can be stored

The employer may process video recordings only for the purpose for which they were collected, and may store them for a maximum of 3 months from the date of recording. The exception is where a recording constitutes, or may constitute, evidence in proceedings conducted under the law — in that case, the retention period is extended until those proceedings become final. Once these periods expire, recordings containing personal data must be destroyed, unless separate regulations provide otherwise.

6. Purpose limitation – why recordings cannot be used to assess performance

This is one of the most frequently overlooked aspects of employee monitoring in Poland. Both Article 22² § 3 of the Labour Code and Article 5(1)(b) GDPR establish the purpose limitation principle: data collected for one purpose cannot be used for another. In practice, this means that if an employer installed cameras to protect property, the recordings cannot later be used to assess how long an employee's breaks were or how fast they worked — even if the footage clearly shows this. Using CCTV monitoring to evaluate work performance, when it was not formally introduced for that purpose, constitutes a breach of the law and may expose the employer to a personal-rights claim from the employee. The real financial scale of such consequences is well illustrated by a decision of the President of UODO of 17 January 2025 against Centrum Medyczne Ujastek, a medical facility in Kraków. For covert video monitoring — of which neither patients nor staff were informed — combined with inadequate protection of the recordings, the authority imposed two fines totalling PLN 1,145,891.25. The Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw dismissed the facility's appeal against that decision. The case did not concern monitoring employee productivity, but it shows clearly how strictly the Polish supervisory authority treats a lack of transparency and inadequate protection of monitoring data — the same rules apply to any employer introducing workplace surveillance.

7. Monitoring company email and other work tools

Alongside CCTV monitoring, the Labour Code separately regulates monitoring of company email (Article 22³). An employer may introduce it only where necessary to ensure work organisation that allows full use of working time and proper use of the work tools provided to the employee — both conditions must be met jointly. Email monitoring cannot violate the confidentiality of correspondence or other personal rights of the employee, which in practice means it covers business correspondence only — private messages, even those sent from a company mailbox, should not be reviewed by the employer. The same conditions and formal requirements (notice, marking) apply accordingly to other forms of monitoring beyond email, provided they serve the same purpose — for example, monitoring activity on a company computer or GPS tracking of company vehicles.

8. Monitoring vs. performance measurement – where is the line

It is worth distinguishing two concepts that are often confused in practice: monitoring in the Labour Code sense (CCTV, company email, and other forms of oversight introduced under Articles 22²–22³) and systematic activity and performance measurement — workforce management tools that record task duration based on defined norms and parameters, rather than image or correspondence content. This second category of tools is also subject to GDPR, since work-pace and activity data can be linked to a specific person — but the risk of a privacy breach can be reduced already at the system-design stage. A good practice is anonymising performance data made available to a wider group of recipients, so that detailed information about work pace and completed activities is available only to the employee concerned and their direct supervisor. This approach — aligned with the GDPR data-minimisation principle — is used by the Time Harmony activity and performance tracking system, which measures the time and efficiency of completed tasks while keeping individual employee data confidential. For more on the broader business case for measuring performance, see our related article, "10 reasons why you should measure employee productivity". It is worth communicating this distinction clearly to the team: a performance-measurement system exists to support work planning and process optimisation, not surveillance — just as CCTV monitoring cannot be used for a purpose it was not formally introduced for (see section 6).

9. Implementing compliant monitoring – a step-by-step checklist

Define a single, specific purpose for the monitoring that matches the statutory list (safety, property protection, production control, confidentiality — for CCTV; full use of working time and proper use of work tools — for email and other forms).
Set out the scope and method of monitoring in the work regulations, a collective agreement, or an official announcement.
Notify all employees no later than 2 weeks before launch.
Mark the monitored area with visible signage no later than one day before launch.
Provide written notice to every newly hired employee before they are admitted to work.
Restrict access to monitoring recordings and data to only those who need it to perform their duties.
Set and observe the maximum retention period (3 months for video recordings, unless they constitute evidence in proceedings).
Never use monitoring data for a purpose other than the one declared.

10. Consequences of unlawful monitoring

Breaching the rules on employee monitoring in Poland can trigger several types of liability at once:

Administrative – financial penalties imposed by the President of UODO for GDPR breaches, with the amount depending on the scale and nature of the violation.
Civil – claims from an employee for breach of personal rights (such as the right to privacy) in connection with excessive or covert surveillance.
Employment-related – in extreme cases, monitoring that is selective or applied in a harassing manner may be classified as mobbing, giving the employee grounds for compensation under Article 94³ of the Labour Code.

11. Summary

Employee monitoring in Poland sits at the intersection of the Labour Code and GDPR, which together define a narrow corridor of permissible action: a closed list of purposes, an obligation to notify employees in advance, time limits on data retention, and a ban on using recordings beyond their declared purpose. For employers, this means that before implementing any form of oversight — video, email, or systematic performance measurement — it pays to first define the purpose and legal basis precisely, and only then select the technology that achieves it without compromising the team's privacy. ]]> Employee monitoring in Poland, however, is an area where a poorly implemented system can be an expensive mistake — non-compliant monitoring can expose an employer to a financial penalty, a personal-injury claim from an employee, or a breach of personal rights. This article explains the legal basis on which employers in Poland may monitor employees, what formalities must be completed, and where the line runs between lawful oversight and excessive interference with privacy.

1. Legal basis for employee monitoring in Poland

Employee monitoring in Poland rests on two complementary legal sources:

The Polish Labour Code – Article 22² governs CCTV/video monitoring, while Article 22³ governs monitoring of company email and other forms of employee oversight (e.g. monitoring activity on a company computer or GPS tracking of company vehicles).
GDPR (Regulation 2016/679) – since video recordings, correspondence content, and activity data are personal data, the employer acts as a data controller and must meet, among other things, the information obligation under Articles 12–13 GDPR and the processing principles under Article 5 GDPR (purpose limitation, data minimisation, storage limitation).

2. CCTV monitoring – when it is allowed

Under Article 22² § 1 of the Labour Code, an employer may introduce special CCTV surveillance of the workplace or the area around it, but only where necessary to ensure:

employee safety,
protection of property,
control over the production process,
confidentiality of information whose disclosure could damage the employer.

3. Where cameras cannot be installed

4. Employer notice obligations

Introducing monitoring comes with several obligations, each with a strictly defined sequence and timing:

Purpose, scope and method of monitoring must be set out in a collective bargaining agreement, work regulations, or — where the employer is not bound by either — in an official announcement.
General notice to employees about the introduction of monitoring must be given no later than 2 weeks before it is launched, in a manner customary for that employer.
Newly hired employees must receive information about the purpose, scope and method of monitoring in paper or electronic form before they are admitted to work.
Marking the monitored area with clearly visible signs or audible announcements must happen no later than one day before monitoring starts. Pictograms alone are not enough — per the Polish Data Protection Authority's (UODO) position, the employer must still fulfil the information obligation under Article 13 GDPR, which in practice can be done through layered privacy notices (a short notice on-site plus the full text available elsewhere, e.g. in the work regulations).

Covert monitoring is never permitted under Polish law, regardless of the employer's motivation.

5. How long CCTV recordings can be stored

6. Purpose limitation – why recordings cannot be used to assess performance

7. Monitoring company email and other work tools

8. Monitoring vs. performance measurement – where is the line

9. Implementing compliant monitoring – a step-by-step checklist

Define a single, specific purpose for the monitoring that matches the statutory list (safety, property protection, production control, confidentiality — for CCTV; full use of working time and proper use of work tools — for email and other forms).
Set out the scope and method of monitoring in the work regulations, a collective agreement, or an official announcement.
Notify all employees no later than 2 weeks before launch.
Mark the monitored area with visible signage no later than one day before launch.
Provide written notice to every newly hired employee before they are admitted to work.
Restrict access to monitoring recordings and data to only those who need it to perform their duties.
Set and observe the maximum retention period (3 months for video recordings, unless they constitute evidence in proceedings).
Never use monitoring data for a purpose other than the one declared.

10. Consequences of unlawful monitoring

Breaching the rules on employee monitoring in Poland can trigger several types of liability at once:

Administrative – financial penalties imposed by the President of UODO for GDPR breaches, with the amount depending on the scale and nature of the violation.
Civil – claims from an employee for breach of personal rights (such as the right to privacy) in connection with excessive or covert surveillance.
Employment-related – in extreme cases, monitoring that is selective or applied in a harassing manner may be classified as mobbing, giving the employee grounds for compensation under Article 94³ of the Labour Code.

11. Summary

Employee monitoring in Poland sits at the intersection of the Labour Code and GDPR, which together define a narrow corridor of permissible action: a closed list of purposes, an obligation to notify employees in advance, time limits on data retention, and a ban on using recordings beyond their declared purpose. For employers, this means that before implementing any form of oversight — video, email, or systematic performance measurement — it pays to first define the purpose and legal basis precisely, and only then select the technology that achieves it without compromising the team's privacy. ]]> Recording working hours in Poland – legal requirements and employer obligations https://timeharmony.pl/en/recording-working-hours-is-a-legal-requirement-for-every-employer-learn-what-the-law-says-what-obligations-you-must-meet-and-how-to-stay-compliant-with-labor-regulations/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 10:37:46 +0000 https://timeharmony.pl/?p=8264 Recording working hours is not only a legal requirement, but also a key component of personnel management. Proper keeping of working time records allows for:

correct calculation of salaries and allowances,
maintaining transparency in the relationship between employer and employee,
reducing the risk of litigation,
better control over the efficiency of the organization.

Since July 8, 2026, this topic carries even more weight: the amended Act on the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) gives inspectors broader enforcement powers, and fines for missing or unreliable records have risen significantly. A failure to keep proper working time records can now result in more serious financial consequences than it did a year ago. 📌Recording working hours ensures correct payroll settlements and legal security for the company — and since 2026, it also carries a notably higher financial risk in case of negligence.

1. Legal basis for recording working hours in 2026

Under Article 149 § 1 of the Polish Labour Code, every employer is obliged to keep working time records in a way that allows for the correct determination of remuneration and other work-related benefits. The obligation to record working hours applies to every employee, regardless of:

type of contract,
system or working time schedule,
full-time position.

Key change from July 8, 2026: Failing to keep such records constitutes an offence against employee rights (Article 281 § 1(6) of the Labour Code). Under the Act of March 11, 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts, the statutory fine range for this offence has doubled — from PLN 1,000–30,000 to PLN 2,000–60,000. The maximum on-the-spot fine an inspector can issue has also increased (from PLN 2,000 to PLN 5,000, and up to PLN 10,000 for repeat offences). 📌 Labour law requires every employer to record each employee's working hours, and since July 2026 a failure to do so can result in a fine of up to PLN 60,000.

2. What working time records must include

Working time records for employees should cover, among other things:

the number of hours worked, specifying the start and end times of work,
overtime
night work,
on-call duty and the place where they are performed,
non-working days with the basis for granting them,
sick leave and other excused absences,
unexcused absences.

For certain groups — such as employees under a task-based working time system, managerial staff, or those receiving a lump-sum allowance for overtime and night work — simplified records are permitted. 📌For certain groups — such as employees under a task-based working time system, managerial staff, or those receiving a lump-sum allowance for overtime and night work — simplified records are permitted.

3. Symbols and codes used in working time records

In HR practice, it's common to mark individual entries in working time records with letter codes — this makes the documentation easier to read and speeds up its verification, for example during an inspection. Commonly used codes include: Code Meaning P Work UW Annual (holiday) leave UO Occasional leave UB Unpaid leave L4 Sick leave OP Childcare leave (Art. 188 of the Labour Code) NN Unexcused absence DL Business trip ND Overtime It's worth noting that the law does not impose a single, mandatory set of codes — each company may use its own, as long as they are applied consistently across the organization. In an upcoming article, we'll publish a full, downloadable working time record template with a complete set of codes and guidance on how to use them.

3. Recording working hours for contractors

The obligation to document working time isn't limited to employees on a contract of employment. Under the rules on the minimum hourly rate (Act of October 10, 2002 on the minimum wage), the party ordering the work must also keep records of the hours worked under a contract of mandate or a contract for services. The way these hours are confirmed is agreed between the parties in the contract — it may be, for example, a written, electronic, or document-based confirmation. This is particularly relevant in light of PIP's new powers to scrutinize civil-law contracts — an inspector can now check not only whether hours are documented at all, but also whether the actual nature of the cooperation shows the hallmarks of an employment relationship (based, among other things, on who actually supervises the work and whether specific working hours are imposed). We cover the criteria inspectors use for this assessment in detail in 2026 Polish Labor Inspectorate reform: What awaits logistics after July 8 and how to prepare — here, we simply want to flag that recording hours applies to contractors too, not only to employees.

4. Attendance list vs. working time records – the key difference

These are two different documents, often confused in practice:

An attendance list merely confirms that an employee showed up for work (usually via signature or a card swipe) — it is not required by labour law and does not replace working time records.
Working time records are the full documentation of start and end times, overtime, on-call duty, leave and absences — keeping them is a statutory obligation under Article 149 of the Labour Code.

Keeping only an attendance list, without full working time records, does not meet legal requirements and may expose the employer to liability.

5. How to prepare for a PIP inspection in 2026

Since July 8, 2026, PIP inspectors have broader inspection tools, and the stakes for gaps in working time documentation are higher than before. A few basics worth putting in place now:

make sure working time records are kept for everyone engaged with the company, regardless of the form of cooperation,
check that records are complete and kept up to date, not filled in retroactively,
ensure codes and entries are clear and consistent across departments/locations,
retain records for the required period (generally 10 years),
where there is any doubt about the form of engagement, review civil-law contracts for features of an employment relationship.

6. Forms of recording working hours

The law does not impose a single form of documenting working hours. The employer may apply:

paper records – traditional attendance lists,
electronic records – modern RCP systems, applications and online tools.

More and more companies are choosing digital solutions that minimize the risk of errors and ensure compliance. 📌 Recording of working hours can be done in paper or electronic form, but digital systems provide greater control and data security.

7. Recording Working Hours in Time Harmony

The Time Harmony system enables full, legally compliant recording of working hours in an electronic version. Thanks to it:

employees can register entries and exits with an RFID card, PIN or QR code,
it is possible to connect the system with turnstiles for full automation,
people working remotely or in the office record their working time online,
HR staff has access to current reports and analytics,
data is securely stored in accordance with the current requirements of the Labour Code.

This reduces time-consuming administrative work, increases transparency across the company, and makes it easier to assemble complete documentation ahead of an inspection. 📌 Time Harmony automates the recording of working hours and helps ensure compliance with the Labour Code, while streamlining processes across the organization.

8. Summary

Recording working hours is a legal obligation for every employer under Polish labour law — and since July 8, 2026, with the amended PIP Act in force, the consequences of neglecting it are clearly harsher than before. Proper records are the basis for calculating pay, planning working time, and minimizing the risk of disputes and fines. Implementing an electronic system such as Time Harmony not only helps meet legal requirements but also streamlines processes across the organization and keeps documentation inspection-ready. ]]> Recording working hours is not only a legal requirement, but also a key component of personnel management. Proper keeping of working time records allows for:

correct calculation of salaries and allowances,
maintaining transparency in the relationship between employer and employee,
reducing the risk of litigation,
better control over the efficiency of the organization.