Workers’ rights: Poland

Poland is Europe's largest haulier and most drivers here are foreigners. The main trap: instead of an employment contract (umowa o pracę) you are offered a civil contract (umowa zlecenie) or 'self-employment' (B2B) with no leave, sick pay or dismissal protection. Below are your rights under the Labour Code and where to turn.

• Contract: before the first run and in a language you understand
• Pay: at least 4,806 zł gross and payment by the 10th
• Leave and sickness
• Dismissal and what happens to your residence permit
• Fines and damage: at most three months' pay
• EU rules: they apply in this country too
• Where to turn

Contract: before the first run and in a language you understand

Law: Kodeks pracy art. 29, ustawa o zatrudnianiu cudzoziemców

• The employer must sign a written contract with you before you start and hand you a copy. A foreigner must be given a translation into a language they understand before signing.
• The contract type in the work permit and in the actual contract must match. If the permit says umowa o pracę but you are asked to sign zlecenie, that is the employer's violation, not yours.
• Probation of no more than 3 months. Working conditions in writing within 7 days: pay, schedule, leave, notice periods.

Kodeks pracy (ISAP)

Pay: at least 4,806 zł gross and payment by the 10th

Law: Rozporządzenie o minimalnym wynagrodzeniu 2026, Kodeks pracy art. 85–87, ustawa o czasie pracy kierowców

• From 1 January 2026 the minimum wage is 4,806 zł gross a month and the minimum hourly rate on civil contracts 31.40 zł. '1,000 zł plus per diems' below the minimum is illegal: since 2022 per diems are not part of an international driver's pay.
• Wages are paid at least monthly, by the 10th of the following month, to your account. Overtime carries a 50% supplement (100% at night, on Sundays and holidays), night work +20%.
• On cabotage and cross-trade runs in the EU you are owed the minimum wage of the country of the run (e.g. €13.90 an hour in Germany). Polish firms must top up the difference.

Rozporządzenie w sprawie minimalnego wynagrodzenia 2026 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242)

Leave and sickness

Law: Kodeks pracy art. 154, art. 92; ustawa zasiłkowa

• Leave of 20 days a year with under 10 years of service and 26 days after (education and documented work abroad count).
• Sick pay is 80% of wages: the employer pays the first 33 days a year, then ZUS. Accidents at work or on the way to work are paid at 100%. The doctor sends the sick note to ZUS electronically (e-ZLA).

ZUS: zasiłek chorobowy

Dismissal and what happens to your residence permit

Law: Kodeks pracy art. 30–36, art. 264; ustawa o cudzoziemcach art. 121

• Notice on permanent and fixed-term contracts: 2 weeks with under 6 months' service, 1 month under 3 years, 3 months after. Dismissal in writing, with reasons for permanent contracts. Appeal to the labour court within 21 days; wage claims up to 50,000 zł are free of court fees.
• If you hold a temporary residence permit for work, inform the voivode of losing your job within 15 working days. You have 30 days to find a new employer and the permit is not revoked (once per validity period). The new employer applies for the change.
• 'Quit and we will take your visa and report you to the police' is an empty threat. The employer cannot revoke the permit and a complaint to the inspectorate does not affect your status.

Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców: praca

Fines and damage: at most three months' pay

Law: Kodeks pracy art. 114–122, art. 87, art. 108; Kodeks karny art. 275

• For unintentional damage (accident, cargo damage) an employee is liable for at most three months' pay, and only if fault is proven. Full liability only for intentional damage.
• Without your written consent only legally permitted deductions may be made (maintenance, enforcement orders, advances). A disciplinary fine is at most one day's pay per case and no more than 1/10 of monthly pay. A 'truck deposit' and withholding your whole wage are illegal.
• Withholding someone's passport is a crime (Art. 275 of the Criminal Code). Demand the document back immediately; if refused, call the police on 112.

EU rules: they apply in this country too

Driving and rest times: one rule for the whole EU

Law: Регламент (ЕС) 561/2006, Директива 2002/15/ЕС

• After 4.5 hours of driving, a 45-minute break (15 + 30 allowed). No more than 9 hours a day, 10 twice a week. No more than 56 hours a week and 90 in two weeks.
• Daily rest of 11 hours (9 hours up to three times between weekly rests). Weekly rest of 45 hours; a reduced 24-hour rest must be compensated.
• The regular weekly rest may not be taken in the cab; the employer pays for accommodation. Every 4 weeks (or 3 after two consecutive reduced rests) the employer must organise your return home or to the operating base.
• The tachograph card is personal. Never lend it and never drive on someone else's card: fines and a driving ban hit you personally.
• Employers may not pay bonuses for distance or delivery speed that encourage violations (Art. 10 of Reg. 561/2006). A schedule that cannot be met without violations is the employer's violation.
• A driver's working time (driving + loading + ordered waiting) averages at most 48 hours a week, maximum 60. With night work, at most 10 hours per shift.

Regulation (EC) 561/2006 (EUR-Lex)European Commission: driving time and rest periods

Pay of the country where you work: posting rules for drivers

Law: Директива (ЕС) 2020/1057 (Mobility Package), Директива 96/71/ЕС

• For cabotage (domestic runs in another country) or transport between two countries neither of which is your company's country, you are entitled from day one to the pay rules of the country you drive in: its minimum wage, supplements, allowances.
• Bilateral runs (from the company's country and back) and transit are not covered.
• The employer must file a posting declaration in the IMI system and give you a copy. If you work permanently from another country and are employed 'at home' only for cheaper pay, that is a letterbox company and the law is on your side.

European Commission: posting of driversRoad Transport Posting Declaration portal

You do not pay for a job: not an agent, not an employer

Law: Конвенция МОТ № 181 (ст. 7), национальные законы о занятости

• Charging a worker for job placement is prohibited or strictly limited in EU countries. A 'job fee', 'visa deposit' or 'runaway insurance' is a sign of fraud.
• No one may keep your passport or driving licence 'for safekeeping'. The passport always stays with you; a copy is enough for the employer.
• A 'debt' for tickets and paperwork deducted from your pay for months, and a ban on quitting until it is worked off, are signs of forced labour. That is a crime in every EU country; contact the hotline linked below.

ILO Convention No. 181European Labour Authority: rights of posted and mobile workers

You must receive your working conditions in writing

Law: Директива (ЕС) 2019/1152 о прозрачных условиях труда

• Within 7 days of starting: place of work, job, pay and how it is paid, working time, probation, leave, notice periods. The rest within a month. If there is no document, demand it; it is your right.
• Probation of no more than 6 months. A second job may only be banned for objective reasons (e.g. safety and driving/rest rules).
• Training the employer must provide by law or contract (e.g. periodic Code 95 training) is free and counts as working time.

Directive (EU) 2019/1152 (EUR-Lex)

If you are from outside the EU: permit and changing employer

Law: Директива (ЕС) 2024/1233 о едином разрешении

• The single permit gives the same rights as local workers: equal pay, working conditions, health and safety, social security, union membership.
• The recast (2024/1233, to be transposed by May 2026) allows changing employer by notifying the authority and keeping the permit for up to 3 months without a job (6 months if you have held it over two years). Countries implement this differently; check the country part below.
• A complaint to the labour inspectorate does not cost you your residence permit. An employer who threatens 'deportation' over a complaint is breaking the law.

Directive (EU) 2024/1233 (EUR-Lex)EU Immigration Portal

Where to turn

Official sources

• Kodeks pracy (ISAP)
• Ustawa o czasie pracy kierowców (ISAP)
• PIP: prawa pracownika
• EUR-Lex: Regulation (EC) 561/2006
• EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2020/1057 (posting of drivers)
• EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2019/1152 (transparent working conditions)
• EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2024/1233 (single permit)

This is a general overview, not legal advice. Checked on 25/10/2026. Amounts and deadlines change: verify via the links to official sources.

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