Rules for the employment of temporary agency workers posted to the territory of Poland

Legal references and key concepts

The rules for the employment of temporary agency workers in the territory of Poland by employers who are temporary employment agencies and the rules for referring these workers to perform temporary agency work for user employers are governed by the Act of 9 July 2003 on the employment of temporary agency workers.

The Act specifies what obligations must be fulfilled by temporary employment agencies in connection with the assignment of temporary agency work and what obligations must be fulfilled by user employers.

To the extent not governed by that Act, the Labour Code and other labour laws relating to employers and workers apply.

Important to note! The obligation to apply Polish labour laws does not cover the Act of 13 March 2003 on the specific rules for terminating employment relationships with workers for reasons unrelated to workers, which governs, inter alia, the rules for collective redundancies in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation and other rules.

Temporary employment agency – an entity which employs a temporary agency worker under a contract for temporary agency work and has the status of that worker’s employer, and which subsequently refers that worker to a user employer. The legislation permits the assignment of temporary agency work also under civil law contracts of mandate.

User employer – an entity to which a temporary agency worker has been referred by a temporary employment agency, which assigns tasks to that worker and supervises their performance.

Temporary agency worker – a person employed by a temporary employment agency under a fixed-term employment contract or a civil law contract, only to perform temporary agency work for a user employer and under that user employer’s direction. A user employer’s worker who is in an employment relationship with that user employer cannot be a temporary agency worker.

Rights and obligations of temporary employment agencies

If you operate as a temporary employment agency, you must:

• provide a temporary agency worker, in paper or electronic form, with information allowing that person to get directly in touch with the representatives of the temporary employment agency (address, phone number and email address, as well as the days and hours when this may be done), within 7 days from the date on which an employment contract is concluded or on which any changes occur in this regard
• provide the temporary agency worker, in written form, with arrangements which the temporary employment agency and a user employer must make in writing
• notify the temporary agency worker in writing of occupational health and safety obligations that the user employer is required to comply with
• correctly calculate the remuneration due to the temporary agency worker and pay it in a timely manner
• conclude an appropriate type of contract with the temporary agency worker (an employment contract or a civil law contract)
• set and observe a specific limit on the performance of temporary agency work by the same worker for one user employer
• repair damage to the user employer caused by the temporary agency worker when performing temporary agency work – on the terms set out in the Labour Code
• comply with those obligations of an employer towards the temporary agency worker which the user employer is not required to comply with and which do not result from work organisation and, moreover, were not transferred to the user employer under the contract with the temporary employment agency (for example, occupational health and safety obligations to the extent not transferred to the user employer)
• keep records in matters relating to the employment relationship, including a personal file, except for records of hours worked
• issue appropriate documents relating to the termination of the employment contract or civil law contract to the temporary agency worker.

If you operate as a temporary employment agency, you may:

• seek reimbursement of the equivalent of compensation paid to the user employer for damage resulting from the performance of temporary agency work from the temporary agency worker
• seek reimbursement of the equivalent of compensation paid to the temporary agency worker as a result of infringements of the principle of non-discrimination and equal treatment of workers in employment by the user employer from the user employer
• request that the temporary agency worker provide documents on employment for the user employer concerned from a period of 36 months preceding the planned date of commencement of temporary agency work.

Obligations of user employers

User employers comply with employers’ obligations and exercise employers’ rights to the extent necessary to organise work performed by temporary agency workers.

A user employer has the following obligations towards a temporary agency worker:

• to inform the temporary agency worker about the scope of that person’s obligations, the way in which work is to be performed in the designated position and that person’s basic rights
• to ensure safe and healthy working conditions to the temporary agency worker by providing working clothes and shoes, as well as personal protective equipment and supportive beverages and meals, providing training courses on occupational health and safety, determining the circumstances and causes of accidents at work, and performing an occupational risk assessment and notifying the temporary agency worker of this risk
• to keep records of hours worked by the temporary agency worker
• to grant annual leave to the temporary agency worker at a time agreed with the temporary employment agency or the temporary agency worker (depending on how long the temporary agency worker is to work for the user employer concerned)
• to make social rooms (for example, canteens, cloakrooms) available to the temporary agency worker on the same terms as to that user employer’s own workers
• to inform the temporary agency worker about vacancies that user employer intends to fill
• to adhere to the principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination of temporary agency workers in employment and in training; however, in the case of training aimed at improving qualifications, this rule does not apply to temporary agency workers working for a user employer for up to 6 weeks.

Important to note! While working for a user employer, a temporary agency worker cannot be treated less favourably in terms of working conditions and other conditions of employment than workers employed by that user employer in the same or similar positions. A temporary agency worker with respect to whom a user employer has infringed the principle of equal treatment may seek the amount of compensation specified in the Labour Code from a temporary employment agency. The temporary employment agency may seek reimbursement of the equivalent of compensation paid to the temporary agency worker from the user employer.

A user employer must notify a temporary employment agency:

• in writing of remuneration due for work that is to be assigned to a temporary agency worker and on internal remuneration rules applied by that user employer and, at the request of the temporary employment agency, present these rules for inspection
• in writing of the worker’s work-breaks to which the worker is entitled; in the case of shift work – the rules for the transition from shift to shift, other components of remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind than those agreed upon in the employment contract
• in writing of each change in the internal remuneration rules during the period in which the temporary agency worker performs temporary agency work for that user employer and, at the request of the temporary employment agency, present the amended rules for inspection
• in writing of the conditions for the performance of temporary agency work in respect of occupational health and safety
• in writing of the absence of statutory circumstances on that user employer’s part preventing the commencement of temporary agency work by the temporary agency worker, i.e. that the temporary agency worker is not employed in place of another worker employed by that user employer with whom the employment relationship was terminated for reasons unrelated to workers during the last 3 months before the planned date on which the temporary agency worker is to begin work, if such work would be performed in any organisational unit of the user employer located in the municipality where the organisational unit in which the dismissed worker was employed is or was located
• in writing of the planned date of termination of temporary agency work by the temporary agency worker if that user employer intends to cease to employ that worker before the period of performance of temporary agency work expires
• of when and in what circumstances the temporary agency worker will cease to perform work (this information must be provided immediately) if the temporary agency worker actually ceases to perform work
• of the type of offence committed by the temporary agency worker and the penalty for breach of order which should be applied by the temporary employment agency.

Apart from the above obligations towards temporary agency workers or temporary employment agencies, as a user employer, you must:

• determine the organisation and order of the work process
• comply with working time rules
• keep records of hours worked by the temporary agency worker
• keep records of persons performing temporary agency work, specifying when such work began and ended in a period of 36 consecutive months and retain this documentation for 36 months after the work is completed. The records are kept and retained in paper or electronic form, separately for each person
• notify representative union organisations of the intention to assign temporary agency work to a worker from a temporary employment agency or take steps to arrange its assignment if the temporary agency work is to be performed for a period longer than 6 months.

Please note! A user employer must also provide union organisations with information about the type of work to be assigned to a temporary agency worker, qualification requirements for the work to be assigned to the temporary agency worker, the planned period of performance of the temporary agency work, the working time of the temporary agency worker and the place where the temporary agency work is to be performed. The user employer and the representative union organisations may decide that more information is to be provided to these union organisations.

Common obligations of agencies and user employers

A temporary employment agency and a user employer must jointly determine in writing:

• the type of work to be assigned to a temporary agency worker
• the qualifications of the temporary agency worker required to perform the temporary agency work
• the planned period of performance of the temporary agency work
• the working time of the temporary agency worker
• the place where the temporary agency work is to be performed
• the scope of information on the performance of the temporary agency work which affects the amount of remuneration due to the temporary agency worker and the manner in which it is to be provided to the temporary employment agency
• work-breaks to which the worker is entitled
• in the case of shift work, the rules for the transition from shift to shift
• components of remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind other than those specified in the employment contract
• the scope of the user employer’s assumption of the employer’s health and safety responsibilities other than:
• providing the temporary worker with work clothing, footwear and personal protective equipment
• provision of preventive drinks and meals
• conducting health and safety training, determining the circumstances and cause of an accident at work
• conducting occupational risk assessments and communicating these risks
• the user employer is responsible for these obligations
• the scope of the user employer’s assumption of the employer’s obligation to pay business travel expenses.

The temporary employment agency notifies in writing the person to be entrusted with temporary work of all the above arrangements, as well as the user employer’s health and safety obligations, prior to concluding an employment contract with this person.

How long temporary agency workers may be employed

The same temporary agency worker may perform temporary agency work for one user employer for a limited period, not exceeding 18 months in total in a period of 36 consecutive months.

This means that a temporary employment agency may refer a temporary agency worker to perform temporary agency work for one user employer for a period not exceeding 18 months in total in a period of 36 consecutive months, and a user employer may employ the same temporary agency worker for a period not exceeding 18 months in total in a period of 36 consecutive months.

After the period of performance of temporary agency work, the temporary employment agency may refer such a temporary agency worker to perform temporary agency work for the same user employer and that user employer may accept that worker not earlier than 36 months after the end of that period.

The above time limits apply also when:

• the same temporary agency worker is referred to one user employer but by a different temporary employment agency each time;
• the same temporary agency worker is referred to one user employer but under different types of contracts (an employment contract or a civil law contract);
• the same temporary agency worker is referred to one user employer but to perform different types of tasks each time.

Please remember! A temporary employment agency must determine the total period of work performed to date by the person to whom it intends to assign temporary agency work for the user employer concerned, so that the permitted period of temporary agency work is not exceeded.

Before concluding a contract, the agency may request that this worker submit:

• documents concerning the user employer concerned from a period of 36 months preceding the planned date of commencement of the temporary agency work (such as a certificate of employment), or
• a written declaration by the temporary agency worker or certificates concerning the user employer concerned from a period of 36 months preceding the planned date of commencement of the temporary agency work, if the temporary agency worker worked for that user employer under a civil law contract.

The limit on the performance of temporary agency work by the same temporary agency worker for one user employer:

• may be extended up to 36 months if the temporary agency worker was referred to perform tasks for which an absent worker employed directly by that user employer was responsible. However, temporary agency work may be performed again only after 36 months from the date on which the referral to perform work on the basis of the above extended time limit on the performance of temporary agency work ends
• does not apply in the event that the employment contract for the performance of temporary agency work is extended until the date of childbirth, if it was to be terminated after the third month of pregnancy, provided that the total period of the referral to perform temporary agency work by the temporary employment agency concerned is at least 2 months.

Directly after the limit on the performance of temporary agency work by the same temporary agency worker for one user employer is exhausted or after a contract concluded between a temporary employment agency and a temporary agency worker is terminated, the user employer may conclude an employment contract or a civil law contract directly with this worker.

If the temporary employment agency and the user employer have established:

• a condition that the temporary agency worker cannot be employed by the user employer after the temporary agency work is completed
• an obligation that the user employer must pay a contractual penalty to the temporary employment agency if such a worker is employed;

these are invalid.

A worker whom you have employed for at least 6 months will be able to apply to you once a year for a change in the conditions of employment, including an application for a change in the type of work and for full-time employment.

The application must be answered no later than 1 month of the date of receipt, and if denied, the reasons must be indicated.

What work may be assigned to temporary agency workers

Only the following work may be assigned in the framework of temporary agency work:

• seasonal, periodic and ad hoc work (for example, fruit or vegetable picking, agricultural work, flyer distribution, care for older persons)
• work which workers employed by a user employer would not be able to perform in a timely manner (for example, due to a temporary increase in demand for work)
• work for which an absent worker employed by a user employer is responsible (regardless of why that worker is absent).

However, you will not be able to assign any of the above types of work if that work also satisfies at least one of the following conditions:

• it is particularly hazardous
• it is to be performed in a position in which a worker working for a user employer is taking part in a strike
• it constitutes work of the same type as work performed by a worker employed by a user employer with whom the employment contract was terminated for reasons attributable solely to the user employer, during a period of 3 months before the planned date of commencement of the temporary agency work, if such work would be performed for the user employer in a unit located in the municipality where the unit in which the dismissed worker was employed is or was located
• it constitutes work as a security staff member who must be equipped with firearms or electro-muscular incapacitation devices with the average current intensity exceeding 10 mA.

Particularly hazardous work – these types of work are governed mainly by the Regulation of the Minister for Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on the general rules of occupational health and safety, in accordance with which particularly hazardous work is work involving increased risk or work performed under difficult conditions.

These types of work include: construction work, demolition, renovation and assembly work performed without shutting down an establishment or a part of it, work in containers, sewers, inside technical devices and other dangerous enclosed spaces, work involving hazardous materials, work at heights and work defined as particularly hazardous in other occupational health and safety rules or in operating manuals for devices and installations, as well as work which user employers will regard as particularly hazardous – user employers are required to draw up and update a list of particularly hazardous work performed in establishments.

See more about checks on assignment conducted by the National Labour Inspectorate.

Important to note! Temporary agency work specified in a contract with a temporary agency worker must correspond to the work actually performed by that worker. A user employer cannot assign other work than that specified in an employment contract to a temporary agency worker for a period not exceeding 3 months in a calendar year in cases justified by that user employer’s needs, even if this does not result in a reduction in remuneration and the work matches the temporary agency worker’s qualifications.

What contracts may be concluded with temporary agency workers

If you operate as a temporary employment agency, you should conclude one of the following contracts with a temporary agency worker before referring that worker to a user employer:

• a fixed-term employment contract
• a civil law contract, for example a contract of mandate, but only where this is justified by the nature of work and the way in which it is to be performed.

Fixed-term employment contracts

An employment contract between a temporary employment agency and a temporary agency worker should be concluded in a written form. If it is not concluded in this form, the temporary employment agency must confirm in writing the type of employment contract concluded and its terms no later than on the second day of the temporary agency work.

A fixed-term employment contract between a temporary employment agency and a temporary agency worker should specify:

• the contracting parties
• the type of contract
• the date of conclusion of the contract
• details of the user employer
• the period of performance of temporary agency work for the user employer
• the conditions of employment of the temporary agency worker during the period of performance of the work for the user employer, in particular:
• the type of work to be assigned to the worker
• working time
• the place of work
• remuneration and the date and way in which it will be paid by the temporary employment agency.
• work-breaks to which the employee is entitled
• in the case of shift work, the rules for the transition from shift to shift
• components of remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind other than those specified in the employment contract.

The employment contract may also include additional provisions:

• on earlier termination of the employment contract by each of the contracting parties:
• by giving 3 days’ notice, if the employment contract was concluded for a period not exceeding 2 weeks
• by giving notice of 1 week, if the employment contract was concluded for a period longer than 2 weeks
• on detailed conditions for the performance of work, for example, the working-time system or the individual working-time schedule applicable to the temporary agency worker.

The provisions of the Labour Code limiting the number of fixed-term contracts (no more than 3) and the duration of employment under fixed-term contracts (no longer than 33 months) do not apply to employment contracts concluded between temporary employment agencies and temporary agency workers.

Important to note! An employment contract concluded by a female temporary agency worker which would be terminated after the third month of pregnancy shall be extended to the date of the birth. In order for this to happen, however, the female temporary agency worker must demonstrate that she was referred to perform temporary agency work by that temporary employment agency for the same user employer or different user employers for at least 2 months.

The following periods are counted towards the 2-month referral to perform temporary agency work:

• a period or periods of referral in a period of 36 consecutive months preceding the conclusion of the employment contract with the female temporary agency worker which is to be extended until the date of the birth
• the period from the date of conclusion of the employment contract with the female temporary agency worker which is to be extended until the date of the birth to the date on which the female temporary agency worker reaches a total period of referral to perform temporary agency work of at least 2 months.

Civil law contracts

A temporary employment agency may conclude a civil law contract (for example, a contract of mandate) with a temporary agency worker instead of a fixed-term contract. In such a case, the temporary employment agency must apply the provisions of the Civil Code.

In order for temporary agency work to be assigned under a civil law contract, an employer must comply with the Act on the employment of temporary agency workers, concerning:

• the prohibition of assignment of certain work
• written arrangements between a temporary employment agency and a user employer for issues such as the type of work, qualification requirements for the work, the planned period of performance of the temporary agency work, the working time of the person to whom this work was assigned under the civil law contract and the place where the temporary agency work is to be performed
• invalidity of arrangements between the temporary employment agency and the user employer prohibiting that user employer from employing persons to whom work was previously assigned under a civil law contract concluded with the agency after the period of performance of the temporary agency work
• time limits on the performance of temporary agency work for one user employer
• the obligations of the user employer towards trade unions and the obligation to inform temporary agency workers about vacancies that the user employer intends to fill.

Regardless of the Civil Code, if a civil law contract is concluded with a temporary agency worker, at least the following must be provided to the temporary agency worker:

• safe and healthy working conditions
• the minimum hourly rate resulting from the provisions on the minimum remuneration.

Please bear in mind, however, that you may conclude a civil law contract with a temporary agency worker instead of an employment contract only in a situation where temporary agency work will not be performed under conditions characteristic of an employment relationship, whereby a temporary agency worker personally performs a specific type of work for a user employer and under that user employer’s direction, at the place and time designated by that employer.

Civil law contracts concluded by temporary employment agencies may be reviewed by courts, and whether or not the contract concerned is classified as an employment contract or a civil law contract depends on how that contract is actually performed, not on its name. Thus, the specific facts of the case will determine whether the conclusion of a civil law contract was justified in the case concerned.

Annual leave for temporary agency workers

If, as a temporary employment agency, you employ a temporary agency worker under an employment contract, then the worker is entitled to paid annual leave. The temporary agency worker retains the right to full remuneration for the duration of the annual leave, as if that person was normally working at that time.

A temporary agency worker is entitled to 2 days of annual leave for each month of remaining at the disposal of a user employer (regardless of the number of user employers).

It is assumed that workers remain at an employer’s disposal if those workers carry out their regular duties or supervisor’s instructions, as well as activities in the user employer’s interest, even without being instructed to do so, or remains ready to carry them out.

The rules for granting annual leave depend on how long a temporary agency worker is to work for the user employer concerned:

• if the worker is to work for less than 6 months, the temporary employment agency and the user employer may decide that the temporary agency worker will take annual leave in full or in part during the period of performance of temporary agency work. The temporary employment agency should notify the temporary agency worker of the arrangements before the conclusion of an employment contract.
• if the worker is to work for at least 6 months, then the user employer must allow the temporary agency worker to take annual leave at the time agreed with that worker. In such a case, the temporary agency worker is also entitled to leave on request (the worker requests this leave at the latest on the day on which it begins). The duration of leave on request cannot exceed 4 days in each calendar year as part of the duration of annual leave due to the worker.

Annual leave is granted for days which would be working days if the person did not take this leave.

In order to determine remuneration payable to a temporary agency worker for annual leave, you should:

• divide the remuneration paid to the temporary agency worker in a 3-month period during which that person worked for the same user employer under an employment contract or employment contracts with the temporary employment agency concerned, before the calendar month in which such a worker was granted time off work for the annual leave due to that person, by the number of hours worked by the worker in these 3 months
• multiply the remuneration for one hour of work obtained in this manner by the number of hours of time off on the days when the temporary agency worker would work if that person did not take the annual leave.

The 3-month period covers a total of 90 consecutive days of employment under an employment contract or employment contracts with the temporary employment agency concerned during which the worker worked for the same user employer, falling within a period of 6 calendar months before the calendar month in which the temporary agency worker was granted time off work for annual leave due to that person.

The period of 90 consecutive days of employment starts on the day directly before the calendar month in which the temporary agency worker was granted time off work for annual leave due to that person.

If in the period of 6 calendar months before the month in which the temporary agency worker was granted time off work for annual leave due to that person, the temporary agency worker was employed only under an employment contract or employment contracts covering a calendar month or its multiple, the 3-month period covers a total of 3 consecutive calendar months.

Termination of temporary agency work

Rules relating to termination of temporary agency work depend on the type of contract under which the temporary agency work is performed.

Important to note! If you are a user employer, then, regardless of the type of contract concluded by a temporary employment agency with a temporary agency worker, you may decide to terminate work performed by the temporary agency worker before the period of performance of temporary agency work agreed with the temporary employment agency expires. In such a case, you must notify the temporary employment agency in writing of the planned date of termination of the temporary agency work by the temporary agency worker, where possible, taking into account the period of notice specified in the contract between the parties.

Employment contracts

An employment contract concluded with a temporary agency worker is usually terminated after the period of performance of temporary agency work for the user employer concerned agreed between a temporary employment agency and the temporary agency worker expires.

Each party may also terminate a contract concluded between a temporary employment agency and a temporary agency worker if that contract provides for such a possibility. If a contract for temporary agency work does provide for the right to terminate it, the period of notice is as follows:

• 3 days, if the employment contract was concluded for a period not exceeding 2 weeks;
• 1 week, if the employment contract was concluded for a period longer than 2 weeks.

Early termination of an employment contract with a temporary agency worker is also possible by mutual agreement of the parties or without notice.

If the employment contract of a temporary employee was terminated in violation of the regulations, the employee is entitled only to compensation in the amount of remuneration for the time until the expiration of which the contract was to last, but no more than for 3 months.

If the termination occurred in violation of the provisions regarding:

• workers of pre-retirement age,
• workers during pregnancy or maternity leave,
• a worker – father raising a child or a worker – other member of the immediate family, during the period of maternity leave,
• a worker – during the period of the protection of the employment relationship under the provisions of the Trade Union Act,

the workers will be entitled to reinstatement on the previous terms and conditions or to compensation.

Read how an employer can terminate the contract with a worker.

If you operate as a temporary employment agency, then after the termination of an employment relationship with a temporary agency worker, you must:

• issue to the temporary agency worker a certificate of employment for the total completed period of employment under employment contracts with your agency concluded over a period of no more than 12 consecutive months. In principle, you should issue a certificate of employment on the date on which each 12-month period of employment under an employment contract with your agency expires. If, however, an employment contract concluded before the expiry of 12 consecutive months is terminated or expires after that deadline, you should issue a certificate of employment on the date on which such an employment contract is terminated or expires. In special cases, if a certificate of employment cannot be issued within the above deadlines, you must issue it within 7 consecutive days
• make a payment in lieu of annual leave not taken to the temporary agency worker.

When determining a payment in lieu of 1 day of annual leave, it is assumed that, for a temporary agency worker employed:

• on a full-time basis – 1 day of leave corresponds to 8 hours
• on a part-time basis – 1 day of leave corresponds to the number of hours determined in proportion to that working time, taking 8 hours as a basis (incomplete hours of leave are rounded up to full hours).

In order to determine a payment in lieu of annual leave, you must:

• add up the amounts of remuneration paid in a period of 3 months preceding the month in which a temporary agency worker receives the payment in lieu of leave, falling within a period of 6 calendar months preceding the month in which the payment is received
• divide the result by the number of hours during which the temporary agency worker performed work in the period referred to above
• multiply the remuneration for one hour of temporary agency work obtained in this manner by the number of hours of annual leave for which the payment in lieu of leave is received.

Civil law contracts

The rules and procedure for terminating a civil law contract between a temporary employment agency and a temporary agency worker may be freely specified in that contract.

If, however, you operate as a temporary employment agency, you must issue to a temporary agency worker who performed temporary agency work under a civil law contract a certificate confirming the period during which the temporary agency work was performed for the user employer concerned.

You should issue the certificate on the date on which the temporary agency work ceases to be performed under the civil law contract. In special cases, if a certificate of employment cannot be issued within the above deadlines, you may issue it within 7 consecutive days.

Penalties for infringements of provisions

Decisions in cases relating to minor offences by a user employer or a temporary employment agency are made on the basis of an application from a labour inspector in accordance with the Code of Procedure for Minor Offences.

Liability of user employers

User employers or persons acting on their behalf are subject to a penalty from PLN 1 000 to PLN 30 000, if they:

• fail to provide healthy and safe working conditions in a place designated for temporary agency work to a temporary agency worker or fail to equip the temporary agency worker’s workstation with machinery and other technical equipment that meet conformity assessment requirements
• fail to fulfil the employer’s obligations agreed in writing with a temporary employment agency, including:
• fail to provide working clothes and shoes and personal protective equipment to a temporary agency worker
• fail to give access to supportive meals and beverages to the temporary agency worker
• fail to provide training courses on occupational health and safety to the temporary agency worker before permitting that person to work and periodically
• fail to ensure that the circumstances and cause of an accident at work suffered by the temporary agency worker are determined in the required manner
• fail to inform the temporary agency worker about occupational risks associated with that person’s work and about the rules of protection against hazards
• fail to fulfil other obligations agreed with the temporary employment agency relating to the performance of temporary agency work by the temporary agency worker.

User employers or persons acting on their behalf also commit a minor offence subject to a penalty from PLN 1 000 to PLN 30 000, if they assign the following types of work to a temporary agency worker:

• particularly hazardous work
• work in a position in which the worker working for a user employer is taking part in a strike
• work of the same type as that carried out by a worker employed by a user employer with whom the employment relationship was terminated for reasons unrelated to workers during the last 3 months before the planned date on which the temporary agency worker is to begin work, if such work would be carried out in any organisational unit of the user employer located in the municipality where the organisational unit in which the dismissed worker was employed is or was located
• work which requires equipping a security staff member with firearms or electro-muscular incapacitation devices for which a license is required.

Particularly hazardous work – the main source of regulation of this type of work is the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on general occupational health and safety rules, according to which particularly hazardous work is work in which there is an increased risk, or work that is performed under difficult conditions.

Such work includes: construction, demolition, repair and assembly work carried out without stopping the operation of the establishment or its parts, work in tanks, canals, interiors of technical equipment and other hazardous confined spaces, work with hazardous materials, work at height and work defined as particularly hazardous in other regulations on occupational health and safety or in instructions for the operation of equipment and installations, as well as work that the user employer deems particularly hazardous – it is the user employer’s responsibility to establish and update the list of particularly hazardous work occurring in the establishment.

User employers or persons acting on their behalf commit a minor offence subject to a penalty from PLN 1 000 to PLN 30 000, if they:

• employ the same temporary agency worker for a period exceeding 18 months in total in a period of 36 consecutive months
• employ a temporary agency worker for a period exceeding 36 months if that person continuously performs temporary agency work involving tasks for which an absent worker employed by that user employer is responsible
• fail to keep records of hours worked by a temporary agency worker to the extent and on the terms applicable to workers
• prevent a temporary agency worker from taking annual leave.

Liability of temporary employment agencies

Temporary employment agencies or persons acting on their behalf commit a minor offence subject to a penalty from PLN 1 000 to PLN 30 000, if they refer a temporary agency worker to perform the following types of work:

• particularly hazardous work
• work in a position in which a worker working for a user employer is employed is taking part in a strike
• work of the same type as that carried out by a worker employed by a user employer with whom the employment relationship was terminated for reasons unrelated to workers during the last 3 months before the planned date on which the temporary agency worker is to begin work, if such work would be carried out in any organisational unit of the user employer located in the municipality where the organisational unit in which the dismissed worker was employed is or was located
• work which requires equipping a security staff member with firearms or electro-muscular incapacitation devices for which a licence is required
• temporary agency work for one user employer for a period exceeding 18 months in total in a period of 36 consecutive months
• temporary agency work for one user employer for a period exceeding

36 months if the temporary agency worker continuously performs temporary agency work involving tasks for which an absent worker employed by that user employer is responsible.

Particularly hazardous work – the main source of regulation of this type of work is the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 26 September 1997 on general occupational health and safety rules, according to which particularly hazardous work is work in which there is an increased risk, or work that is performed under difficult conditions. Such work includes: construction, demolition, repair and assembly work carried out without stopping the operation of the establishment or its parts, work in tanks, canals, interiors of technical equipment and other hazardous confined spaces, work with hazardous materials, work at height and work defined as particularly hazardous in other regulations on occupational health and safety or in instructions for the operation of equipment and installations, as well as work that the user employer deems particularly hazardous – it is the user employer’s responsibility to establish and update the list of particularly hazardous work occurring in the establishment.