Changes in labor law in Poland in 2025

The year 2025 brings a range of significant changes to Polish labor law, which will impact the daily operations of both employees and employers. The key changes include an increase in the minimum wage, new rules for employing foreigners, support for employers hiring senior workers, and new regulations regarding parental leave. These changes present both challenges and opportunities for the development of the labor market and the improvement of working conditions in Poland. Let’s take a closer look at these changes.

Increase in the minimum wage in 2025

As of January 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Poland has increased to PLN 4,666 gross, which represents an increase of PLN 366 compared to 2024. The minimum hourly rate is now PLN 30.50 gross.

What does this mean for employers and employees?

Employers: The wage increase requires companies to manage budgets carefully. It is advisable to analyze the competitiveness of the offered working conditions to minimize the risk of employee turnover. Higher expectations from other employees may also arise, potentially creating additional financial challenges.

Employees: The raise improves financial conditions, although inflation may weaken the real increase in purchasing power. The changes will also affect the night shift allowance (20% of the hourly wage for each hour worked at night) and compensation for violations of equal treatment principles, where employers will be required to pay at least the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage.

Subsidies for employing senior workers

New regulations introduce financial support for employers hiring unemployed individuals over 60 years of age (women) and 65 years of age (men). The aim is to activate seniors in the labor market while offering employers the opportunity to benefit from subsidies and enrich their teams with experienced personnel.

Subsidy amount: Up to 50% of the minimum wage (approximately PLN 2,333 gross per month).
Support period: Subsidies will be granted for 24 months, after which the employer will be required to maintain the employment at their own expense for the next 12 months.

Parental leave for parents of hospitalized infants and premature babies

The year 2025 also brings changes to maternity leave for parents of prematurely born or hospitalized infants. The changes include:

• For children born before the 28th week of pregnancy or weighing less than 1,000 g: An additional 15 weeks of leave.
• For children born between the 28th and 36th week of pregnancy: An additional 8 weeks of leave.
• For children born after the 37th week: Up to 8 weeks of leave if hospitalized for at least two consecutive days between the 5th and 28th day of life.

These changes allow parents to focus on their child’s health without fear of job stability. It is an important step toward better family support in challenging situations.

New public holiday and changes to sunday trading

In 2025, there are changes to the list of public holidays in Poland. One key change is the designation of Christmas Eve (December 24) as a public holiday. This change means there will be no obligation to work on that day, giving employees extra time for holiday preparations and family time.

List of public holidays in 2025:

January 1 – New Year’s Day
January 6 – Epiphany
April 20 – Easter
April 21 – Easter Monday
May 1 – Labor Day
May 3 – Constitution Day
June 8 – Pentecost Sunday
June 19 – Corpus Christi
August 15 – Assumption Day
November 1 – All Saints’ Day
November 11 – Independence Day
December 24 – Christmas Eve
December 25 – Christmas Day
December 26 – 2nd Day of Christmas

Changes to sunday trading

As of February 1, 2025, changes to the law on Sunday trading restrictions will come into effect. According to the new regulations, an additional trading Sunday will be introduced in December before Christmas Eve.

The trading ban will not apply on:

• The three Sundays before Christmas Eve.
• The Sunday immediately preceding Easter.
• The last Sundays in January, April, June, and August.

Changes to employment rules for foreigners

Although the new rules for employing foreigners will not take effect at the beginning of 2025, the planned changes aim to simplify the process of hiring foreigners through:

• Elimination of the labor market test: This change aims to expedite and simplify the hiring process by removing the requirement for time-consuming procedures.
• Digitization of administrative procedures: This will reduce the processing time for work permit applications.
• Stricter penalties for illegal employment of foreigners: Fines will be proportional to the number of illegally employed individuals.
• Integration programs: Including Polish language courses.

Ongoing projects

In 2025, work will continue on amendments to the Labor Code. These projects include:

Including civil law contracts in employment tenure: Currently, only employment under a contract of employment counts toward tenure. The amendment proposes including other forms of employment, such as mandate contracts (umowa zlecenie) and sole proprietorships, in employment tenure starting in 2026.

Salary transparency: Employers will be required to provide candidates with salary information before job interviews and disclose salary information upon employees’ request. Failure to comply with these obligations may result in financial penalties.

Ayear of challenges and opportunities

The labor law changes in 2025 represent both challenges and opportunities for employers. This is an opportunity for companies to view the regulations as tools to support organizational growth and build a strong workplace culture. The key to success will be a proactive approach, education about the new regulations, and collaboration with experts to not only meet legal requirements but also enhance employee engagement and improve the company’s image as a responsible employer.