How to hire an employee from Ukraine – necessary documents
Poland already had simplified procedures for hiring foreigners from six countries long before Russia’s attack on Ukraine: Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Russia. In case the potential employee has citizenship of one of these countries, the employer can submit a statement of entrustment – this document is completely sufficient to offer the foreigner a job.
In other cases, however, it will be necessary to obtain a work permit – this document is more detailed and requires more effort, but it allows employers to hire foreign citizens for longer periods – up to three years.
Important!
It is worth following the information appearing on government websites – it is possible that in the coming days the procedures will be further simplified – in order to allow as many Ukrainian refugees as possible to take up employment in Poland. Such plans were announced by the Minister of Family and Social Policy – Marlena Maląg.
Statement of intent to entrust work
Currently, this way of hiring an employee from Ukraine is the fastest and easiest. If the employer submits a statement of intent to entrust work, the District Labor Office will not conduct a labor market test.
In the labor market test, PUP officials verify an employer’s ability to hire a person from the local labor market, specifically one who is registered with the labor office as an unemployed person seeking employment.
The statement of intent to entrust work should be submitted to the District Labor Office competent for the employer’s location or through the website praca.gov.pl – the latter form is certainly more convenient, and in some labor offices it is also the only one accepted (during the COVID-19 pandemic, this applies to all labor offices). So before you decide to bring a paper statement, contact your local District Labor Office and ask if officials will accept documents from you in traditional form.
Important!
The fee for submitting a statement of intent to entrust work to a foreigner is PLN 30.
What conditions must be met to employ a foreigner on the basis of a statement of intent to entrust work?
There are five criteria that must be met to qualify for the statement of intent to entrust work. Failure to meet even one of them results in the need to apply for a work permit:
- The person the employer wants to hire has citizenship of Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova or Russia.
- The employer undertakes to employ the person no later than 6 months from the date of submission of the statement.
- The employer declares his willingness to employ a foreigner for a period of not more than 24 months (the statement should indicate the period of work).
- The employer undertakes to offer the foreigner a salary at least equal to that of employees employed in a similar position or performing a similar type of work.
- The work that an entrepreneur offers to a foreigner does not qualify as seasonal work.
Important!
Seasonal work is defined as the type of work specified in the appendix to the Ordinance of the Minister of Family Affairs, Labor and Social Policy of the day. December 8, 2017. A list of the types of work considered seasonal can be found here. Remember, too, that seasonal work cannot last longer than 9 months.
Statement of intent to entrust work to a foreigner – template
Two templates for the document are available on government websites – one can be used by employers who are individuals and who run companies; the other template is for temporary employment agencies.
Download the sample statement:
Employment of refugees from Ukraine on the basis of a statement – step by step
In order to hire Ukrainians and other Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war, employers must follow the steps below:
- Step one – submit a statement – use the templates provided above, make sure you have access to the details of the hiring entity and the basic data of the foreigner you want to hire. Attach to the statement an identity card or other document proving the identity of the foreigner. Go to praca.gov.pl, complete the documents, sign with an electronic signature and send.
- Step two – wait for a decision from the District Labor Office – this can usually take up to 7 days. Once you receive a positive decision, you can enter into a contract with the foreigner.
- Step three – within 7 days of receiving the positive decision, inform the PUP about the foreigner’s employment. If for some reason the employed person did not show up for work, the employer is also obliged to inform the office. Send the information through the portal praca.gov.pl.
When do you need a work permit for a refugee from Ukraine?
A work permit is required for the employment of foreign nationals who are citizens of countries other than Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova or Russia. However, if the employer employs Ukrainian citizens on the basis of a statement of intent to entrust work, he should also apply for a work permit – he can do so after three months from the date the foreigner starts work.
The statement of intent to entrust work has an expiration date – remember to start applying for a work permit for an employee from Ukraine before the statement expires.
Important!
The waiting time for a work permit usually takes about 30 days. It is highly likely that facilitations will be implemented to shorten the processing time, but on the other hand, the number of refugees who came from Ukraine to Poland is really large, so the limited capacity of officials should be taken into account.
If the employer has already applied for a work permit for a foreigner, but it has not yet been processed, the employee can still perform work if three conditions are met:
- The permit application is filled out correctly and has no formal deficiencies (any deficiency requires corrections, which increases the processing time).
- Before submitting the application, the foreigner was employed by the entrepreneur for no less than 3 months.
- The foreigner continues to work in the same position and is employed under an employment contract.
Refugees fleeing Ukraine to Poland from Russian aggression are not required to register at border crossings, yet they have a residence permit – it is granted automatically.
Work permit – document types
Under normal circumstances, an employer can apply for a type A, B, C, D, E or S work permit. Among the most commonly granted are:
- Type A – for foreigners working in Poland based on a contract with an entity based in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
- Type B – for foreigners residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland for more than 6 months over a consecutive 12-month period in connection with serving on the board of directors of a legal person or a capital company, or in connection with managing the affairs of limited partnerships, or limited joint-stock partnerships, or in connection with granting them a power of attorney.
In the current situation – when an entrepreneur wants to hire a refugee from Ukraine – a Type A work permit will be the most common choice. You can read about other types of work permit here.
How to structure a job offer for Ukrainian workers?
If you want to hire refugees from Ukraine, you can post a job offer online using forms available at praca.gov.pl and at the District Labor Office competent for your company (contact and address details of the offices can be found here).
What information should a job offer contain?
To make sure your job offer is not missing anything, prepare it based on the list below:
- Provide your company’s address and contact information: Tax ID, name, business address and phone number and/or email.
- Title the job offer with the name of the position – make sure it is understandable and corresponds to the scope of responsibilities.
- Post data on the number of vacancies.
- Make it clear that the offer is aimed at workers from Ukraine.
- Enter the expected salary or salary range.
- Indicate the location of the work – if you allow remote work, indicate this fact and let future employees know to what extent you allow this form of work.
- State what type of contract you are offering.
- Complete the information about the organization: indicate from when the position is available, what the working hours are, for what period you want to take on an employee, how the salary is paid.
- Specify the exact requirements and expected qualifications.
Important!
When submitting your application, you can declare the need to translate your job offer into Ukrainian. If the office has the capacity, it will translate the offer for you. You can also take care of this on your own. It also wouldn’t hurt to post a job offer in English.
Once your submitted job offer has been verified (and translated), officials will post it on the website of the relevant labor office and on the Central Job Vacancy Database portal.
