How to hire an employee from the east?

How to hire an employee from the east? Perhaps it will be a surprise for some people, but a lot of foreigners work in Poland. Our country is one of the leading countries that grant long-term residence permits to foreigners from third countries in connection with gainful employment in Poland. In 2016 alone, almost half a million such permits were issued. Most of the entire European Union. Polish employers are eager to hire foreigners, especially those from eastern Poland.

What formalities must be completed to be able to employ a foreigner? How long can he stay in Poland? Where to look for employees? How to protect yourself against fraud? Below are some tips to help employers find the right employee.

Obligations of a foreigner

The inhabitants of Ukraine dominate among the most frequently employed foreigners. Belarusians are in second place. These two groups constitute the main labor force that is looking for work in our country.

If a given employee from the East wants to work in Poland, he must have a residence permit. This document has several variants. It may be a document permitting a temporary stay (not exceeding 3 years) in Poland or a permanent stay, i.e. it has no time limit. A foreigner may also obtain a long-term resident’s European Union residence permit, which also does not have a time limit. In other cases, a person may also apply for asylum or refugee status. In all these variants, the foreigner becomes able to undertake legal work.

Employer’s responsibilities

The employer himself wishing to hire a foreigner must start with obtaining a work permit for a foreigner in his company. Then, hire him on a seasonal basis or decide to enter the declarations on entrusting work to a foreigner in the register. Depending on the chosen option, the employer provides the employee with the relevant document.

Subsequently, the employer is obliged to sign an appropriate employment contract with the foreigner. The contract should be translated into the mother tongue of the employed person. The employer should also receive from the employee copies of the document confirming the legality of the foreigner’s stay in our country.

The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy should be informed about this fact no later than on the first day of starting work by a foreigner. In the event that an employee from the East ultimately fails to start work, the ministry should be informed of this within seven days from the date of commencement of work indicated in the documents.

The next steps depend on the type of contract. If it is required in the concluded contract, the employer should register the employee for social insurance. Otherwise, the employer does not have to submit additional declarations.

Seasonal work

The seasonal work permit is a new type of permit that is issued by the starost for a maximum period of nine months a year. These types of orders are to relate to work dependent on the changes of the seasons, i.e. a greater need for additional assistance appears only in certain months of the year. It is mainly related to agriculture, horticulture and tourism. Among them we can distinguish the cultivation of vegetables, tobacco, ornamental trees and shrubs and plants used in the production of medicines and pharmaceutical products, work in restaurants and other catering establishments, animal husbandry and breeding.

No economic activity

If a person wants to employ a foreigner, but does not have a registered business and does not conduct agricultural activity, he / she may apply for a certificate of employment in a household.

The employer is obliged to submit an application for a work permit for an employee from another country and register it with the poviat labor office. Under this application, a foreigner may work in the household for six months within the next twelve months.

Where to look for employees?

The easiest solution is to report a desire to hire a foreigner at the employment office or to add an appropriate advertisement on the website or in the newspaper. Another solution is to apply to a recruitment agency which specializes in finding employees from other countries. This is the most convenient solution for the employer, because such agencies deal with all the formalities and the employer does not have to worry about anything. On the other hand, a company that is looking for employees cannot check in advance whether a given employee meets all the requirements. While in the case of simple physical work, experience is not important, if the employer is looking for a highly specialized employee, perhaps he should do everything himself and learn as much as possible about a potential colleague.