In addition to the classic employment contract, Poland has civil law contracts under which it is also possible to provide services (labor). Thus, the basis for employment in Poland may be an employment contract, a contract of mandate (contract for the provision of services), a contract for specific work and a B2B contract.
Employment contract
The employment contract is the most common source of employment in Poland. It is characterized by a wide range of employee entitlements (guaranteed by the Labor Code) – such as a certain number of days of paid vacation, or pay during illness.
With regard to duration, there are probationary, fixed-term and indefinite-term contracts.
A probationary contract may be entered into for a maximum period of 3 months to test the employee’s qualifications
As for the fixed-term contract, it is important to limit the number of fixed-term contracts that can be concluded, as well as their total duration. Excluding exceptions (such as a seasonal or replacement contract), a maximum of three fixed-term contracts can be concluded with a single employee – for a period not exceeding 33 months in total.
As a rule, termination of an employment contract occurs at the expiration of the notice period (its length depends on the length of service) or in the absence of an extension of a fixed-term contract (that is, the contract expires at the end of the term). If the employee and the employer agree on the termination of cooperation, it is also possible to terminate the contract by agreement.
In exceptional cases, the employment contract may also be terminated by disciplinary action (i.e., without notice). However, termination by disciplinary action must be due to special circumstances on the part of the employer or employee, or due to their violation of their basic duties.
Civil law contracts (mandate, specific-task contract and B2B)
Civil law contracts can be divided into a contract of mandate (service contract), specific-task contract, and a B2B contract.
Due to their belonging to the civil law branch (rather than labor law), their common feature is, first of all, greater flexibility in terms of both their duration and their termination. Civil law contracts are not subject to the regime of labor law – so they are not subject to the restrictions, but also to the privileges of the employment relationship (such as paid vacations).
Contract of mandate (service contract)
A contract of mandate, or basically a contract for the provision of services, is the most popular civil law source of employment. Due to the fact that this contract is not subject to labor law – it does not entail employee privileges under the Labor Code (i.e., for example, paid vacation, protection against dismissal during illness). Thus, the contractor will be entitled only to such rights as will be written into the text of the contract.
A contract of mandate, unlike a contract of employment, is not subject to the Code’s limitation of its duration, as well as its termination. Thus, it is possible to conclude unlimited fixed-term contracts. Code termination periods do not apply either – this issue will be regulated by the content of the contract itself.
A contract of mandate (contract for services) is one of the so-called diligent services. Thus, it is not about achieving a specific result, but about the diligent performance of a service for a period of time specified in the contract.
Specific-task contract
The work contract is another civil law source of employment. A contract for a work of art belongs to the category of contracts for a result – the senses of contracts aimed at obtaining a specific result.
Specific-task contract is concluded in cases of one-time performance of a given activity – or, in other words, performance of a given work. Thus, a specific-task contract of art will be appropriate, for example, in the case of a contract to conduct a training course or perform an analysis. Thus, a contract for a work of art is concluded for the duration of the work and automatically ends when the work is completed.
Due to the nature of the specific-task, it cannot be terminated. In strictly defined cases, the specific-task contract can be withdrawn from. The contractor has this right if the principal refuses to cooperate in the performance of the work (e.g., refuses to indicate the details of the work, does not issue the necessary documentation, etc.). The principal, on the other hand, may withdraw from the work contract primarily if the work is delayed.
The ordering party may also withdraw from the contract without a specific reason – however, this involves paying the contractor the entire fee due.
B2B contract
A B2B contract is a contract between entrepreneurs – so both parties will be sole proprietors or companies. The abbreviation “B2B” is derived from the English business to business – which can be translated as just entrepreneur to entrepreneur. A B2B contract concluded for the purpose of employment will resemble a contract of mandate (contract for the provision of services), with the difference that the contractor in a classic contract of mandate is a natural person, while in B2B – an entrepreneur.
Cooperation on a B2B basis may constitute a basis for employment. Similar to a contract of mandate (a contract for the provision of services), a B2B contract does not contain clauses characteristic of labor law – so there will be no paid leave or protection against termination during periods of illness.
From other contracts (both civil law and employment contracts), a B2B contract differs primarily in the transfer of contribution and tax obligations to the hired person. She is the one who invoices for her services and settles taxes and Social Security contributions on her own.
In practice, it is often the case that the term “work contract” is used interchangeably with “assignment.” Although the boundary between the two is sometimes blurred, each of these contracts is intended to serve a different purpose and therefore has distinct characteristics.
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