Cost of hiring an employee in a Polish company in 2026 and 2027

An employee on an employment contract costs a small Polish company 20.48% more than their gross pay in 2026, which at the minimum wage of PLN 4,806 comes to PLN 5,790.28 per month. In 2027 the minimum wage is PLN 4,950, so the employer's cost rises to PLN 5,963.77 per month at the same contribution rates.

Law as of 12 October 2026.

On top of this come the PPK payment (1.5% of gross pay), pay for the first days of the employee's sickness, and the medical examination and health and safety training before work starts. Below you will find a table of amounts, what the cost is made of, a worked example with CIT, and the duties for a company's first employee.

What an employee costs in 2026 and 2027

The table assumes a full-time job, an employee who has filed a PIT-2 statement, standard deductible costs (PLN 250) and a 1.67% accident insurance rate. Amounts are monthly.

The "Employee net pay" column leaves out PPK. At PLN 7,000 and PLN 10,000 the results are the same in 2026 and 2027, because the contribution rates do not change. At the minimum wage, the move to 2027 costs the company PLN 173.49 more per month, or PLN 2,081.88 a year.

You can work out your own amounts, the full year, the 30× cap and the PLN 120,000 threshold in the employer cost calculator.

What the employer's cost is made of

The employer's cost is the gross pay plus the contributions the company pays from its own money. The employee's social contributions (13.71% of gross pay), the health contribution and the PIT advance are deducted from the employee's pay, so they do not add to the company's cost. The employer only calculates the health contribution, collects it from the employee's income and pays it over (art. 85 ust. 1 of the Publicly Funded Healthcare Act).

"Ustawa o sus" is the Social Insurance System Act. The 1.67% accident rate applies to a company that registers at most 9 people for this insurance: it is half of the highest rate for the activity groups. With 10 or more insured, ZUS (the Social Insurance Institution) sets the rate from the activity group and a correction index, and notifies the company by 20 April (art. 28 ust. 2 and art. 32 of the Accident Insurance Act).

Pension and disability contributions are paid only up to 30 times the forecast average wage in a year: PLN 282,600 in 2026 (art. 19 ust. 1 ustawy o sus). An employee earning more than PLN 23,550 per month reaches the cap before the end of the year, and from that month both contributions drop.

When the Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund are not due

The company does not pay these contributions:

• when the base, converted to a full month, is lower than the minimum wage, for example for half-time work (art. 259 ust. 1 of the Labour Market Act);
• for women aged 55 and over and men aged 60 and over (art. 261);
• for 12 months for a hired unemployed person over 50 who was registered with the labour office within 30 days before the hire, and for an unemployed person under 30 referred by the labour office (art. 262);
• for 36 months for an employee returning from maternity, parental or childcare leave (art. 263).

These exemptions also cover the Solidarity Fund, because the Labour Fund rules apply to its contributions (art. 4 ust. 1 of the Solidarity Fund Act). Half-time work for PLN 2,403 in 2026 therefore costs the company PLN 2,836.26, or 18.03% on top of gross pay.

Example: PLN 10,000 gross in 2026

1. Employer contributions are 976 + 650 + 167 + 245 + 10 = PLN 2,048. The employer's cost is PLN 12,048 per month and PLN 144,576 per year.
2. The employee pays social contributions of PLN 1,371 (13.71%) and a health contribution of PLN 776.61 (9% of PLN 8,629) out of gross pay.
3. PIT advance: PLN 10,000 minus PLN 1,371 in contributions and PLN 250 in costs gives PLN 8,379. That is PLN 1,005.48 in tax (12%) minus PLN 300 from PIT-2, or PLN 705 after rounding (art. 32 ust. 2 and art. 31b of the PIT Act).
4. The employee takes home PLN 7,147.39, about 59% of the employer's cost.
5. The full PLN 12,048 is a tax-deductible cost of the company in the month the pay is due for. The condition: pay made and contributions paid on time (art. 15 ust. 4g and 4h of the CIT Act). If the company has income, this lowers CIT by PLN 2,289.12 per month at the 19% rate, or by PLN 1,084.32 at 9%.
6. With PPK the company pays PLN 12,198. The employee pays in PLN 200 (2%), and the employer's payment raises their PIT advance to PLN 723, so they take home PLN 6,929.39.

Unpaid wages and unpaid contributions are not a cost until the company pays them (art. 16 ust. 1 pkt 57 and 57a of the CIT Act). Which CIT rate applies to the company is explained in CIT 9% or 19%.

Costs beyond pay and contributions

• Medical examinations. The company issues the referral and may not let anyone start work without a current medical certificate. Pre-employment, periodic and follow-up examinations are paid by the employer (art. 229 § 4, § 4a and § 6 of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy).
• Health and safety (BHP) training. The employee is trained before starting work, and periodically after that (art. 237³ § 2 of the Labour Code). The employer also completes BHP training to the extent its duties require (art. 237³ § 2¹).
• Sickness. For the first 33 days of incapacity in a calendar year, the employee receives 80% of pay from the employer, and 100% in pregnancy and after an accident on the way to work. From the year after the employee turns 50, this period is 14 days (art. 92 § 1 and § 5 of the Labour Code). After that, the employee receives sickness benefit from the insurance (art. 92 § 4).
• Leave. An employee is entitled to 20 days of paid leave a year, and 26 days after 10 years of service (art. 154 § 1 of the Labour Code). Leave is paid like work (art. 172), so the monthly cost stays the same, but the company also pays for the days of absence.

Duties that grow with the number of employees

A company with fewer than 50 full-time equivalents does not have to create a social benefits fund or pay a holiday benefit. If it has no collective agreement and no duty to set pay rules, and does neither, it tells its employees so in the first month of the year (art. 3 ust. 3 and 3a of the ZFŚS Act).

A company's first employee: steps and deadlines

1. Contract. An employment contract is made in writing. If it was not, the company confirms the parties, type and terms of the contract to the employee in writing before work starts (art. 29 § 2 of the Labour Code).
2. Medical examination and BHP. The referral, the medical certificate and the initial training must be in place before the first day of work.
3. Information on terms of employment. Within 7 days of the start of work, the company informs the employee about, among other things, working time standards, breaks, leave entitlement and notice periods (art. 29 § 3 of the Labour Code).
4. ZUS registration. The company registers the employee for insurance on the ZUS ZUA form within 7 days of the start of employment (art. 13 pkt 1 and art. 36 ust. 2 and 4 ustawy o sus).
5. Contribution payer data. With the first employee, a company entered in the KRS (National Court Register) sends the head of the tax office its supplementary data within 7 days, including the date its duty to pay contributions began (art. 43 ust. 1 pkt 1 and ust. 5c ustawy o sus). This is done on the NIP-8 form.
6. Pay. Pay due once a month is paid no later than within the first 10 days of the following month (art. 85 § 1 and 2 of the Labour Code).
7. Contributions and tax. The company files the ZUS return and pays contributions by the 15th of the following month (art. 47 ust. 1 pkt 3 ustawy o sus). It pays the PIT advances it withheld by the 20th (art. 38 ust. 1 of the PIT Act).
8. PPK. The company signs the PPK contract for the employee after 14 days of employment and no later than the 10th day of the month after 3 months of employment, unless the employee opts out (art. 16 ust. 1 of the PPK Act). It signs the PPK management contract with a financial institution at least 10 working days earlier (art. 8 ust. 1).
9. Annual reporting. The company sends the PIT-11 information to the tax office by the end of January and to the employee by the end of February (art. 42g ust. 1 of the PIT Act). It files the annual PIT-4R return by the end of January (art. 38 ust. 1a).

If the only person working in the company is its sole shareholder, their contributions are covered in sole shareholder ZUS contributions, and an employment contract with a shareholder in how to take money out of a sp. z o.o.

What changes in 2027

• Minimum wage of PLN 4,950 from 1 January 2027 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1213). A full-time employee who earns PLN 4,806 today must get a raise to at least this amount.
• Labour Fund, Solidarity Fund and FGŚP rates are the same in the draft 2027 Budget Act as in 2026. The bill (Sejm print no. 3150) passed its first reading on 8 October 2026.
• The 30× cap will be PLN 300,990 if the Sejm adopts the forecast average wage of PLN 10,033 from this bill.
• The accident rate for the contribution year from 1 April 2027 follows from the regulation and ZUS notices. The table assumes the current 1.67% for companies with at most 9 insured.

The government bill changing PIT for 2027 (print no. 3147) does not change employer contributions. Its current stage is covered in tax changes in Poland. A company's full monthly costs, including without employees, are in how much a sp. z o.o. costs per month.

Frequently asked questions

What does an employee on the minimum wage cost in 2027?

At PLN 4,950 gross the company pays PLN 5,963.77 per month, or PLN 71,565.24 a year, without PPK and at a 1.67% accident rate. An employee with PIT-2 takes home PLN 3,703.93.

Is the health contribution an employer cost?

No. The employer calculates the 9% health contribution and pays it over, but collects it from the employee's pay (art. 85 ust. 1 of the Publicly Funded Healthcare Act). It does not add to the company's cost.

What does a half-time employee cost?

Proportionally less, and when the pay is lower than the minimum wage, the company does not pay the Labour Fund or Solidarity Fund. In 2026 a half-time job at PLN 2,403 costs PLN 2,836.26 per month.

Do salaries lower the company's CIT?

Yes. Pay, employer contributions and the employer's PPK payments are a cost in the month they are due for, if the company pays them on time (art. 15 ust. 4g, 4ga and 4h of the CIT Act).

Does a small company have to run PPK?

Yes, for employees who do not opt out of payments. A micro-entrepreneur does not apply the PPK Act if all its employees file an opt-out declaration (art. 13 ust. 1 pkt 1 of the PPK Act).