Are you an entrepreneur in Poland and currently struggling with staff? Would you like to lift the burden from upon your employees’ shoulders and outsource your recruitment services to an external company, but you are not sure what such a process looks like? Or maybe you want to set up your own agency, but don’t know how to go about it? We already explain!
What are employment agencies in Poland?
According to the Act of April 20th 2004 on employment promotion and labor market institutions, in order to legally operate in the Polish market, employment agencies in Poland must obtain an entry in the National Register of Employment Agencies (pl. Krajowy Rejestr Agencji Zatrudnienia, KRAZ for short). In order to obtain this entry, the following conditions must be met simultaneously: not to be in arrears in the payment of any contributions, to have no criminal record and not to be in liquidation or bankruptcy state. The only thing that needs to be done is to submit an application for entry in the KRAZ to the relevant Provincial Labor Office (pl. Wojewódzki Urząd Pracy). The issuance of a certificate confirming the entry involves a fee of PLN 200.00. All formalities can be completed in person at the office or electronically. If you want to check whether the agency with which you intend to cooperate operates legally, you can quickly verify this thanks to the STOR online registry search engine.
What services can an employment agency provide?
The aforementioned regulation also defines the services that such an agency can provide. Many people think that an employment agency is merely an intermediary between an employee and an employer. However, there are more services within the competence of such an agency, moreover, they are aimed at different people.
1) Employment intermediation (including for a foreign entity).
As the main task of an employment agency, it deals with gathering demand from both the employer and the candidate, and matching them, as well as all recruitment processes related to this, such as initial interviews (including in a foreign language, if necessary), contacting the candidate or pre-screening qualifications and pre-selection for the employer.
2) Career counseling
The group targeted by this service is people entering the market or seeking employment. The agency’s specialist’s task is to analyze the candidate’s profile and advising them on the choice of profession or retraining course, as well as the specifics of the market, in order to most effectively support such a person in the process of entering the market or reorganizing himself or herself.
3) Staff counseling
This is a service aimed at employers. Mainly it is an analysis of the staff situation in a given entity consisting in examining the silhouette of employees and determining the qualifications needed to perform a given job. The agency also indicates methods of obtaining such candidates and checking their skills.
Employment agency vs. temporary employment agency – are they the same thing?
Note: Do not confuse employment agencies with temporary employment agencies. According to the above-mentioned regulation, the latter provides workers for a short period of time (e.g. the holiday season, harvesting period, etc.). When it comes to the paperwork, you “rent” an employee from such an agency, which means that the contract and all obligations arising from it (such as paying social contributions) fall on the agency. In opposition to the employment agency, which, once it hands over the employee to us, also hands over all the related formalities.
Moreover, if you decide to set up a temporary employment agency, you can expect more complicated procedures, for example, if you want to apply for a work permit for a candidate. Hence, choosing the type of agency along with familiarizing yourself with the procedures before setting it up is extremely important.
Is there something that we didn’t mention in the article that continues to bother you? Schedule an online consultation now! We will answer your questions and advise you on what to do in your situation.
The article was written in cooperation with experts from magfin.pl, a consulting and service company providing employment intermediation services, as well as company registration, accounting, real estate and credit intermediation and legalization of residence and work for foreigners. Reach us out at +48 531 510 005.
Zuzanna, November 25th, 2024.
