In general, foreigners coming to Poland in order to perform research work in Polish research institutions may do it without a work permit, regardless of their nationality.

However, if you are not a citizen of one of the EU Member States, you should remember that even being exempt from the work permit requirement you still need to possess a visa for employment purposes in order to legally enter and work in Poland legally.

If you are a researcher to whom the above mentioned regulations are not applicable, your future employer is obligated to apply for your work permit. The following procedure has to be procured:

Employment contracts

The Polish labour system allows for several types of work contract to be concluded between an employer and a future employee:

1. a regular employment contract - regulated by the Labour Code may be concluded: for a definite period of time, for a specific period within which the specified job is to be completed or for an indefinite period of time;

2. non-standard contract forms - regulated by the Civil Code, which differ from the above mainly in that they specify a piece of work to be done within a defined period of time, quite often without setting working hours;

The most popular ones, among many other, are the following two:

- umowa zlecenie concluded for performance of a specified activity
- umowa o dzieło concluded for achievement of a specific result

3. fellowships - regulated by different acts depending on the type of research institutions (e.g. university, institute of the Polish Academy of Science).

All types of contracts should be concluded in a written form. Among other things, they determine the parties of the contract or agreement, its type, the starting and ending dates, the type of work or results to be achieved, the remuneration for the specified type of work. In the case of typical employment contracts, the revenue earned is charged with all labour costs.
The Polish flexible forms of employment mentioned above are not mutually exclusive, and jobs may have features of one or more of them.

Working time

In Poland the working time is regulated in the Labour Code and in general cannot exceed 8 hours per day, which gives an average of 40 hours in a five-day working week.

Usually the work starts between 8.00-8.30 in the morning and finishes at 4.00-4.30 in the afternoon. In general there is no lunch break. However, you are entitled to at least 15-minute break during the 8-hour work day.

National holiday