New duties for international corporations regarding cross-border assignments

Poland

New legislation on international assignments to Poland in relation to cross-border services came into force on 18 June 2016. The new rules transpose the executive requirements of EU Directive 2014/67/EU, dated 15 May 2014, into Polish law.

International corporations that already have international assignees in Poland are obliged to submit a statement on such assignees within 3 months of the date the new legislation entered into force (i.e. by 18 September 2016). The statement must contain information about the organisation and the assignees which will be useful in the case of an audit by the Polish Labour Inspectorate. Companies who are considering sending international assignees to Poland will have to submit this statement no later than on the date the first assignee starts work in Poland.

Corporations are also required to appoint a person who will be the point of contact for the Polish Labour Inspectorate for future audits in terms of international assignments. The appointed individual must be based in Poland for as long as the international assignees are working in Poland. Corporations must also collect and store locally documents relating to assignees (copies of employment contracts, documentation on working time, documents relating to wages) by that deadline.

The above requirements apply to EU and non-EU based companies and regardless of whether assignees are EU or non-EU nationals. Failure to meet the above requirements may be sanctioned, including a fine of up to PLN 30,000 (approx. EUR 7,000) on the management of the organisation.

CMS Warsaw can serve as our clients’ contact point, submit notifications to local offices, and help with storing documentation in Poland. We regularly advise multinational corporations on immigration issues and has wide-ranging experience in this field.

If you would like specific information about these formalities, or if you require any assistance in carrying them out, we would be more than happy to help.