Legality of employment of refugees from Ukraine

The Russian Federation's aggression to Ukraine that occurred 24 February This year she united Poles in order to help neighbours. Currently more than 500,000 people. It needs to be stressed that the final number of people coming to Poland is impossible to identify and depends really on intensifying the war in Ukraine. According to static data at the end of 3rd quarter 2021 Poland offered around 150,000 vacancies.

It is worth noting that the Polish economy is still undergoing reconstruction after the pandemic COVID-19, This is why it is highly likely that our labour market is able to absorb much more people. There is no doubt that Poland wants to ensure the peaceful and safe functioning of Ukrainian citizens for the duration of the war. As a result, work on the specific project is rapidly underway[1], However, until its publication and entry into force, it is worth mentioning the legal order in force to employ foreigners.

Facilitating access to the labour market by simplifying formalities is a necessary step for our country to cope with so many people willing to take up employment

Amendment of the Foreign Employment Act

More than a month ago, a significant amendment of the Foreigners Act came into force. The new rules liberalise the processes of obtaining temporary residence and work permits.

One of the most important changes in today's critical situation is the extension of the validity of the statement of intent to entrust work to foreigners to 24 months and liquidation of the so-called six-month corridor when foreigners after 6 The working months had to return to their countries in the event of a failure to apply for other work permits (work permit alternatively to apply for temporary residence and work permits).

Ukrainian citizens today must also have a registered work permit with a particular employer before starting work. According to the information received from the Press Commissioner of the Chief Border Guard at present, Ukrainian citizens are admitted to Poland unconditionally, Border Guard staff register the entry of such persons by collecting personal data of non-visa, residence card, Schengen visa and biometric passport, which allows the entry on a visa-free basis for the period 90 days of stay in the territory of Poland.

What to remember when hiring a foreigner

For the moment, to hire a foreigner from Ukraine, one of two documents should be obtained for him:

• type A work permit, which is issued by the local authority Voivode within approximately 30 days (remember that increasing the number of applications leads to longer waiting time, and since July 2021 in administrative procedures for granting authorisation, the possibility of submitting a reminder is excluded. Validity of the document may be 3 years. (depending on the period requested by the employer);
• statement of intention to entrust work to a foreigner, which is issued by the Regional Labour Office within the period from 4 to 7 days. The validity of the document shall be up to 24 months.

The employer, for a particular foreigner, who wants to hire, is applying for individual permits. Only the foreigner, for whom he was issued in a specific position to a particular employer, is concerned, means that we cannot hire a foreigner on the basis of a work permit issued to the previous employer. In order to receive both documents, appropriate applications should be submitted on the portal praca.gov.pl.

Specific legislation on assistance to Ukrainian citizens

In response to events in Ukraine as a matter of urgency, a specific project on the assistance of Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict in the territory of that country was created. On the website of the Chancellery of the President of the Council of Ministers, a list of issues was announced, which will be the subject of a special law, among others:

1. special rules for entrusting work to citizens of Ukraine who are legally resident in the territory of the Republic of Poland; 2) assistance provided by the voivodes to Ukrainian citizens; 3) the creation of a new special-purpose reserve to finance expenditure on assistance to Ukrainian citizens; 4) certain powers of Ukrainian citizens whose residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland is considered legal; 5) special rules for extending the periods of legal residence of Ukrainian citizens and documents issued to them by the Polish authorities concerning rights of entry and residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland; 6) certain powers of Polish and Ukrainian citizens who are students, academic teachers or researchers entering from the territory of Ukraine; 7) specific regulations on the education, education and care of children and students who are citizens of Ukraine, including support for local government units in carrying out additional educational tasks in this area; 8) special rules for the organisation and functioning of universities in connection with the provision of college seats for Ukrainian citizens.[2]

It is also in the interests of the Polish economy, so as not to squander the potential of people coming to us. Facilitating access to the labour market by simplifying formalities is a necessary step for our country to deal with so many people willing to take up employment. However, the obligation to have work permits is likely to be abolished. The special solutions to today's situation are a necessity, but to learn the final shape, we need to be patient.

Written by Darya Bannaya

Younger tax consultant. Graduate of Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, graduate of Global Business, Finance and Management in Warsaw School of Economics. Winner of the Ministry of Finance competition “Tax of Leaders” 7. edition. Conducting trainings and conferences for foreigners in tax aspects of conducting and establishing business in Poland.

He specializes in tax law, advising clients on current matters relating primarily to income taxes.

Author and co-author of a tax law publication.