[Poland] Minimum wage – draft regulations

The draft act on minimum wage prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is intended to implement Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wage in the EU into the Polish legal order. According to this Directive, the statutory minimum pay is to be set or updated on the basis of four mandatory criteria elements. What will the minimum remuneration be in 2025? Will there be a raise?

Minimum wage in 2025 – what changes?

A draft regulation on the amount of the minimum remuneration for work and the amount of the minimum hourly rate in 2025 was added to the list of legislative and programme works of the Council of Ministers.

The project includes the following amounts effective from 1 January 2025:

• minimum wage – PLN 4,626
• minimum hourly rate – PLN 30.20

These amounts are analogous to the amounts presented to the Social Dialogue Council (RDS) for negotiations. Let us remind you that the RDS did not reach an agreement on the minimum wage within the statutory deadline, so according to the regulations, the Council of Ministers is obliged to determine the above-mentioned height by way of a regulation, the adoption of which should take place until 15 September 2024.

Increase in the minimum wage – see comparison of the planned amounts with the currently applicable amounts

New rules and procedure for determining the minimum wage from 2026?

The provisions of the Directive regarding minimum wage will be implemented into Polish law by adopting an act, the draft of which provides for:

• two deadlines for changing the minimum wage.

According to the project assumptions, when the price index forecast for the next year is at least 105%, two dates will be set for changing the minimum wage and the minimum hourly rate:

• first date from 1 January, and
• second date from 1 July.

However, if the price index is less than 105%, a single date for changing the amount of minimum wage guarantees is set – from 1 January.

It should be noted, however, that the forecast price index in the previous year, on the basis of which the proposal for the minimum wage submitted to RDS for negotiations was determined, may differ from the forecast price index in the previous year, on the basis of which the final amount of the minimum remuneration for work was determined.

Therefore, in order to determine a more reliable indicator, the draft bill proposes to calculate this indicator by dividing the price index in the previous year by the forecast price index in the previous year, based on which the amount of the minimum wage was established.

The project also proposes updating the minimum wage at least once every 4 years based on the following criteria:

a) the purchasing power of the minimum wage, including the cost of living,

b) general level of remuneration and their distribution,

c) wage growth rate,

d) long-term national productivity levels and their changes,

e) the ratio of the minimum wage to the average wage.

The proposed regulations are intended to guarantee an annual increase in the amount of the minimum wage at a level not lower than the increase in the total prices of consumer goods and services forecast for a given year. Moreover, in a year in which the minimum wage is lower than half of the average wage in the national economy in the first quarter of this year, this guarantee is to be additionally increased by 2/3 of the forecast real GDP growth rate.

New minimum wage regulations – sanctions and validity period

The draft law introducing the EU rules for determining the minimum wage into Polish law also assumes the introduction of new sanctions in the Labour Code and the Criminal Code. The bill defines a new type of crime and a new type of offense. They are related to the violation of the employee’s right to remuneration for work and provide for the charging of interest for late payment of remuneration due to employees. Additionally, the legislator intends to increase sanctions for offenses against employee rights.

The regulations currently being developed are to apply to determine the amount of the minimum remuneration for work in 2026. The planned date of adoption of the project by the Council of Ministers is the third/fourth quarter of 2024.

Payroll outsourcing – how can we help?

Payroll outsourcing offered by Contract Administration aims to improve clients’ business processes in this area. Cooperation with us guarantees security and continuity of employee remuneration services, as well as ongoing adaptation of activities and systems to changing regulations. We constantly monitor changes in labour law, social security and tax law. Thanks to this, we can actively support our clients and reduce their risk.

Check our service: Payroll outsourcing