[Poland] Working hours in practice: 9 mistakes made by employers and how to avoid them? 

How should employees’ working hours be properly accounted for? Discover the most common mistakes employers make, the risks associated with overtime, scheduling, and remote work, and learn when outsourcing is a good idea. 

What questions does our article answer? 

What is working time accounting and why is it difficult for employers?

Working time accounting is a process that involves planning, recording and analysing employee working time in accordance with the Labour Code, in order to correctly determine remuneration, benefits and ensure compliance with applicable regulations. 

According to the fundamental principle of the Labour Code, working time should not exceed eight hours per day and an average of 40 hours per week in an average five-day workweek, within the adopted settlement period. These standards are a starting point, but in practice, they are insufficient for safe company management. What matters most is how the employer plans work, how it is recorded, how deviations are accounted for, and whether they can prove the accuracy of their actions. 

Example: A manager moves an employee’s shift to “save staff”. Human resources sees attendance in the system. Payroll calculates wages. But if no one checks the employee’s 24-hour shift, daily rest periods, overtime limits, and compensation rules, the company may unwittingly violate regulations. 

Therefore, calculating working time is not about counting hours. It is a process that should answer several questions: 

Only the sum of these answers gives the employer security. 

Before we move on to the most common mistakes, it is worth answering one question – is the working time settlement process in your company actually under control? 

In practice, this can be assessed by analysing five key stages of safe working time settlement 

Contract Administration Model – 5 steps to secure working time settlement 

Stage	What to check?	The most common mistake
1. Planning working time	working time system, schedule, working time	poorly planned graphics
2. Recording working time	records, RCP, attendance list	confusing registration with settlement
3. Verification of compliance with regulations	overtime, rest periods, night work	incorrect interpretation of the regulations
4. Settlement and calculation of benefits	allowances, free time, work on Sundays and holidays	improper settlement of wages
5. Documentation and supervision of the process	records, regulations, procedures, responsibility	lack of evidence and inconsistency of the process

If any of these five steps are not functioning properly, the risk of errors, payroll corrections, employee claims and irregularities detected during audits increases. 

What mistakes do employers make most often when calculating working time? 

1. Confusing working time registration with its settlement 

Applies to the stage: Recording working time 

This is one of the most common errors. Time and attendance recording shows when an employee started and finished work, or when they clocked in and out of the system. Time and attendance accounting answers a much more important question: what are the legal and payroll implications of this data? 

The mere fact that an employee was at work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. does not necessarily determine whether overtime was worked, whether a break was taken, whether the working day was breached, or whether an allowance, time off, or other compensation is due. It is crucial that the data be correctly interpreted by individuals familiar with the regulations, work time systems, and payroll practices. 

It is important to remember that working time records are maintained to accurately determine an employee’s salary and other work-related benefits. If the data is incomplete, inconsistent, or incorrectly described, the risk shifts to the employer.

You can read more about this difference in the article:

Registration and settlement of working time

Read article

2. Lack of a well-chosen working time system 

Applies to the stage: Planning working time 

Not every company should operate under a standard working time system. Manufacturing, logistics, trade, shared service centres, customer service, maintenance, and seasonal industries often require more flexible solutions. 

The Labour Code provides for various working time systems and schedules, including basic, equivalent, task-based, weekend, shortened workweek, and shift work. The National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) states that working time systems, schedules, and settlement periods are established, among other things, in a collective agreement, work regulations, notice, or employment contract. 

The error occurs when an organization actually operates in a model that requires flexibility but formally lacks appropriately implemented policies. In such cases, even a well-designed schedule can be flawed because it lacks a proper foundation in internal documents. 

Example: A company plans 12-hour shifts for its employees but fails to properly implement a balanced working time system. As a result, longer workdays can generate claims and audit issues, even though such a model makes organizational sense for the business. 

3. Incorrect determination of working hours

Applies to the stage: Planning working time 

Working hours are not an “average number of hours per month”. They are determined for a specific settlement period, taking into account weeks, days extending beyond full weeks, and holidays falling on days other than Sundays. According to the rules set by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, each such holiday reduces working hours by eight hours. 

Errors in this area often occur when: 

• employment or termination of the contract during the month, 

• change of job, 

• excused absences, 

• equivalent working time systems, 

• longer settlement periods, 

• shift work, 

• holidays falling on Saturday. 

Incorrectly established working hours can disrupt the entire accounting process, from scheduling, to overtime, and even pay.

See Also:

Working hours in 2026.

Read article

4. Schedule arranged “at the last minute” 

Applies to the stage: Planning working time 

A work schedule should not be just a tool for managers. It is an organizational document with legal significance. The National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) states that an employee’s work schedule can be prepared in written or electronic form for a period shorter than the settlement period but covering at least one month. The employer must provide it to the employee at least one week before the start of work in the period it covers. 

In practice, the problem is frequent schedule changes without a clear procedure. Supervisors adjust staffing to current needs, and the HR department only learns about the changes after the fact. This leads to violations of rest periods, incorrect overtime calculations, or documentation chaos. 

5. Violation of daily and weekly rest periods

Process Step: Compliance verification 

This is an area where errors are less visible than overtime but can be just as serious. Employees are entitled to at least 11 hours of uninterrupted daily rest and at least 35 hours of uninterrupted weekly rest. The National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) also emphasizes specific rules regarding equivalent working time, whereby, after an extended daily workload, rest should be at least equal to the number of hours worked. 

In practice, risks appear especially where: 

• morning shifts after afternoon shifts, 

• on-duty shifts, 

• work on weekends, 

• sickness replacement, 

• seasonal workload peaks, 

• remote work after hours, 

• business communication in the evenings. 

It is worth remembering that a rest period violation can occur not only when an employee physically stays at work longer than usual. Risks can also arise when, after formally finishing work, they perform work tasks, respond to messages, participate in an online meeting, or conduct an urgent request from a supervisor.  

6. Misrecognition of overtime

Process Stage: Verification of compliance with regulations and settlement and calculation of benefits 

Overtime occurs when an employee performs work beyond the applicable working time standards or beyond the extended daily working time resulting from the system and distribution of working time. 

The most common mistakes made by employers are: 

• treating all overtime hours the same, without distinguishing between daily and average weekly hours, 

• no limit control, 

• incorrect compensation for time off, 

• not taking into account work on a day off resulting from an average five-day working week, 

• recognizing that since the employee “stayed alone longer”, the company is not obliged to settle the working time, 

• no overtime analysis for remote or hybrid work. 

7. Incorrect accounting for work on Sundays, public holidays and days off

Process Stage: Settlement and benefit calculation 

Working on Sundays and public holidays is permitted only in specific circumstances. If necessary, it requires appropriate compensation. The National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) states that employees working on Sundays and public holidays are entitled to another day off, and if this cannot be granted, they are entitled to a salary supplement. 

Mistakes often stem from the belief that paying an allowance is sufficient. However, in many situations, the primary form of compensation should be a day off. Only when this cannot be granted within the required timeframe does a cash settlement occur. 

8. Lack of consistency between regulations, practice and the HR and payroll system 

Process Stage: Documentation and process oversight 

A common problem in larger organizations is as follows: work regulations describe one thing, managers do another, the HR system allows for a third, and the payroll has to somehow account for it all. 

Such inconsistencies can remain invisible for years, only becoming apparent during an inspection, audit, employee dispute, HR and payroll system change, or outsourcing of services to an external provider. 

Therefore, it is worth regularly auditing work time settlements. Not only to ensure the hours are accurate, but also to ensure consistency between work regulations,  employment contracts, notices, schedules, the RCP system, timesheets, payroll, and management practices.

Read also:

HR and Payroll – A digital revolution in process management 

Read article

9. Lack of procedural responsibility 

Process Stage: Documentation and process oversight 

Who is responsible for working hours in the company? Human resources? Payroll? Manager? HR Business Partner? Management? The answer “a little bit of everyone” usually means that no one has full control over the process. 

A secure process should clearly indicate who: 

• arranges a schedule, 

• approves changes, 

• controls rests, 

• analyses overtime, 

• approves work on days off, 

• is responsible for payroll data, 

• updates internal regulations, 

• communicates rules to managers. 

How to calculate the working time of remote and hybrid employees?

Remote work does not mean abandoning working time regulations. Just because an employee performs tasks outside the office does not mean they can skip records, rest periods, overtime, or breaks. 

The biggest challenge in a hybrid model is the line between availability and work. If an employee is responding to messages, attending meetings, or completing tasks after hours, the employer should have clear rules for reporting and approving such work. 

How to reduce risk? A practical checklist for employers

An employer who wants to manage working time safely should regularly check at least seven areas:

If the answer to any of these questions is “we don’t know” or “it depends on the department”, it is worth treating it as a warning sign and seeking support from experts. 

Download the free Contract Administration guide “HR and Payroll 2026” and learn, among other things, how to settle employees’ salaries in accordance with applicable regulations. 

Download the guide

Why is it worth entrusting working time settlement to experts?

Outsourcing work time management is especially worth considering when a company operates shifts, employs employees under various work time systems, frequently calculates overtime, operates in multiple locations, or regularly adjusts payroll due to errors in schedules and records. In such organizations, work time management ceases to be a simple administrative process and becomes a process requiring constant legal, HR, and payroll oversight. 

Time and attendance are areas where technology, knowledge, and operational experience must work together. A good HR and payroll outsourcing provider not only calculates wages but also helps streamline the process, detect inconsistencies, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance with current regulations. HR and payroll outsourcing – how to sign a good contract with a service provider?  

For the employer, this means three specific benefits: 

• Firstly, there is a lower risk of errors – especially where there is overtime, shift work, different working time systems or complex organisational structures. 

• Secondly, greater cost predictability – carefully planned and settled working time allows for better control of the remuneration budget. Check how much HR and payroll outsourcing costs  

• Thirdly, more time for HR and managers – they can focus on managing people instead of manually explaining discrepancies in schedules. 

Working time settlement with Contract Administration

At Contract Administration ,we support employers in managing HR and payroll processes, including timesheets. We help organize data, processes, and responsibilities so that timesheets are not just a formal obligation, but a real security tool for the organization. 

If your company is dealing with overtime, shift work, complex schedules, multiple locations, or an increasing number of payroll adjustments, it is worth checking whether your current time and attendance model still fits the scale of your business. 

Contact us and see how professional timesheet accounting can reduce risk, streamline processes, and relieve your HR team.

FAQ: Working Time in Questions and Answers