To Hook the Ukrainians: Poland Prepared Major Changes in the Labor Market.

Significant changes are being prepared in Poland's labor market, including for foreigners. Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a law regarding the conditions for assigning work to foreigners and a law on the labor market. This signifies substantial changes in legislation. In particular, the law on the conditions for assigning work to foreigners aims to limit abuse, improve procedures, reduce delays in processing cases by institutions, and ensure complete electronic processing of work permit issuance for foreigners.

The new law abolishes the existing 'labor market test,' which previously checked if there were local unemployed individuals capable of taking the position offered to a foreigner. The Ministry of Labor considers this procedure ineffective. Instead, counties will independently decide in which professions and sectors to limit the employment of foreigners and for what duration.

According to the law, the county starosta has the right to compile a list of professions and types of work for which permits will not be issued to foreigners. This list will become mandatory in the event of a serious deterioration of the situation in the local labor market after approval by the county labor council. The law also strengthens penalties for illegal employment of foreigners. Fines will range from 3,000 to 50,000 zlotys for each violation. The effectiveness of control by the Border Guard and the State Labor Inspection is being strengthened: checks can be conducted without prior notice, and several control bodies can simultaneously check the legality of employing foreigners. As part of the second law signed by Andrzej Duda, comprehensive modernization of Polish labor market institutions is planned. Key changes include: - Unemployed individuals with more than 5 years of experience will now receive unemployment benefits amounting to 100% of the basic salary instead of the previous 80%; - The requirement to tie the unemployed person to the employment center at their place of registration has been abolished - they can now register at their actual residence; - Priority is established in providing assistance for certain categories of unemployed: members of large families with a Large Family Card and single individuals raising at least one child; - The age of the child with disabilities, for whom care expenses can be reimbursed by the starosta, has been raised to 18 years. An educational loan for the unemployed has been introduced, amounting to up to 400% of the average salary. These funds can be directed towards paying for education, postgraduate education, validating knowledge and skills, obtaining relevant documents, or continuing school education. If established conditions are met, 20% of the loan amount will be written off. Furthermore, the law stipulates that employers can receive co-financing for hiring an individual who has reached the age of 50 or an individual who is looking for a job and has reached the age of 60 (for women) or 65 (for men). The co-financing amount will be up to a maximum of 50% of the minimum wage per month. Both laws signed by the president will come into effect on the first day of the month following the expiration of 14 days from the date of publication in Dziennik Ustaw. Note that Ukrainians in Poland can receive a grant of up to 42,000 zlotys.