{"id":3906,"date":"2026-04-21T12:44:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/?p=3906"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:56:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:56:38","slug":"hiring-person-disability-poland-employer-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/publikacje\/hiring-person-disability-poland-employer-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiring a Person with a Disability: Employer Duties and Support"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When hiring a person with a disability, you must meet additional requirements relating to working hours, leave and breaks. In return, you may be eligible for wage subsidies (from PLN 500 to PLN 2,400 per month), reimbursement of workplace adaptation costs, reimbursement of social security contributions and training costs. Below are the specific rules, amounts and conditions you need to know before making a decision.<\/p>\n<h2>What to check before hiring<\/h2>\n<p>Before hiring a person with a disability, establish whether they have a certificate confirming their degree of disability. The accepted documents are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A certificate issued by a county or provincial disability assessment board<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A certificate issued by a ZUS certifying doctor<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Without one of these documents, you cannot apply the rules on employing people with disabilities or use the available relief.<\/p>\n<h2>What type of contract can you use?<\/h2>\n<p>The general provisions of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/publikacje\/polish-labour-code-changes-2023-summary\/\">Labour Code<\/a><\/strong> apply to employees with disabilities. This means that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You may hire a person with a disability <strong>under an employment contract<\/strong>. The contract terms do not differ from those used for an employee without a disability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Civil-law contracts<\/strong> are also permitted, including a contract of mandate or a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/publikacje\/umowa-o-dzielo-nowy-obowiazek-informowania-zus-o-zawarciu-umowy-o-dzielo\/\">specific-work contract<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You do not need a special type of contract<\/strong> solely because the employee has a disability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Rights of an employee with a disability<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to the Labour Code, you must comply with the Act of 27 August 1997 on Vocational and Social Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. The Act grants employees with disabilities additional rights in four areas.<\/p>\n<h3>Working time<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mild degree of disability<\/strong>: no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Moderate or severe degree of disability<\/strong>: no more than 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Night work and overtime are prohibited<\/strong> for employees with all degrees of disability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Exceptions to the ban on night work and overtime:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The employee is employed in a role responsible for guarding property.<\/li>\n<li>An occupational health doctor or the doctor providing the employee\u2019s care gives consent, at the employee\u2019s request.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Additional exercise break<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Every employee with a disability is entitled to an <strong>additional 15-minute break<\/strong> for rehabilitative exercise or rest.<\/li>\n<li>The break <strong>counts as working time<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Additional annual leave<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Available to employees with a <strong>severe or moderate degree<\/strong> of disability.<\/li>\n<li>Entitlement: <strong>10 working days<\/strong> in a calendar year.<\/li>\n<li>Condition: the employee must have worked for at least <strong>one year<\/strong> after being classified as having the relevant degree of disability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The entitlement <strong>does not apply<\/strong> if the employee:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is entitled to more than 26 working days of annual leave; or<\/li>\n<li>Is entitled to additional leave under separate provisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Periodic paid leave from work<\/h3>\n<p>This applies to employees with a <strong>severe or moderate degree<\/strong> of disability. It covers paid leave from work for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Attending a rehabilitation stay<\/strong>: up to 21 working days, no more than once a year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Undergoing specialist examinations, medical treatments, or obtaining or repairing orthopaedic equipment<\/strong>, if these activities cannot be carried out outside working hours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Financial support for employers<\/h2>\n<p>Hiring a person with a disability gives you access to several support instruments. Their conditions are set out below.<\/p>\n<h3>Reimbursement of workplace adaptation costs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Available to an employer who hires a person with a disability for <strong>at least 36 months<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Reimbursement covers adapting premises and purchasing devices or equipment that make work easier.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What to do:<\/strong> apply to the starosta (county executive) with jurisdiction over the place where the person with a disability is employed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Wage subsidy<\/h3>\n<p>You may qualify for a subsidy if you meet one of the following conditions:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>You operate a <strong>protected workplace<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>You employ <strong>at least 25 employees<\/strong> on a full-time-equivalent basis and people with disabilities make up <strong>at least 6% of your workforce<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>You employ <strong>fewer than 25 employees<\/strong>, provided that you have no overdue liabilities to PFRON (the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Monthly subsidy amounts<\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Degree of disability<\/th>\n<th>Subsidy amount<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Severe<\/td>\n<td>PLN 2,400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Moderate<\/td>\n<td>PLN 1,350<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mild<\/td>\n<td>PLN 500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Amount limits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The subsidy may not exceed the employee\u2019s <strong>monthly remuneration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The limit is <strong>90% of actual monthly employment costs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>If you conduct business activity within the meaning of state-aid rules, the limit falls to <strong>75% of employment costs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Reimbursement of ZUS contributions<\/h3>\n<p>PFRON funds part of the social insurance contributions for the person with a disability. <strong>What to do:<\/strong> in the settlement declaration, indicate the relevant code and enter the contribution amount funded by PFRON.<\/p>\n<h3>Reimbursement of training costs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Training costs for a person with a disability may be reimbursed from PFRON funds.<\/li>\n<li>Reimbursement is <strong>up to 70% of costs<\/strong>, but no more than <strong>twice the average wage<\/strong> per person.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What to do:<\/strong> submit an application to PFRON.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>PFRON-related relief<\/h3>\n<p>To make full use of relief connected with employing people with disabilities, ensure that people with disabilities account for <strong>at least 6% of total employment<\/strong>, calculated on a full-time-equivalent basis. For maximum benefits, aim for <strong>60%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Additional support: hiring an unemployed person with a disability<\/h2>\n<p>If you hire a person with a disability who is registered as unemployed, you may obtain:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wage reimbursement<\/strong>: up to 60%.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reimbursement of that person\u2019s social insurance contributions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conditions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sign an agreement with the starosta.<\/li>\n<li>Employ the person for <strong>at least 12 months<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Summary: what to do first<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Check the certificate<\/strong>: make sure the candidate has a current certificate confirming their degree of disability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Choose the form of employment<\/strong>: an employment contract, contract of mandate or specific-work contract. None requires special changes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adjust working time and leave<\/strong>: take account of statutory hour limits, additional leave and breaks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Apply for subsidies<\/strong>: check whether you meet the conditions for wage subsidies and reimbursement of ZUS contributions and training costs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adapt the workplace<\/strong>: if you plan to employ the person for at least 36 months, apply to the starosta for reimbursement of adaptation costs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Monitor the employment rate of people with disabilities<\/strong>: the higher it is, the more PFRON relief may be available.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/publikacje\/employing-person-with-disability-poland\/\">Hiring a person with a disability<\/a><\/strong> gives you practical tools to reduce employment costs. It is also a decision that strengthens the team and helps build an organization open to diversity.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Which documents should I check to hire a person with a disability lawfully and apply for a subsidy?<\/strong> Before hiring, establish whether the candidate has a current certificate from a county or provincial disability assessment board, or a certificate issued by a ZUS certifying doctor. Without one of these documents, you cannot apply the rules on employing people with disabilities or use the available relief and subsidies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can I hire a person with a disability on a B2B or mandate basis, or must it be an employment contract?<\/strong> You may hire a person with a disability under an employment contract, a contract of mandate or a specific-work contract. You do not need a special type of contract solely because of the disability. The general Labour Code provisions apply, and the contract terms do not differ from those used for an employee without a disability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the working-time rules for an employee with a disability, including overtime, night work and additional breaks?<\/strong> For a mild degree of disability, the limits are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week; for a moderate or severe degree, they are 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week. The ban on night work and overtime applies to all degrees, unless the employee guards property or a doctor gives consent at the employee\u2019s request. Every employee with a disability is also entitled to an additional 15-minute break for rehabilitative exercise or rest, counted as working time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What additional leave and time-off rights does an employee with a moderate or severe degree of disability have?<\/strong> An employee with a severe or moderate degree is entitled to 10 working days of additional annual leave, provided they have worked for at least one year after being classified at that degree. The employee is also entitled to paid time off for a rehabilitation stay (up to 21 working days, once a year) and for specialist examinations, medical treatment or orthopaedic equipment, if these cannot take place outside working hours.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What subsidies and reimbursements can an employer receive for hiring a person with a disability?<\/strong> An employer may receive a monthly wage subsidy of PLN 2,400 for a severe, PLN 1,350 for a moderate and PLN 500 for a mild degree of disability, subject to a limit of 75% to 90% of employment costs. PFRON also offers reimbursement of ZUS contributions, workplace adaptation costs (application to the starosta and employment for at least 36 months) and up to 70% of training costs, capped at twice the average wage per person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A practical guide to Polish rules on working time, leave and breaks, plus the wage subsidies and reimbursements available to eligible employers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","sip_alt_url":"","sip_en_pl_url":"","sip_pair_uuid":"","sip_pair_state":""},"categories":[1442],"tags":[1448,1528,1546],"specialization":[1212],"practice_area":[],"class_list":["post-3906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-labor-law","tag-compliance","tag-labor-law","tag-risk-assessment","specialization-labor-law"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4165,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3906\/revisions\/4165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3906"},{"taxonomy":"specialization","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialization?post=3906"},{"taxonomy":"practice_area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/practice_area?post=3906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}