How to check an employment agency in KRAZ: client checklist

Start your check of an employment agency with the KRAZ register (Krajowy Rejestr Agencji Zatrudnienia, the National Register of Employment Agencies): it shows the number and date of entry, the status and the types of services the agency is authorised to provide. Since 1 June 2025 the requirements for agencies have been tightened, and an agency may place foreigners with a work permit or an oświadczenie (declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner) only 2 years after entry in the register. Below we cover what changed, how to read a KRAZ entry, what the client risks and 10 points to check before signing a contract.

What changed for agencies on 1 June 2025

On 1 June 2025 a new labour market act came into force – the ustawa z dnia 20 marca 2025 r. o rynku pracy i służbach zatrudnienia (Act of 20 March 2025 on the labour market and employment services, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 620). It replaced the previous act – the ustawa z dnia 20 kwietnia 2004 r. o promocji zatrudnienia i instytucjach rynku pracy (Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions) – and changed the rules for employment agencies:

• Registration fee – PLN 1,000 (art. 310). Previously a certificate cost PLN 200.
• Conditions for entry (art. 307 ust. 1). The agency may not have arrears in taxes, social and health insurance contributions, payments to the Fundusz Pracy (Labour Fund) or other funds. The people who manage or represent it may not have convictions for specified offences and crimes, including those against employees’ rights and the reliability of documents. The company may not be in liquidation or bankruptcy.
• Office. Job placement and temporary work require premises where the services are provided. The WUP (Voivodeship Labour Office) in Poznań, citing ministry guidance, says a virtual office does not meet this requirement.
• Foreigners (art. 305 ust. 3). An agency may provide services for foreigners who need a work permit or an oświadczenie only 2 years after entry in the register and with a separate entry, which also costs PLN 1,000.
• Transitional period (art. 445 ust. 6). Agencies registered before 1 June 2025 that had been in the register for less than 2 years and already worked with such foreigners had to apply to amend their entry by 31 August 2025. Those that didn’t lost the right to these services until 2 years have passed since their entry.
• Arrears checks. Agencies are checked quarterly for arrears with ZUS (social security). After notification they are given 14 days to pay, otherwise the agency may be struck off the register.

How to read an agency’s KRAZ entry

The register is public: it is kept by the voivodeship marshals and can be viewed in the STOR system at praca.gov.pl. Search for the agency by name or NIP (tax number) and look at the following.

Check the register yourself rather than relying on a screenshot from the agency: the entry may have changed. If a contractor offers “outsourcing” but the people will in fact work under your supervisors’ direction, the arrangement may be assessed as temporary work. We wrote about the difference in the article outsourcing vs staff leasing.

What the client company risks

• Foreigners. The ustawa z dnia 20 marca 2025 r. o warunkach dopuszczalności powierzania pracy cudzoziemcom na terytorium Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Act on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners) provides for a fine of at least PLN 6,000 per foreigner for anyone who gives work to a foreigner sent by an entity that is not an employment agency. For illegally entrusting work to a foreigner in general, the fine is PLN 3,000 to 50,000. More in the article on fines for illegal employment of foreigners.
• Equal treatment. If the user employer breached the principle of equal treatment of a temporary worker, the worker claims compensation from the agency, and the agency may then recover that amount from the user employer.
• The 18-in-36-months limit applies to both the agency and the user employer: one temporary worker may be assigned for no more than 18 months within any 36 consecutive months.
• User employer duties. Safe working conditions, BHP (health and safety) training, workwear and footwear, and working-time records for temporary workers are the user employer’s responsibility, so in an inspection they will be checked at your company.
• Structure of cooperation. The agreement between the agency and the user employer must be in writing. The law does not allow another intermediary contractor to be placed between them, and payments for temporary work must go through the agency.

The minimum fine for work by a foreigner sent by an entity without employment agency status is set per person, so for a whole crew the risk grows with its size.

10 points to check before signing a contract

1. KRAZ. Number, entry date, status and types of services – checked by you in the register.
2. Foreigners. A separate entry and at least 2 years in the register if the agency will send people with a work permit or oświadczenie.
3. KRS or CEIDG. Who runs the company and may sign the contract, and that it is not in liquidation or bankruptcy.
4. Certificates of no arrears (zaświadczenie o niezaleganiu) from ZUS and the tax office – recent, not a year old.
5. The bank account for invoices is on the Wykaz podatników VAT (the Ministry of Finance’s so-called white list of VAT taxpayers).
6. Office. A real address where the agency meets candidates.
7. Legalising foreigners’ employment. On what basis the people will work, who files the documents, how the agency tracks the expiry of permits and residence cards, and whether it will provide copies of documents on request.
8. Documents for an inspection by PIP (National Labour Inspectorate) or the Straż Graniczna (Border Guard): how quickly the agency can produce contracts, legalisation documents and proof of payment.
9. Pay for workers. Type of contract, a rate not below the minimum (in 2026 – PLN 4,806 gross a month for full-time work or PLN 31.40 an hour on an umowa zlecenie (civil-law contract of mandate)), payment to a bank account on a fixed day. The agency may not charge workers for finding them a job; the fine for this is PLN 3,000 to 30,000.
10. Contract terms. Division of duties for BHP and time recording, monitoring of the 18/36 limit, replacement terms and timescales, liability of the parties, third-party liability (OC) insurance and references from other clients.

How STARKO helps

STARKO is an employment agency in Warsaw registered in KRAZ: 8 years on the market, over 6,000 people placed in work and over 135 client companies. We legalise foreigners’ employment, keep workers’ documents in order in case of a PIP inspection and replace a worker who isn’t a good fit free of charge. Ways of working with us are on our for employers page.