Staff leasing in Poland: how it works and who does what

Staff leasing (praca tymczasowa, leasing pracowników) is a model in which the person’s employer is a temporary work agency, while they work at your company under your direction. The agency signs the contract, pays the wages and pays the ZUS (social security) contributions. You set the tasks, provide a safe workstation and keep working-time records. The rules are laid down in the ustawa z dnia 9 lipca 2003 r. o zatrudnianiu pracowników tymczasowych (the Act on the Employment of Temporary Workers).

Who is the employer and who is the user

There are three parties in staff leasing:

• the temporary work agency (agencja pracy tymczasowej) – the employer; it must be entered in KRAZ, the register of employment agencies;
• your company – the user employer (pracodawca użytkownik), which sets the tasks and supervises how they are done;
• the temporary worker – works for the agency under an umowa o pracę na czas określony (fixed-term employment contract) or under a civil-law contract.

Temporary work is not allowed for every kind of job. The law permits it for seasonal, periodic and one-off tasks, for work your own staff cannot complete in time, and for covering an absent employee. The general rules are also described on the government portal Zielona Linia.

Before the contract with the worker is signed, you agree in writing with the agency the type of work, the qualifications required, the expected duration, the working hours and the place of work. You also inform the agency in writing of the pay for that position, the BHP conditions and the fact that there are no obstacles to temporary work.

Who is responsible for what in staff leasing

The principle of equal treatment applies: a temporary worker may not have worse terms of work and employment than your own employee in the same or a similar position. That is why the agency needs to know your pay scale for that position.

The 18-month limit and work that may not be assigned

A user may use the work of the same temporary worker for no longer than 18 months in total within 36 consecutive months. If the person is covering for one of your absent employees, the limit is up to 36 months without a break, after which they can be assigned to you again no earlier than 36 months later.

The law counts the limit both for the agency (art. 20 ust. 1) and separately for your company in relation to a specific person (art. 20 ust. 3), and the provision for the user does not tie the period to the agency. So do not count on the period resetting if the worker moves to another agency. The user keeps a register of the people doing temporary work for it, with start and end dates.

A temporary worker may not be assigned:

• particularly hazardous work within the meaning of the BHP regulations issued under the Kodeks pracy (Labour Code);
• work in the position of one of your employees while that employee is taking part in a strike;
• work of the same type as that done by an employee whose employment you terminated within the last 3 months for reasons not attributable to employees, if it is to be done in your unit in the same gmina (municipality) where the dismissed employee worked;
• security guard work that requires live firearms or electric stun devices for which a permit is needed.

Using temporary work in these cases, exceeding the limit, failing to keep working-time records or failing to ensure BHP exposes the user, or a person acting on its behalf, to a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.

How the price is built and what goes into the invoice

The money flows like this in staff leasing:

1. You record the hours and, by the agreed deadline, pass on to the agency the data affecting pay: hours, overtime, night work, absences. The law requires the scope of this data and the way it is passed on to be agreed in writing.
2. The agency calculates and pays the wages, deducts the employee’s contributions and the income tax advance, and pays the employer’s contributions.
3. The agency issues you a single invoice, usually for the hours worked at the agreed rate.

The rate in the contract with the agency usually consists of:

• the worker’s gross rate – no lower than that of your employee in a similar position, and no lower than the minimum wage (in 2026, PLN 4,806 gross per month for full-time work);
• employer contributions: pension, disability, accident, Fundusz Pracy (Labour Fund), Fundusz Solidarnościowy (Solidarity Fund) and FGŚP (Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund), plus the PPK contribution for members of PPK (Employee Capital Plans);
• a reserve for paid holiday and other mandatory payments;
• the agency’s margin, which covers recruitment, HR administration, coordination and replacements.

VAT is usually added to the invoice amount. Accommodation, transport or a supervisor, if needed, are usually discussed separately.

When staff leasing beats your own headcount

• seasonal peaks and one-off large orders;
• a quick start for a new shift or line;
• covering for employees during a long absence;
• headcount that changes every week;
• you need foreign workers, and nobody has time to deal with permits.

The agency’s hourly rate is higher than wages plus contributions, because it includes recruitment, HR administration and the margin. What pays off is flexibility: you do not keep surplus people in quiet weeks and do not spend HR time on paperwork. If you need someone in a permanent key role for longer than 18 months, it is more cost-effective to take them on as your own staff.

First-week checklist for the user

1. Sign a written agreement with the agency: type of work, qualifications, duration, working hours, place of work.
2. Give the agency in writing the pay scale for the position, the BHP conditions and confirmation that none of the prohibited circumstances apply.
3. Before the first shift, prepare workwear, PPE, BHP training and a briefing on occupational risk.
4. Enter the people in your working-time records and in the register of people on temporary work, with their start date.
5. Agree with the agency who passes on the hours, how and when, and how holidays and replacements are approved.
6. On every shift, appoint a person who gives the temporary workers their tasks and accepts their work.

How STARKO helps

STARKO is an employment agency in Warsaw registered in KRAZ, with 8 years on the market. In staff leasing the people are formally employed by STARKO: contracts, wages, ZUS and paperwork are handled by us, you receive a single invoice, and the team is easy to scale up for the season and scale down when there is less work. We put forward the first candidates within a few days, the first people start their shifts within a week, and we replace a worker who turns out not to be a good fit free of charge. Tell us who you are looking for, and a manager will get back to you within one working day.