According to Piotr Arak, the chief economist of Velobank, Poland, compared to other countries, is characterized by a relatively rigid labor code. In OECD studies on regulation of work in developed countries, we fall on average. Both employing and dismissal of employees are associated with high costs and complex procedures.
This is one of the reasons why Poland belongs to countries with the highest share of flexible forms of employment throughout the European Union. According to Arak, since the financial crisis they have remained at a similar level, but in recent years, thanks to good conjunction and growing wages, the negative effects of their use have become less noticeable.
– When the tender force of employees was weaker, they had no chance for similar benefits and code privileges, such as a longer vacation or a longer notice period. Today, employees are gaining a greater negotiating position – comments the economist.
The full -time job is increasingly losing to civil law contracts and B2B
The authors of the EY Gigbarometer 2025 report emphasize a slight decline in the general market flexibility indicator (from 5.1 in 2024 to 4.8 currently). Still, HAYS data shows that as much as 56 percent companies plan to increase cooperation with subcontractors and temporary employees.
A greater impact on the choice of form of cooperation are of the preferences of candidates, not the internal HR policy. The vast majority (80 percent) of external employees are satisfied with the chosen form of cooperation. In turn, employers see no difference in their commitment compared to full -time employees.
Optimization or system gap?
Piotr Arak reminds that the team managed by Marek Skawiński analyzed the data of ZUS and the National Tax Administration, looking for answers who most often chooses self -employment. The results confirmed that the higher the earnings, the more likely the income comes from business. Among the best -earning self -employment, it becomes a default cooperation model.
This shows that self -employment does not only serve people running small, local businesses. Highly rewarded specialists also use it: financial analysts, technological advisers, project managers. And although they are formally entrepreneurs, in practice they do work comparable to full -time – but on their own account and with smaller fiscal loads.
Although flexible forms of employment give greater freedom and allow you to optimize costs, they are not without risk. The widespread use of civil law contracts and self -employment has serious financial consequences, including retirement.
The pension system will not levers
The microfirms today constitute as much as 97 percent. all companies in Poland. The data of the Polish Economic Institute shows that three -quarters of them are sole proprietorship. Although they are formally enterprises, in practice they often act as a substitute for a full -time substitute – without security it offers.
ZUS has been alerting for years: Self -employed often pay minimal social contributions, which threatens with low pension in the future. For some contracts, such as a specific work contract, working time does not count on an insurance internship at all. It is already known today that the situation will require subsidies for minimal benefits from the state budget.
Read also: What the future of pensions in Poland. “You have to tell people the truth”
The microfirms are also characterized by lower productivity and smaller investments in development, which translates into weaker embedding in the social insurance system. As the report of the Polish Economic Institute shows, in the long run it may reduce the competitiveness of the entire economy.
Reforms are needed, but there is no brave to introduce them
As Piotr Arak emphasizes, it is a stalemate for the legislator. On the one hand – low taxes and “simplicity B2B” are socially rooted. Polish society is used to low taxes and is reluctant to accept their growth. The situation is complicated by the fact that very different social groups use tax and contribution preferences. – It is difficult to compare the situation of the owner of a locally operating florist, with the board of the Global Corporation Board – emphasizes the economist. Maintaining the same rules for both cases means that the system ceases to be consistent and fair.
Reconciling the interests of micro -entrepreneurs with the need for fair taxation of well -paid specialists is not a simple thing. – Facilitated transition to self -employment blocks constructive dialogue over possible changes in the system. It is more difficult to design reforms modeled on other countries, such as Great Britain or Germany – says Arak. The debate on the unification of loads ends at an ideological level.
Employment flexibility ceased to be only a competitive advantage. It became a condition for survival for many companies – but also a source of uncertainty for employees and the state. Long -term retirement, system and social consequences are a real threat. Organizing the principles of the labor market functioning will be one of the biggest challenges in the coming years.
