Companies report the need to employ from 100 to even 400 seasonal workers for the pre-Christmas period – says Paweł Sobiegraj, labor market expert, region manager at Manpower.
Recruitment of additional employees mainly concerns:
- warehouse workers,
- couriers,
- inventory workers,
- salespeople and customer advisors,
- product promoters.
Despite the employers' efforts, there are still too few people willing to work
— This year, the pre-Christmas period started earlier than usual — companies operating in trade, logistics and e-commerce started recruitment in the fall, remembering last year's difficulties in finding employees – explains Alex Kartsel, vice president of EWL Group.
The minimum hourly rate, which from January 1 is PLN 30.50 gross, is today a benchmark in trade, logistics and sales support services. — In practice, however, this rate is only a starting point – entrepreneurs are increasingly raising wages to attract and retain crew during the peak season. – adds the expert.
E-commerce has the greatest shortages
— Seasonal workers they can currently count on an average of PLN 34 gross per hour – says Alex Kartsel. In the e-commerce industry, hourly rates have already reached over PLN 36 grosscompared to PLN 33.92 a year ago. The greatest staff shortages in the entire sector concern warehouse workers.
During busy periods, such as Black Friday, rates increase. According to Paweł Sobiegraj, night and weekend work is better paid today than ever before. During the shopping peak, it can bring you an additional PLN 5 per hour. This means that some offers even exceed PLN 41 gross. Despite this, positions are still difficult to fill.
Salaries of seasonal workers in transport and logistics
The median remuneration of couriers is currently approximately PLN 5,930 gross per month, i.e. 14 percent. more than a year earlier – according to EWL Group data. This is one of the fastest growing pay categories in the seasonal sector. It results from a sharp jump in e-commerce orders before the holidays. The increase in demand for couriers is particularly visible in large cities.
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Regional differences in retail
According to EWL analysis, In large retail chains, new employees today earn from PLN 5,100 to PLN 5,500 gross per month, which translates into pay increases of 10-15%. year to year. However, in smaller cities the situation is different. — In the Lublin region, sales rates are approximately PLN 33 gross per hour, while in call centers they are at the minimum national level – PLN 30.50 gross – says Urszula Wit, senior manager of the Manpower agency in Lublin. As he emphasizes, the biggest staff shortages currently concern the warehouse sector, and not – as before – customer service.
Problems with employee availability will not go away
Despite the increase in wages, employers still have difficulties in quickly recruiting staff. The biggest problems occur in smaller towns and regions near the western border, where the availability of seasonal workers is limited – according to Manpower's observations.
— We are increasingly turning to flexible HR support, which allows us to maintain continuity of deliveries and customer service in the key weeks of the end of the year, says Alex Kartsel. — The problem is that the regulations do not keep up with the actual seasonality of the labor market, he adds.
Research by the EWL Foundation, the University of Warsaw and Legalito shows that more than half of companies indicate the long duration of legalization procedures as the main barrier to employing seasonal workers.
Today, permits for such work mainly cover agriculture and the hotel and catering industry, while the largest increase in demand in the fourth quarter is for logistics, warehousing, delivery and trade. – These are the industries that maintain the liquidity of the labor market in December, and at the same time remain outside the definition of seasonal work – notes the vice-president of EWL Group.
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— Companies are increasingly investing in recruitment and work time settlement applications that allow them to respond to operational needs in real time, says Paweł Sobiegraj. Quick payouts are also becoming more and more important – some companies offer the possibility of receiving remuneration before the holidays. This attracts students, moonlighters and those returning to the labor market after a break.
