Hiring employees from Poland: Employer of Record (EoR)

More and more international companies are building teams in Poland thanks to the country’s strong talent pool and flexible operating environment. The real challenge usually isn’t recruitment — it’s the question of how to hire someone in Poland legally and efficiently when you don’t have a Polish company or local HR and payroll infrastructure.

This is exactly where the Employer of Record (EoR) in Poland model comes in. It enables you to launch employment under an employee relationship (rather than a contractor model) without setting up a local legal entity — by transferring employer obligations to a Polish entity that handles HR administration, payroll, Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) compliance, and employment-related tax settlements in line with Polish labour law.

Below, we explain what EoR is, when it makes sense, how it compares to establishing your own company in Poland or using B2B contractors, what the process looks like step by step, and what costs and risks you should consider before choosing a model.

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Employer of Record in Poland: what it is and when it applies

An Employer of Record (EoR) is a model in which a Polish entity becomes the formal employer of the person hired in Poland, while your foreign company uses that person’s work based on a service agreement signed with the EoR provider.

This approach is especially useful when you want to hire in Poland quickly and compliantly — without setting up a subsidiary or branch.

In practice, roles are clearly split:

• EoR (Polish entity): signs the employment contract (or another legally permissible agreement), maintains HR documentation, calculates and pays salary, settles Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) contributions, and handles employment-related taxes and employer duties under Polish labour law.
• Foreign company (EoR client): manages day-to-day work operationally (tasks, goals, tools, work organisation).

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When an EoR is the most rational choice

EoR is not a separate “legal institution” defined directly in Polish law. It’s a practical business solution that often becomes the most efficient option when an international company:

1. Needs an employee relationship (employment contract, ongoing availability, managerial direction, employee benefits) and a B2B model would be unsuitable or risky.
2. Doesn’t want — or can’t quickly build — local employer operations in Poland (ZUS, payroll, HR processes, representation, reporting).
3. Is testing the market or building a small team where setting up a company in Poland isn’t justified yet.
4. Wants to shorten time-to-hire and reduce formal risks during the first stage of expansion.

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Why employing someone in Poland without a Polish entity can be operationally difficult

The issue is rarely the employment contract itself — it’s the full set of employer obligations in Poland and ensuring the hiring process remains compliant with Polish regulations.

1) Registrations, settlements, and payroll payer obligations in Poland

Employment performed in Poland typically triggers obligations including:

• registrations and monthly settlements with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS),
• determining who pays advances for Polish Personal Income Tax (PIT) — in some scenarios (e.g., when a foreign employer has no establishment/branch in Poland), PIT advances may be paid directly by the employee,
• maintaining employee documentation in line with Polish requirements,
• implementing health & safety (OHS) procedures, occupational medical checks, working time records, leave and absence tracking.

If these duties aren’t organised correctly, the risk of errors increases — and some administrative burdens may fall onto the employee (including PIT advance payments, and in certain setups also contribution-related settlements), which is often operationally unacceptable.

2) Representation and day-to-day employer administration in Poland

Even without a physical office in Poland, institutions expect timely handling of documents, corrections, and correspondence. In practice, you need:

• structured HR and payroll processes,
• accountability for deadlines and settlement accuracy,
• tools for documentation, archiving, and audit-ready records.

3) Tax and organisational risks that increase with scale

As your team in Poland grows, broader tax topics become more important — especially assessing the risk of creating a permanent establishment (PE), and how an employee’s role may impact your business presence in Poland. In this context, it is also worth reading our article: Hiring remote employees from Poland by foreign companies – when does a permanent establishment arise?

That’s one of the key reasons EoR can remove the biggest operational barriers: the formal employer is based in Poland and takes over the HR/payroll compliance burden.

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How Employer of Record fits into other hiring models in Poland

EoR should be considered alongside other options typically used when hiring from Poland. In practice, the decision usually comes down to three models:

• employee hiring (directly or through an EoR),
• B2B cooperation with a self-employed individual,
• building your own structure in Poland (e.g., by setting up a company).

Each model allocates employer obligations, formal risk, and fixed costs differently — so it should be aligned with your team size, the role, and your long-term plans in Poland.

The broader formal and organizational context is described in our article: Hiring employees from Poland – what foreign employers need to know. We describe the B2B cooperation model here: Hiring employees from Poland: B2B contracts.

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Employer of Record vs a company in Poland: comparison

The comparison below shows when EoR is a sensible transitional stage — and when it may be better to build your own structure in Poland from the start.

Criterion	Employer of Record (EoR)	Your own company in Poland
Time to start	Usually short (days/weeks)	Longer (registration + setting up processes)
Fixed costs	Service fee + employment costs	Company admin costs + employment costs
HR & payroll compliance	Mostly on the EoR side	On your company side (or your outsourcing provider)
Formal control	Formally with the EoR	Formally with your company
Scaling	Convenient at the start and for smaller teams	Often more cost-efficient at larger scale
Market presence	Without a local company	Full local presence (contracts, tenders, branding)

When EoR wins

• hiring your first people in Poland and starting fast,
• market testing with lower fixed admin costs,
• no readiness to register company in Poland yet.

When your own company wins

• long-term presence and operational growth in Poland,
• need for full formal control of employment relationships,
• larger scale and more complex HR/finance processes.

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Employer of Record vs B2B contractor in Poland

B2B contracting is popular in Poland — but it’s not always the right fit. The key difference is that in B2B you’re not employing an employee; you’re purchasing services from a business owner.

Criterion	Employer of Record (EoR)	B2B contractor
Relationship type	employment	commercial cooperation (service)
Direction & working time	typical for employment	should be limited to avoid resembling employment
Labour law protection	full	not provided by default in B2B
Misclassification risk	lower	higher if cooperation mirrors employment
Best use case	stable role, long-term, continuity	projects, task-based work, flexibility

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Employer of Record costs in Poland: what they include and how to assess them

EoR cost is best viewed as total employment cost in Poland + the EoR service fee, not as margin only.

Most common components include:

1. gross salary,
2. mandatory employer costs and contributions (ZUS and related elements, depending on the setup),
3. PIT advances settled through payroll,
4. additional benefits (if included),
5. EoR fee (usually a fixed monthly fee per employee or a percentage of employment cost),
6. one-off costs (e.g., document preparation and onboarding setup).

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Hiring through an EoR in Poland: step-by-step process

A standard EoR implementation can be adapted to your role, industry, and risk profile.

Step 1: Define the model and scope

• contract type, working time, location and work mode (e.g., remote work),
• role scope and level of direction/control,
• initial review of tax-related risks (e.g., authority to negotiate contracts).

Step 2: Choose the EoR provider and verify compliance

• payroll process standards, documentation and HR-event handling,
• verification that the service model aligns with regulations relevant to the scope.

If the model assumes the worker is assigned to work for and under the direction of the client, it should be verified whether this falls under temporary agency work rules (including whether specific authorisations and registers apply).

Step 3: Agreement between the foreign company and the EoR

Typically covers:

• scope of services (HR, payroll, settlements, reporting),
• responsibilities of both parties,
• invoicing and settlement rules,
• termination terms, confidentiality, and data processing.

Step 4: Candidate offer and document preparation

• documents aligned with Polish labour law,
• salary and benefits setup,
• remote work rules, equipment use, internal procedures (if applicable).

Step 5: Contract signing and registrations

• signing documents,
• ZUS registrations and payroll launch.

Step 6: Onboarding and work start

• formal onboarding handled by the EoR,
• operational onboarding handled by your company.

Step 7: Monthly operations

• payroll calculation, settlements, reporting,
• leave and absence handling,
• contract changes (annexes), bonuses, allowances.

Step 8: Ending employment or switching models

EoR is often transitional — once the team grows, some companies move to their own entity in Poland.

If you decide to move forward with setting up a local entity, explore our support in register company in Poland.

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Payroll, insurance and taxes: what the EoR usually takes over vs what stays with you

What the EoR typically handles

• employee documentation and personnel files,
• payroll calculations and salary payments,
• ZUS settlements,
• employment-related tax settlements,
• leave, sick leave and absence administration,
• standard employer records and procedures.

What stays with the foreign company

• operational management of work (goals, tasks, priorities),
• tools, system access and day-to-day organisation,
• information security standards,
• business decisions on role design, bonuses, team structure.

Remember: EoR reduces many compliance and admin risks, but it doesn’t eliminate all business risks. If the employee’s role affects your commercial presence or decision-making footprint in Poland, you should structure authorities and processes accordingly and assess tax risks.

For complex cross-border scenarios, get support through tax advisory in Poland.

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Who benefits most from an Employer of Record in Poland

EoR is particularly beneficial if:

• you’re hiring your first employees in Poland and want a fast start,
• you need an employee model without building local administration,
• the role requires typical employment characteristics,
• you want HR/payroll compliance and predictable ongoing costs,
• you plan a staged market entry (EoR first, company later).

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Case study: German company hires a Polish specialist through EoR

Starting point: a Berlin-based tech company hires a specialist located in Poland (stable role, full-time, long-term). The company has no Polish entity, and the priority is speed and labour-law compliance.

Why not B2B: the role requires ongoing availability, integration into team processes, and continuity — so B2B would increase misclassification risk.

Solution: the company chooses EoR. The Polish entity:

• employs the person under an employment contract compliant with Polish requirements,
• handles payroll, ZUS and PIT settlements,
• maintains documentation, manages leave and contract changes.

Business outcome: a predictable HR/payroll process without setting up a company in Poland. After several months, with plans to grow the team, the company analyses moving to its own structure.

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How to choose an EoR provider in Poland: a practical checklist

Before signing, verify:

1. Scope of responsibility: documents, deadlines, corrections, audit handling.
2. Service model compliance: including whether the cooperation has features of temporary agency work and whether the provider meets any formal requirements (e.g., registrations) for that activity.
3. Payroll standards: schedule, reporting, bonus and benefits handling, annual settlements.
4. Data & confidentiality: data processing, information security, access control.
5. Cost transparency: what’s included in the fixed fee and what’s billed additionally.
6. Experience with foreign clients: ability to deliver in the governance standard expected by HQ.

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Summary: how to decide and what to prepare

An Employer of Record (EoR) in Poland is especially useful when you want to hire employees from Poland under an employment model, but you don’t yet plan to build a local structure. For many organisations, it’s also a transitional stage: it enables fast hiring now, while giving you time to prepare for establishing a Polish entity once headcount grows.

If you need support with setting up employment, preparing documentation, and structuring settlements, it’s worth combining HR/payroll implementation with tax advisory in Poland.

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If you have any further questions or require additional information, please contact your business relationship person or use the enquiry form on the HLB Poland website.

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