Changes in the law, regardless of the area they concern, can be a challenge even for lawyers. Many planned changes are not even implemented, they remain in the realm of ideas and assumptions. In the case of the Act on Foreigners, it was successfully implemented in January 2022. What has changed in the law on the work of foreigners?
What has the employment of foreigners looked like so far?
So far, both foreigners who want to work in Poland and employers who want to hire people from abroad have struggled with bureaucracy. Legalization of stay and employment involved meeting a number of different procedures and filling out countless documentation. For a person unfamiliar with the regulations, this could be a challenge. At that time, for example, using an employment agency worked perfectly. Some also decided to search for answers on the Internet on their own. Unfortunately, not all the information you find is a reliable source, so it is better to trust specialists in legal matters. Although you do not need to know all the regulations by heart, it is worth keeping an eye on changes in the laws that directly affect us.
What changes have been made to the Act on Foreigners?
Among the changes introduced in the Act on Foreigners, it is worth noting a few most important points.
- Granting temporary residence and work permits to foreigners – this procedure has been simplified. Currently, foreigners no longer need to be provided with a place of residence in Polish. What else? They are also not obliged to have a source of stable and stable income that will allow them to support themselves and their families.
- Changes in uniform permits – so far, when changing the name of a workplace, even if the same scope of duties is maintained, the foreigner had to apply for a change or issue of a new work permit. The same was true for the change in working time and the proportional increase in remuneration. Now there is no need for this, because the catalogue of cases that do not require changing or issuing new permits has been extended.
- Extension of the period of work – the possibility of entrusting work on the basis of a declaration on entrusting work to foreigners from six countries, i.e. Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Moldova, has been regulated. A foreigner with a declaration can now work for 24 months on the basis of one declaration.
- The amount of remuneration – the issue of remuneration for foreigners was difficult to estimate for many employers. Some of them used the help of an employment agency.
Now the case, although seemingly intended to make the situation easier, may make it difficult to employ foreigners. What are the employers’ concerns? According to the new provision, the remuneration of a foreigner cannot be lower than the minimum wage for work (in 2022 it is 3100 gross). What is more, it does not depend on the number of working hours and the type of employment. This means that the rate will not change regardless of whether the job is full-time or part-time. The same applies to a contract of mandate or an employment contract. This change may raise doubts in terms of differentiation of the financial situation between foreigners and Poles.
- New deadlines for the process of legalization of stay and employment – does this change improve the process? The time for issuing a temporary residence permit has changed. It is 60 days, after which theoretically every foreigner should receive a permit. Unfortunately, this change is unlikely to be applied in practice, and may prolong the waiting process. Although foreigners often wait months for permits to be issued, currently, after the introduction of the 60-day deadline, they lose the opportunity to exercise their rights to timely consideration of the case faster.
There are more changes to the Act on Foreigners, so in addition to the main assumptions, it is worth familiarizing yourself with all of them to avoid difficulties. In case of problems, you can use an employment agency that specializes in helping both foreigners and employers.
How to facilitate the employment of foreigners?
It is worth remembering that the current amendment to the Act contains a provision on increasing the staff of consular services. Unfortunately, the number of employees in voivodeship offices is still often insufficient in relation to the constantly growing number of duties. What’s more, the application process itself can be difficult, due to the need to appear in person at the office. Therefore, foreigners looking for a job or employers who want to employ foreigners can make the recruitment process easier. For example, the Katowice Employment Agency can help with all formalities, which will not only submit the necessary documents, but also explain the intricate procedures. The recruitment teams of the employment agency also have the ability to conduct recruitment interviews in different languages and match the candidates “qualifications with the employers” offers. The ability to obtain all the necessary information and support in one place definitely facilitates both the employment of foreigners and their job search.