We are very pleased that LeasingTeam has been honoured with a prestigious distinction in the Outsourcing Stars Competition. This is the only event of this kind in Poland, dedicated to the Modern Business Services sector, confirms our position as the fastest growing organization in the HR Employee Leasing category.

Anna Kurczewska-Formela, Director of the Recruitment Department at LeasingTeam Professional, received the award on behalf of our company. We would like to thank the organizers of the competition for the award and our customers for their trust, which is a motivation for us to constantly improve our services.

We also congratulate the other winners who were also successful in the competition. Together, we are creating the future of the Modern Business Services sector in Poland.

According to data published by the Central Statistical Office, the unemployment rate in Poland in January 2023 was 5.5%. This means that out of 1.2 million people of working age, 64.1 thousand were unemployed. Every month the situation improves.

The situation on the labor market depends on many factors, such as the condition of the economy, the level of investment, government policy, and others. In recent years, relatively low unemployment rates have been recorded compared to some European Union countries, which may indicate a relatively good situation on the labour market. The number of jobs also increased, and wages increased.

The number of refugees from Ukraine has certainly had a huge impact on the situation. There are some natural changes taking place in this field,” explains Serhii Levchenko, Head of Foreign Recruitment at LeasingTeam Group. At this point, refugees take up work at lower levels, which is dictated primarily by the lack of knowledge of the Polish language, Polish realities, cultural barrier and the simple desire to take up any job at the first stages of life abroad. This phenomenon is identical to the one that took place after Polish’s accession to the European Union. Like Poles then, today Ukrainians are slowly becoming part of the European reality and will soon start to occupy higher and higher positions, which in turn will cause a decrease in demand for lower-level positions.

Work is lying on the street?

LeasingTeam experts emphasize that the number of offers is definitely growing in the financial and medical industry. Due to the aging of the population, growing medical needs and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry needs more and more employees, such as nurses, doctors, physiotherapists and paramedics,” says Serhii Levchenko. Another group of people who are urgently sought are construction workers: bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers and roofers. There is also a boom in drivers, suppliers, welders, locksmiths, electricians or electromechanics, i.e. qualified employees with technical skills.

Currently, however, the greatest demand for work is in transport and logistics. This is due to the fact that many men from Ukraine worked in this industry, who left to defend their homeland after the war began,” says Anna Ender, Regional Development Director at LeasingTeam Group Polska. Other most sought-after industries are IT (m.in. engineers and database analysts), as well as heavy industry, which suffers the most after the closure of vocational schools (welders, turners, grinders). In the last decade, we have also observed a huge demand for craftsmen. This is due to the trend when in Poland for many years higher education has been a measure of an employee’s value, while vocational education is treated as less valuable. As a result, we have a huge shortage of craftsmen with individual qualifications and a huge number of masters without experience or even a specific learned profession.

The simpler the recruitment process, the easier it is to find employees. Young people are eager to take up professions such as assistants, receptionists, warehouse workers, or online customer service employees,” Levchenko enumerates. This job often requires a nice appearance and communication skills, which often attracts students. In the coming months, it may also be easier to find employees in industries affected by the economic slowdown, such as tourism, gastronomy, entertainment and culture.

Is Poland a “green island”?

Despite the visible increase in demand for employees, according to Anna Ender from LeasingTeam Group, Poland is not a “green island” in Europe. The low level of unemployment is due to the fact that in our society an increasing percentage of people are retiring and it is difficult for us to fill this gap with young working people. Serhii Levchenko is of a similar opinion. Although Poland is still at the forefront of countries with the lowest unemployment in Europe, I remain moderately optimistic about this. The situation is mainly influenced by the demographic state of the country, i.e. the aging society, which inevitably means that there are fewer people of the so-called working age. The economic situation of the country is also of great importance, which means that more and more employees are looking for an additional source of income to improve the household budget. We observed a similar phenomenon during the pandemic and lockdown. Employees confined to their homes, looking for variety in their professional lives, often took up casual jobs, mainly in the logistics industry as couriers and delivery people.

Employees’ time

According to LeasingTeam’s experts, this year will remain the year of the employee, and employers will have to show great flexibility by introducing remote or hybrid work where possible, as well as financial transparency forced by inflation and the rising cost of living. Serhii Levchenko notes that when it comes to employees, there is currently a great need to stabilize the financial situation. “Keeping their finger on the pulse” and constantly observing the labor market, they take part in recruitment processes to check their capabilities – points out the expert. Let’s notice how much the benefits profile attracting potential candidates has changed. Today, employees expect from their employer not only salary transparency, but also clearly defined career paths and development opportunities. This results in job rotation – employees want to improve their qualifications to develop their careers. In the era of globalization of the labor market in certain sectors, such as broadly understood IT, it is easier for an employee to find a job in another city or even country, with different salary realities. All this means that the employer must show considerable flexibility in responding to the needs and expectations of a good, qualified employee if they want to keep them for longer.

Flexibility – this is this year’s key word in the labour market. Employees will also have to demonstrate this trait in cooperation, as an increasing number of companies will switch to hiring people only in the case of higher demand dictated by seasonality and sudden orders.

The changes to the Labour Code regarding remote work that are coming into force are not a complete revolution. The pandemic forced all of us to adapt to working in isolation – life itself carried out a reform that only had to be sanctioned.

A few changes in remote work

The legislator has resorted to solutions already known to the labour law:

What do you need to know when introducing remote work in your company?

However, there are a few things to keep in mind as you prepare to transform your company’s work policies.

First of all, remote work does not have to be work at a computer or with the use of a phone (although it probably usually will). However, in any case, the costs of work tools are borne by the employer. Therefore, it is crucial to determine what work – if it requires something more than a computer and a phone – can realistically be done at home. Remote work will dominate, as it seems, the sphere of white-collar work, although theoretically physical work can also be performed remotely.

Secondly, remote work must be safe for all concerned. Hence, it is necessary not only to develop rules for controlling employees or training them in the area of occupational health and safety. A very important aspect is also the confidentiality of legally protected information, including personal data. You can probably count on quite serious (and necessary) studies with quite funny titles in the future, such as “Children and husband as risk factors in the protection of personal data”.

Thirdly, remote work will never be accepted as a binding and once and for all. The rule, if it was introduced during employment, is that remote work is revocable by each party. A certain exception is on the part of the employer, where this freedom is limited when employing particularly privileged employees indicated in the Act (in principle, a kind of privilege applies to situations related to parenthood). Therefore, it is worth thinking not only about the plan for transferring employees to remote work, but also a plan to get out of a situation where working from home overwhelms someone. Hence, the optimistic liquidation of office space should be replaced with a well-thought-out liquidation.

In addition, the information normally provided to employees upon taking up employment (Article 29 § 1 of the Labour Code) will be expanded to include certain information related to remote work. Therefore, it is worth making sure that the forms used in HR are updated.

Does the law work correctly?

The legislator amends the labour law, changes, improves, but still omits the resolution of certain fundamental problems. One of them is the problem of the form of legal action in labour law. The slavish use of the concept of actions performed “in writing” (instead of the written form), as well as the addition of “paper form” (which is not known what it actually is) or “electronic form” (which is not known to the Civil Code, after all, the “electronic form”) only deepens the chaos.

And subsequent changes are supposed to simplify the lives of employers and employees. This is probably why employee requests related to remote work, for which the regulations require a written form, can be submitted “in paper or electronic form”. It was supposed to be simpler, but it turned out as usual – lawyers still have something to think about.

Definition of remote work – remote work and amendments to the Labour Code

The latest regulations on remote work specify exactly what work from home should be and what the rules for remote work are. It consists strictly in performing the activity completely or partially in the place indicated by the employee. It is also important that the place of remote work must be agreed with the employer each time, and everything should be done using means of direct communication.

The legislator indicates that the key to this definition is that the place of remote work, occasional or permanent, is agreed with the employer. In a situation where the place of operation is indicated by the employer, then we do not talk about remote work.

To better understand the definition of remote work, I will use an example to illustrate this:

Mr. Patryk works at the company’s headquarters 2 days a week. However, I work remotely at my place of residence for three days. The employee himself indicated the apartment, so we are talking about the place of remote work, which was agreed between Mr. Patryk and the employer.

Importantly, there is one more important aspect associated with remote work. Neither the employer nor the employee can impose on the other party the place where remote work will be performed.

Employee’s request for remote work – how to move to remote work

An employee may submit a request to perform remote work, and the employer must take this into account in the case of employees:

Of course, the employer may refuse, but only if this type of work cannot be performed due to the type of work performed by the employee or the organization of work in the company. The employer must then inform the employee in writing in paper or electronic form within 7 working days of submitting the request.

Review of the new provisions on remote work in the Labour Code

New regulations on remote work have been introduced to the Labour Code in Poland in order to adapt the law to the reality in which work outside the company’s headquarters is becoming an integral part of full-time work.

Here are the key changes:

Remote work and the employer’s new obligations – what is changing?

The introduction of the new regulations imposes a number of additional obligations on the employer, which are aimed at creating appropriate conditions for an employee performing remote work so that he or she can fully perform his or her duties outside the company’s headquarters.

Costs of remote work: What does the employer cover under the new regulations?

According to the latest regulations, the employer is obliged to cover many fixed costs of an employee performing remote work. Of course, these are mainly things from the list of the so-called necessary to perform work.

Termination of a remote work contract – amendments to the Labour Code

The employer and the employee can agree that the work will only be performed for a certain period of time. Termination of remote work may occur in a situation where each party submits an appropriate request to return to stationary work. Therefore, the employee and the employer decide whether to terminate remote work.

The LeasingTeam Capital Group has received a certificate from the Investor in Human Capital 2022 programme, which is awarded to companies and institutions that think responsibly about the development of their employees’ competences.

The Investor in Human Capital index for LeasingTeam Group was 72 percent, placing the company above the threshold of positive certification (amounting to 70 percent). This indicator is calculated as an average of five certification areas: overall job satisfaction, commitment, relationships (communication, cooperation), competences (development, responsibilities and working conditions) and the employee as an ambassador.

“We are very grateful and honoured to receive the distinction. We are very happy that our employees appreciate the company as an employer – said Dominika Zaczek-Chrzanowska, HR Director at LeasingTeam Group. “Customers are not the most important. Employees are the most important. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers” – these words of Richard Branson reflect the HR policy in our organization. We are aware of how important people, their commitment and loyalty to the employer are for business development. The appreciation of the company by the employees themselves confirms our belief that we have chosen the right direction. The emblem of the Investor in Human Capital program is not only an honor, but above all an obligation to continue hard work – she commented.

The Investor in Human Capital program has been run since 2006. The independent research company Experience Institute (operating since 2019 on behalf of the Digital Knowledge Observatory Foundation) is responsible for the research. Its aim is to constantly improve the level of human resources management in Poland, promote the importance of investment in human capital as the most valuable asset of enterprises, as well as gather knowledge about valuable practices and initiatives in the field of human resources management.

>>> See other awards and distinctions for LeasingTeam Group

On February 2, we celebrate the Trader’s Day in Poland. This “holiday” is a tribute to the work of all sales representatives, salespeople, account managers and traders, whose competences determine the final success of the company. What competences are we talking about? What are the characteristics of an ideal salesperson? What challenges and obstacles do salespeople have to overcome on a daily basis? Let’s give the floor to Edyta Kowalczyk, Sylwia Michałowska, Mariusz Pysiek and Tomasz Pawluczuk, sales experts at LeasingTeam Group.

“Every salesperson should be patient, specific, flexible, self-confident and trustworthy. A nice appearance is also important. After all, how they see you, that’s how they write the company – says Sylwia Michałowska. – A cheerful disposition is important. An ideal salesperson must be cordial and sympathetic. Among the wide range of soft skills, he should also have communication skills and related negotiation skills – comments Mariusz Pyśk.

The scope of a salesperson’s responsibilities is usually very wide: he searches for and acquires customers, conducts meetings, negotiates the terms of cooperation and maintains good relations with customers, building a positive image of the company at the same time. Therefore, many challenges await him at work, which – in the case of a positive ending – provide great satisfaction. “The biggest challenge is to stand out from the big competition and constantly adapt to the changing business environment ,” says Edyta Kowalczyk. “And when we manage to acquire a developmental customer for our organization or when customers come back to us and recommend our services to others, there is satisfaction and a sense of a job well done ,” he adds. “In addition to winning tender procedures and acquiring large projects for the company, the development of personal competences gives us the most pleasure. Due to the services we provide, we contact companies from various industries and get to know the specifics of their operation, thanks to which we are constantly learning ourselves – says Sylwia Michałowska.

“Nowadays, burnout can also be a challenge in our work, caused by the lack of development or support from superiors and co-workers ,” notes Tomasz Pawluczuk. “A salesperson has to be constantly “against the current”, which affects the level of stress ,” he says. “I would also add inflation to the challenges, which translates into many areas of life, and in our affects the instability of customers. On the other hand, in addition to signing a contract with the client after long and difficult negotiations, satisfaction is given to us by overcoming our own barriers – says Mariusz Pyśk.

The coronavirus pandemic had a major impact on the changes in the work of a salesperson. Traders could forget about the excellent economic situation and breaking sales records. Instead, they limited their activities and looked for new channels of communication with customers. “During the pandemic period, many people started working from home and the number of online meetings increased. It has also become more common to sign contracts and documents remotely – thanks to electronic communication – says Tomasz Pawluczuk. “The slogan “let’s meet on Teams” has stayed with us for longer. Thanks to this, we are often able to get to know and talk to the decision-makers at the client’s site faster. On the other hand, the ability to build long-distance relationships and maintain them in contact other than direct has more power – notes Sylwia Michałowska. “Online meetings have their advantages, because we do not move around and save time. However, we must take care of interpersonal relationships and also arrange face-to-face meetings – sums up Edyta Kowalczyk.

Many Polish companies operate in industries that are characterized by high seasonality. This means that staff shortages occur only at certain times of the year. This is the case, among others, in agriculture, tourism, hospitality, gardening, gastronomy and the construction industry. For this reason, it is not profitable for an entrepreneur to maintain a wide staff of employees for 12 months, and any problems with the lack of workforce are then solved by seasonal workers, if they are sufficiently available on the local labor market. Candidates for seasonal work are usually people interested in this form of employment, and the help of a temporary employment agency is very often useful in their recruitment.

What exactly is seasonal work in the light of Polish law? How to find candidates for seasonal work and why do entrepreneurs often use the help of an employment agency in this regard? How to find seasonal workers from abroad and complete all the formalities related to their employment? Does seasonal work count towards retirement? We explain!

Who is a seasonal worker?

Seasonal workers, including workers from the East and Ukraine, have been present on the Polish market for years. Although Polish law does not fully define what seasonal work is, it is easy to guess that it applies to employees employed in industries such as agriculture, gastronomy, tourism or hospitality, where the increased demand for workforce appears only temporarily at selected times of the year. In such cases, entrepreneurs offer seasonal work to interested candidates.

A seasonal worker is a person employed in the aforementioned sectors as part of temporary work, which results from seasonality, i.e. the dependence of work on the season and external factors to which it adapts. In terms of seasonal work, one can only find the Supreme Court judgment from 1986, which mentions seasonality, season and weather conditions. In addition, seasonal work is provided for in the Act on the Employment of Temporary Workers. Seasonal work is one of the main reasons for hiring employees as part of temporary work.

How to hire a seasonal worker?

Seasonal workers can be employed by employers on various terms, which include, among others, a fixed-term employment contract or civil law contracts, such as a contract of mandate. The employee and the employer want to take advantage of the most attractive form of employment for both parties.

In the case of a fixed-term employment contract under Polish law, the employer is obliged to hire an employee for an indefinite period if the total duration of the contracts exceeds 33 months or three consecutive contracts are signed. However, this provision does not apply to seasonal workers. Seasonal work is treated differently in Polish law – in this case, the employer is not obliged to present the employee with a permanent contract.

Hiring seasonal workers on the basis of a civil law contract is also quite a popular solution. However, it should be remembered that a contract of mandate is also not an ideal form of cooperation for seasonal work, because the conditions of work performed are then not subject to the Labor Code, but to the Civil Code, and the employee is not obligatorily protected by health insurance and employee rights.

Employment of seasonal workers through an employment agency

Seasonal workers are now very often employed by the employer through a temporary employment agency. Temporary work rules are perfect when the employer operates seasonally, in an industry such as agriculture or gastronomy, as well as in tourism. The use of this solution pays off for all parties, because the increased demand for manpower can be met quickly.

Throughout the employment relationship, seasonal employees remain employed by the agency, which is why the company saves on servicing seasonal employees in terms of HR and payroll. Also, the formalities related to the start of work are on the side of the agency, which prepares the relevant documents. Seasonal workers, on the other hand, are people who care most about such work, because they are not currently looking for permanent employment due to various responsibilities. With the help of a temporary employment agency, you can also employ a foreigner.

Employment of seasonal workers from Ukraine

Hiring workers from Ukraine as seasonal workers has recently become easier. It is carried out on simplified terms, but no longer requires a type S permit. Therefore, there are no obstacles during employment, as long as Ukrainian candidates have a certificate of legal permanent or temporary residence or came to Polish after February 24, 2022.

Who issues a seasonal work permit?

However, there are still a few formalities that the employer must keep in mind. The employer is obliged to report to the district labour office about newly employed people from Ukraine within 14 days. For those who came to Polish after 24 February, this is the only way to report employment, also in the case of seasonal work. Regardless of the formalities and the fact that a special permit is not necessary, hiring seasonal workers from Ukraine through an employment agency may be the most convenient solution for the employer.

Does seasonal work in Poland count towards retirement?

Seasonal workers employed under an employment contract, contract of mandate, as well as those employed by a temporary employment agency, are entitled, like full-time employees, to the same rights – including the right to leave and remuneration as full-time employees. Seasonal work obliges the employer (usually an agency) to pay full social security contributions, including pension, disability and health contributions. Therefore, seasonal work counts towards the pension, unless it is performed on the basis of a contract for specific work.

On 30 December 2022, CPC Consulting Group Sp. z o.o. Sp. K. with its registered office in Wrocław was transformed into LeasingTeam International Sp. z o.o. with its registered office in Wrocław. This change is related to the further development of the company on both Polish and foreign markets.

“Our development plan is to enter new markets. The implementation of this goal will be supported by a new company name, unified in accordance with the group’s strategy. We want to create a strong brand with an established market position – said Andżelika Majewska, Vice-President of LeasingTeam International Sp. z o.o. – The LeasingTeam International brand is intended to identify the values of the entire LeasingTeam group, i.e. responsibility, trust, expert knowledge and commitment – she added.

The change of legal form and name is formal and does not affect the continuation of the company’s business. All other data, including NIP, bank account number, telephone numbers and landline address, remain unchanged. The procedure of changing the legal form and name of the company does not affect the relations with customers and contractors and the obligations concluded so far towards contractors.

The company’s full data as of December 30, 2022 reads:
LeasingTeam International Sp. z o.o.
12 Kurkowa Street, 50-210 Wrocław
tel. +48 71 336 07 25
NIP: 8992734079
REGON: 021835180
Registration: District Court for Wrocław-Fabryczna in Wrocław
VI Commercial Division of the National Court Register
under the KRS number 0001010553.

The joyful Christmas Eve was again a success. Thanks to this year’s edition of this noble campaign, as many as 270 children received bags filled to the brim with Christmas gifts!

After a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic, young charges of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Piaseczno and children and young people from orphanages in Czernice Borowe, Pęchery and Szczutów could meet Santa Claus again and have fun together for a few hours. In Primary School No. 5 in Piaseczno, quite a lot of attractions awaited the guests: a park of inflatables, games with Futrzas from the Warsaw Furries community, tasty refreshments, face painting, decorating gingerbread cookies and artistic performances. The traditional Lion Dance and a Chinese martial arts show were performed by coaches from the Golden Lion school, a short kickboxing lesson was conducted by Kobra Fight Team fighters, hot salsa was danced by Kamila Zimnowodzka and Tomasz Starzyk, and the young audience was amused to tears by the circus performer Maciej Borza. Slightly older guests were taken care of by the WEBskie Babki Foundation, which conducted workshops on face care.

This year’s Joyful Christmas Eve was record-breaking. Thanks to the support of partners, sponsors and private donors, Santa Claus was able to give gifts to as many as 270 children, and bags full of toys, books, clothes and sweets weighed a total of over a ton. “We are very happy to meet again. In the previous two years, our campaign had a slightly different form, but now we can return to the proven formula that allows us to spend this special day together – said Weronika Jarosz, member of the board of the Children’s Joy Foundation, responsible for the organization of the event.

The joyful Christmas Eve took place for the fourteenth time. Eighteen years ago, the initiative was initiated by the community of the Piaseczno Commune, and then – after a five-year break – it was revived by the previous sponsor – LeasingTeam Group, which established the Children’s Joy Foundation dedicated to this important campaign. In 2018, during the first edition organized by the Foundation, Santa Claus gave gifts to 106 children. Now, despite the unfavorable economic situation in the world, this number has increased to 270.

The partner of the Joyful Christmas Eve 2022 was the Self-Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The initiative was supported by: the manufacturer and importer of licensed children’s clothing E plus M, the Keller Foundation, Silekol, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Husqvarna, Glov, the packaging wholesaler Ema-Pol, Jurajska, the Grela confectionery from Lublin, Pizza Hut Piaseczno Karuzela and anonymous donors. Thanks are also due to ML Studio and the APS Multiprint printing house, as well as the Primary School in Nowa Iwiczna, which organized a collection of toys, books and sweets.

The Leasing Team Capital Group has been awarded the title of the Best Employer 2022 in the ranking of Gazeta Finansowa. The editors of the economic weekly awarded companies for which employee satisfaction is the key to success in business.

For years, LeasingTeam Group has been convinced that employee health, motivation and efficiency in the workplace depend on employee satisfaction. For this reason, it takes care of a wide range of services while maintaining attractive conditions. Benefits are tailored to the individual needs and specifics of each client’s business, which gives employees the conviction that they are an important link in the company’s structure. As standard, it offers access to private medical care, the Multisport package and life insurance, but – bearing in mind the current trends – it tries to introduce new solutions, m.in. lunch cards, financial vouchers, additional days off to be collected, as well as personalized training and language courses.

The latest solution, which LeasingTeam Group also treats as an employee benefit, is the proprietary TalentPoint platform. It allows you to automate processes and increase the comfort of employees in terms of signing contracts, submitting applications and recording working time.

LeasingTeam Group is an employee-friendly company from the first stage of recruitment. Candidate experience activities are based on a partnership approach, and then turn it into a dialogue that allows you to build a positive employee experience. He remembers that the example comes from the top: the rules that apply to employees therefore also apply to managers and the board.

Work-life balance is important to LeasingTeam Group, which is why it uses a hybrid work model and flexible working hours. Pets are welcome at the company’s headquarters, and the small casual dress code gives employees freedom and the opportunity to express themselves. The company supports grassroots initiatives of employees and is involved in charitable activities. As part of the established Children’s Joy Foundation, it organizes the Joyful Christmas Eve campaign every year, aimed at helping the most needy children from orphanages, social welfare centers, and from this year also children of refugees from Ukraine.

If you want to join LeasingTeam Group or take part in recruitment conducted by the company for external companies, leave your CV. Our recruiters will contact you shortly.