In the first half of 2022, the number of legally working foreigners in Poland exceeded one million. This raises the need to create a comprehensive regulation containing solutions enabling their employment. In response, the Ministry of Family and Social Policy prepared a draft act on the employment of foreigners.
In connection with the ongoing work on the draft of the above-mentioned act, in the course of social consultations, we submitted to Ms Marlena Maląg, Ministry of Family and Social Policy, our comments on the proposed legal regulations.
In the letter, we suggested, among other things:
- inclusion in the draft act of a temporary residence permit held by Belarusian citizens in connection with a previously held humanitarian visa, which is also the basis for undertaking work in Poland without a permit;
- resignation from the draft provision, according to which a work permit will be issued for a definite period of time not longer than 1 year, if the application for a work permit is submitted by an employing entity conducting business activity for a period shorter than 1 year, when the working time will not exceed ½ full time work or 20 hours a week, or when the foreigner will perform work under a civil law contract;
- enabling the submission of applications for a work permit in paper form or organizing an appropriate number of dedicated points where foreigners will be able to submit them – the project only provides for an electronic form, which may lead to digital exclusion of people who do not have access to the Internet or they cannot use it.
The full text of the letter, including all the solutions we suggest with justification, is available below.