Abstract
Subject and purpose of work: The publication comprises the analysis of the most important legislation governing the employment of foreigners in Poland and the data of significance to developing legal solutions in this area. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the suitability of the adopted solutions to the needs of the labour market.
Materials and methods: The performed legal analysis is closely related to the statistical analysis of the transformations of the Polish labour market which have taken place over the last 6 years, with particular attention to demographic and economic data. The authors also applied qualitative methods in the form of observations concerning the adaptation of Polish laws to the demand for hiring foreigners, as well as the presentation of the results of surveys analysing the opinions and sentiments of labour market participants, labour market forecasts published on a regular basis, and inspections carried out by authorised entities.
Results: The systematic decrease in the Polish population and increasing staff deficits reported by employers are among the most important challenges. The deficits are largely supplemented by Ukrainian employees, yet there are growing concerns that difficulties in acquiring new staff may aggravate, as the competition in attracting foreign staff is becoming increasingly perceptible. In Poland, relevant legal instruments concerning the employment of foreigners are mostly stipulated in the Foreigners Act, the Act on employment promotion and labour market institutions, and in secondary legislation to these Acts. The laws are very complex, they lack comprehensive solutions in the field of foreigner employment policy, while competent offices and authorities experience difficulties in fulfilling their tasks.
Conclusions: It is necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy as part of employment policies, taking into account the urgent and actual demand of the labour market for foreigners’ work.