Working in Poland: 10 Scams Ukrainians Should Know About
10 employment scams targeting Ukrainians in Poland: hidden wages, fake documents, unexpected deductions and unrecorded working hours
A job advertisement offering a high hourly rate in Poland can look very appealing, but the amount you actually receive may be lower because of bonuses, conditions that were not mentioned upfront or deductions you did not expect.
When looking for a new job in Poland, it is easy to focus on an attractive vacancy. The hourly rate may seem much higher than expected, the employer may promise that the paperwork will be ready quickly, and an agency may say that it will take care of all the formalities and that you only need to arrive with your documents. The situation can look different when you finally see the contract. Conditions that were never discussed during the interview may suddenly appear.
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According to Gremi Personal, candidate enquiries received over the past six months point to ten common schemes. They are not limited to salary payments. Problems can also involve social-security contributions, taxes, medical certificates, student status, working-time records and a foreigner's legal right to work.
Poland's foreign-worker recruitment market is competitive, and agencies often attract candidates with promises of quick departure, good pay and very little paperwork. If an employer tells you that everything will be sorted out “later”, will not show you the contract before you start or cannot give you a clear explanation of how much you will be paid, it is better to stop and check the details first.
In 2026, Poland is increasing its control over the employment of foreign nationals. Since 8 July, the National Labour Inspectorate has had the power to reclassify a civil-law or B2B contract as an employment relationship when the actual conditions correspond to ordinary employment. Employers also need to pay closer attention to employment notifications and workers' documents.
Worth knowing: Poland’s minimum wage in 2027: a comparison with Ukraine.
Let us take a look at the main employment and job scams in Poland.
The employer or agency may tell you the total amount you will earn, while the contract contains only the minimum wage or another lower figure. The remaining money is supposed to be handed over in cash after the shift or at the end of the month. On paper, the offer looks attractive, but only the amount included in the documents can be claimed with certainty.
The problem is that the unofficial part of the payment may never arrive. If the agreement exists only in a conversation or was made verbally, proving it is much harder than claiming an amount stated in the contract. Social-security contributions and future benefits are also based on officially reported income, which can reduce the protection available to the employee.
An agency representative may tell you that registration with ZUS will be done after the probation period or once you receive your first salary. If you have already started working and the contract requires insurance, this is a reason to ask questions.
A missing registration can indicate that the employer has not fulfilled their obligations or is not planning to formalise the employment correctly. For the worker, the consequences may include problems with social-security protection and a lack of reliable proof that the employment has been properly registered.
Sometimes an agency may offer to arrange a medical certificate without an actual examination so that a worker can start a shift sooner. It may be described as a routine agency procedure or as a way to avoid losing time.
A false document does not make the employment legal. If the certificate is discovered during an inspection, residence legalisation or document renewal, it can create serious problems. Depending on the circumstances, the use of a forged document can also have criminal-law consequences.
An intermediary may ask a worker to sign a declaration saying that they are not a tax resident of Poland even though their actual circumstances may indicate otherwise. Signing such a statement does not determine tax residence by itself. The authorities look at factors including the person's period of stay and centre of vital interests.
If a person lives and works in Poland while their documents present a different situation, the tax authorities may ask them to correct their declarations and pay additional tax. Interest may also be charged. Providing incorrect information can make later communication with Polish authorities more complicated.
Worth reading: Ukrainians who lost their jobs because of the war can file a claim with the Register of Damage.
Another scheme involves registering a worker as a student even though they are not actually studying or cannot provide documents confirming their student status. This can lower the agency's contribution costs, while the resulting risks are left with the employee.
Student status affects tax and social-security calculations only when there is a real legal basis for it. If the status is falsely declared, the issue can go beyond the salary calculation. The information can also be reflected in documents relating to the person's right to work and stay in Poland.
A vacancy may advertise PLN 35–36 per hour, but this does not necessarily mean that every hour will be paid at that rate. The higher amount may depend on meeting a target, arriving on time, completing a certain number of shifts or satisfying other requirements that are explained only after the worker arrives.
Before signing anything, ask which hourly rate is guaranteed, whether the stated amount is gross or net, what conditions apply to the higher rate and whether the employer can change the bonus rules. A figure in a job advertisement is not a substitute for a clearly written contractual provision.
An employer may advertise a total hourly amount that already includes a productivity, attendance or target-related bonus. A candidate can easily understand that figure as the regular wage even when the basic rate is much lower.
The bonus may disappear if you take sick leave, miss a shift, arrive late or fail to reach the required target. As a result, the final payment can be considerably lower than the amount discussed during recruitment. Ask for the basic rate, additional payments and bonuses to be listed separately in the contract.
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A worker may have completed 220 hours while the payslip shows only 180. Hours can disappear from the timesheet because some shifts were not recorded, preparation time was excluded or the total was rounded in the employer's favour.
Keep your own record of every shift. Write down the date, start and finish time, breaks, night hours and any additional work. Keep schedules, messages from the coordinator, photographs of timesheets and payslips as well. Such records can be useful if you later need to demonstrate how many hours you actually worked.
Another way of reducing the final payment is to use one hourly rate for every shift. Depending on the type of contract and the actual working conditions, however, night work, overtime and work on public holidays may be subject to different payment rules.
When extra hours are missing from the records, it becomes harder to claim the correct amount. Pay close attention if a coordinator asks you to stay after your shift “off the record” or tells you that all additional payments are already included in the general hourly rate without showing you how the amount was calculated.
A candidate may be told one amount during recruitment and then receive much less on payday. The difference may be explained by charges for accommodation, transport, work clothes, meals, document processing or penalties connected with internal rules.
Any lawful deduction should have a clear basis and should be agreed appropriately. If a deduction was never mentioned before you signed the contract and appears only in the first salary calculation, ask the employer to explain it. Be especially careful with “penalties” for resigning, refusing an additional shift, being late or changing accommodation.
The most obvious result is losing some of the money you have earned. But financial loss is not the only issue. If the official documents show one rate while a different amount was agreed only verbally, you may have little reliable evidence when trying to claim the unpaid part of your salary.
Problems with ZUS can affect social and medical protection. Incorrect information concerning taxes or student status can result in amended declarations, additional tax payments and requests for explanations from Polish authorities. Fake medical certificates and false statements in official documents can create more serious consequences.
A foreigner's legal status is another factor. If your right to work or stay depends on a particular employer, mistakes made by an agency can raise questions about whether the employment is legal. In some cases, the worker may only discover the problem during an inspection, when renewing documents or when trying to change employers.
The new control system also puts more emphasis on what actually happens at work. If a person follows a schedule, works under the employer's direction and performs their duties at the employer's workplace, the name written on the contract does not necessarily determine the true nature of the relationship. In 2026, the Polish labour inspectorate has broader powers to assess such situations.
Ask the employer or agency for the complete contract before travelling to Poland. Check that it specifies the employer, position, workplace, contract type, rate of pay, payment procedure, schedule, overtime rules and possible deductions.
Find out exactly who will employ you: a Polish company, an employment agency or another intermediary. Check the company
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18 of September 2026
