If you’ve been offered work in Poland under an umowa zlecenie (a “mandate contract” or “contract of mandate”) rather than a full employment contract (umowa o pracę), you’re dealing with a civil-law agreement, not a labor-law one. It’s governed by the Civil Code (Kodeks Cywilny), not the Labor Code (Kodeks Pracy), which changes how pay, social security, and termination work. Here’s what’s actually current for 2026, including a few rules that didn’t exist a decade ago: a mandatory minimum hourly rate, mandatory hour-tracking, and the real termination rules.

How umowa zlecenie differs from an employment contract

The core difference from an umowa o pracę is that a mandate contract is a civil-law agreement. Like an umowa o dzieło (specific-task contract), its rules sit in the Civil Code (Art. 734-751), not the Labor Code.

Businesses and contractors often prefer it precisely because it’s more flexible to set up and can lower certain costs on both sides. An umowa zlecenie generally comes with:

  • more flexible working arrangements (no rigid Labor Code schedule);
  • social and health insurance coverage through ZUS / NFZ (with exceptions: see the overlapping-titles section below);
  • a guaranteed minimum hourly rate;
  • a mandatory record of hours worked (since 2017).

The Civil Code lets the parties draft the contract freely, as long as it states the remuneration, the type of work, and the deadline for completing it.

Minimum hourly rate in 2026

As of January 1, 2026, the minimum gross hourly rate on an umowa zlecenie is 31.40 PLN, up 0.90 PLN from 30.50 PLN in 2025. Unlike the employment-contract minimum wage, this rate stays fixed for the entire year regardless of how many working days fall in a given month.

The 2026 monthly minimum wage (najniższa krajowa) is 4,806 PLN gross, but that figure doesn’t apply directly to mandate contracts. Only the hourly rate matters, no matter how many hours you actually work in a month. The hourly-rate rule has applied since 2017 and does not cover umowa o dzieło.

Mandatory hour-tracking since 2017

Since 2017, the party commissioning the work must keep a record of hours worked under an umowa zlecenie, a direct consequence of introducing the minimum hourly rate (Art. 8a-8b of the Act on the Minimum Wage). The parties usually agree on a tracking method in the contract itself: a timesheet, a monthly statement from the contractor listing hours worked, or simply noting the hours on an invoice. If the contract doesn’t specify a method, the contractor must submit a written, electronic, or documentary statement of hours worked before each payment is due.

Foreigners and work permits

Foreigners can work under an umowa zlecenie for Polish employers on the same basis as Polish citizens, provided the relevant legal requirements are met. If a foreign national isn’t exempt from the work-permit requirement (that is, doesn’t hold student status, permanent residency, a Pole’s Card, or EU long-term resident status), the employer must arrange:

  • a work permit (zezwolenie na pracę);
  • a “work declaration” (oświadczenie);
  • a labor-market test (opinia starosty).

Taxes and ZUS contributions

If the umowa zlecenie is your only insurance title (no parallel employment contract paying at least minimum wage), the following gets deducted from your gross pay:

ContributionRatePaid by
Retirement (emerytalne)9.76%contractor
Disability (rentowe)1.5%contractor
Sickness (chorobowe)2.45%contractor, voluntary
Health (NFZ)9%contractor
Accident (wypadkowe)~0.67-3.33%commissioning party, not deducted from pay

The standard tax-deductible cost allowance for an umowa zlecenie is 20% of income. For work that qualifies as “creative” under copyright law (autorskie koszty uzyskania przychodu), a 50% allowance applies, but as of 2026 the annual cap on that allowance is 120,000 PLN (matching the upper threshold of the first PIT tax bracket), and since the 2022 “Polski Ład” reform, the NFZ health contribution is no longer tax-deductible.

Note: if your work is actually a defined project with a clear technical brief that could legally qualify as a “dzieło,” you may be able to use an umowa o dzieło instead.

Overlapping insurance titles and the under-26 exemption

What matters here is who the other party to the mandate contract is. If you sign the umowa zlecenie with a different employer, and your umowa o pracę already provides a base at or above minimum wage, only the health (NFZ) contribution is mandatory on the mandate contract: retirement and disability contributions from the earlier title remain the mandatory ones, and paying them again from the zlecenie is optional (Art. 9 of the Social Insurance System Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 199). But if the zlecenie is signed with your own employer, or is effectively performed for its benefit (for example through an intermediary), ZUS treats it as an additional employment contract: all contributions (retirement, disability, sickness, accident, health) become mandatory, calculated on the combined income from both contracts (Art. 8(2a) of the Social Insurance System Act). This distinction also matters during PIP inspections: a “side” mandate contract with your own employer is often treated as an attempt to bypass the Labor Code’s working-time limits.

Separately, and still in force in 2026: students and pupils under 26 are fully exempt from mandatory ZUS retirement and disability contributions on an umowa zlecenie, regardless of how much they earn. On top of that, a separate tax exemption (“ulga dla młodych”) means income from both employment and mandate contracts is exempt from PIT up to 85,528 PLN per year for anyone under 26, a threshold unchanged since 2019.

How to terminate an umowa zlecenie

Unlike an employment contract, which follows strict Labor Code notice periods, an umowa zlecenie can by default be terminated at any time, with no notice period (Art. 746 of the Civil Code). If the commissioning party terminates without a valid reason, it must reimburse the contractor’s incurred expenses and pay for the part of the work already done, and cover damages if there was no valid reason at all. The parties can agree on their own notice period in the contract; if they do, that period applies instead.

If you’re planning to apply for a loan in Poland, banks generally prefer applicants employed under an umowa o pracę. That said, with sufficient income and a solid credit history, an umowa zlecenie won’t necessarily disqualify you. More on that in our article on getting a loan in Poland (available in RU only, no EN translation exists yet).

Reclassification risk: umowa zlecenie and the 2026 PIP reform

The new powers of the Labor Inspectorate (PIP), in force since July 8, 2026, mainly target reclassifying B2B (sole-proprietorship) contracts as employment relationships. But PIP also examines similar criteria (subordination to the client, fixed working hours, a single source of income) when checking mandate contracts that look, in practice, like ordinary employment. Read more in our series on the reform here.

FAQ

Can I work under an umowa zlecenie without a work permit?

Yes, if you’re exempt from that requirement (e.g., a full-time student, or you hold permanent residency, a Pole’s Card, or EU long-term resident status). Otherwise, the employer must arrange a work permit, an oświadczenie, or a labor-market test.

Is hour-tracking required even if I’m paid a fixed monthly fee, not by the hour?

Yes. The hour-tracking obligation applies regardless of how you’re paid, because it exists specifically to enforce the minimum hourly rate.

What happens if the client terminates the contract without a reason?

They must reimburse your incurred expenses, pay for work already completed, and, if there was no valid reason, compensate you for damages (Art. 746 § 1 of the Civil Code).

Bibliography and legal basis

  • Civil Code (Kodeks Cywilny), Title XXI “Mandate,” Art. 734-751 (including Art. 746 on termination).
  • Act of October 10, 2002 on the Minimum Wage, Art. 8a-8b (minimum hourly rate, hour-tracking).
  • Act on the Social Insurance System, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 199, Art. 6(4) (under-26 exemption), Art. 9 (overlapping insurance titles).
  • Personal Income Tax Act of July 26, 1991, Art. 21(1)(148) (ulga dla młodych), Art. 22(9)-(9b) (50% creative-work cost allowance).
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*Author: MojaFirma team. Last reviewed: July 27, 2026.*

*This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation depends on the specific contract and individual circumstances. If something about your own situation isn’t quite clear, feel free to book a free consultation with our team.*