Foreigners working in Poland. Surprising directions

As the authors of the report noted, the number of work permits for Filipinos increased by 60% in the first half of 2024, for citizens Nepal by 46 percent, a Colombia – by 337 percent (compared to the first half of 2023). However, according to the data ZUS in September this year the largest group of working foreigners were citizens Ukraineof which there were 779 thousand. Their number, as shown in the report, indicates a slight decrease in the percentage of working foreigners in general, which has decreased by 7.8 percentage points since 2018

The number of workers from Nepal, Colombia, Philippinesand also India. “Only in the first half of 2024, over 173,000 work permits were issued, most of which went to foreigners from Asian and South American countries,” Gi Group said. According to the report, over 1.17 million citizens of other countries work in Poland. In the opinion of the report's authors, employing foreigners is “an increasingly common solution in the face of 'demographic winter', aging society and staff shortages.”

More than half of the surveyed entrepreneurs (55.5%) see employing foreigners as a way to fill staff shortages, and 30%. possibility of reducing costs. In turn, 26 percent sees new perspectives and creative approaches in foreign employees, and a similar percentage (23%) sees improvement in work efficiency. The study also shows that 75 percent companies with international teams employ Ukrainian citizens, 38 percent EU citizens, 25 percent enterprises employ employees from other Eastern Bloc countries, and 18.5 percent – from e.g. Asia, Africa and South America. Gi Group also noted that EU citizens more often work in larger companies, especially in services, the public sector and transport and logistics. Ukrainians, on the other hand, are employed “regardless of the size of the company, sector or region of the employers' operations.” Foreigners from more distant regions of the world usually work in the largest companies. According to the company, this may be due to a “more complex recruitment process.” Representatives of enterprises also declare that they do not plan to increase the number of foreigners employed (30%) or that they have not yet made such a decision (35%). 38% of people plan to increase jobs for foreigners. companies, of which 14.5 percent planning to employ people from the EU, 13.5 percent from Ukraine and 5 percent each from the countries of the Eastern Bloc and, for example, Africa and Asia.

The respondents also pointed out the challenges associated with employing such people. First of all, the complexity of formalities and procedures (35%), difficulties in interpreting regulations (24.5%) and the length of waiting for permits (24%). However, among the difficulties associated with employing foreigners, respondents most often indicated language barriers and communication problems (41%). They also mentioned different work standards and approaches to duties (23.5%) and problems with integration with Polish employees (17.5%). Marcos Segador Arrebola, director of Gi Group Holding in Poland, quoted in the report, stated that “employing foreigners, especially from culturally distant countries, raises some concerns.” – Poland, for years a culturally and religiously homogeneous country, today faces the challenge of adapting to the changing social structure – he said. According to him, discussion on this issue is important so that “ultimately all parties benefit.” The report “Employing foreigners in Poland. Challenges and opportunities” was prepared by Gi Group, and the data contained in it comes from a study conducted by SW Research using the CAVI method from November 8 to November 13 this year. on a group of 200 representatives of medium and large companies. Gi Group Poland SA is a company offering HR services in the field of consulting, permanent and temporary employment and outsourcing.