The labour market has gone through big changes over the past two years. Today Poland is not only a source of migrant workers but is gradually becoming a target for immigrants.

 

According to the latest report published by the National Bank of Poland, last year Poland was a destination for about a million Ukrainian workers, i.e. about 5% of the entire population of working Poles (data of the Main Statistical Office for Q4 2015). There are a few reasons for such an influx of migrant labour from the East, the state of internal affairs in Ukraine being one of them. The number of immigrants from Ukraine would be less were they not encouraged by the employers as a result of the increasing difficulty finding workforce on the local market.

 

It may seem as though the West Pomeranian Province is not attractive to Ukrainians on account of the long distance from Ukraine and lower wages as compared to the central parts of Poland. However, the reality is that the local job centre in Szczecin receives about 1000 statements from employers who want to legally employ foreign workers. Despite the high number of immigrants in the region, there are no visible negative effects of the aforesaid to local workers or jobseekers.

What is the situation from the employers’ standpoint? The Labour Force Survey in Poland conducted by the Main Statistical Office shows that the official unemployment rates are about 30% higher than the actual unemployment level. As a consequence, the costs of recruitment (advertising, time required, etc.) go up. For a lot of Polish companies the reason for hiring Ukrainian workers are the same as those of English employers employing Polish workforce, namely problems finding workers locally as well as high employee turnover.

 

Risk-free employment 

 

What should a company watch out for when hiring a foreign worker? Employing a foreigner involves more paperwork than employing a Pole, but it is worth ensuring that all the documents are correct and the employment is legal. Formally, a foreigner who wants to work in Poland has to have a work visa. The employer has to register the foreign candidate in the Poviate Job Centre (in Szczecin the procedure takes seven business days). Once the employer’s statement of its intent to employ a foreigner is registered in the Centre, the rest of the process is the same as the procedure for employing a Pole. It is important to remember that in addition to the National Labour Inspectorate, the Polish Border Guards have the authority to check the legal status of foreigners staying in Poland. 

 

For this and other reasons it is worth outsourcing recruitment of Ukrainian workers. In addition to the issues of legality of employment, finding suitable workers is a difficult task. The task can be even harder and time-consuming for those who do not speak Ukrainian or Russian – today a lot of Polish companies approach agencies in Ukraine, sending them their job offers, because the knowledge of the local market is often crucial in building relations that can influence the quality of service. 

 

In Ukraine business is done differently than in Poland. Good business relations with companies in Ukraine can translate into good relations with employees which in turn is key to the quality of their work and how they feel in Poland. What is certainly important for them is that the first people they meet is Poland are their fellow countrymen - a small thing than can make a big difference.

 

Before you hire a foreigner 

 

In order to address the challenges of hiring Ukrainian workers, the company LSJ organises training in cultural differences for businesses to be able to help foreigners adapt in a new organisation and teach firms how to make foreigners feel welcome in the workplace.

 

Today Ukrainian people who accept employment in Poland expect their employers to provide them accommodation. This is another organisational matter that needs to be seen to before foreign employees come to Poland, and can pose an organisational challenge to companies choosing to bypass external service providers and recruit Ukrainian nationals directly.

 

What are the benefits of employing Ukrainian workers? In our experience employing workforce from Ukraine is not a cheaper option, because they expect the same pay as their Polish counterparts. However, it is more effective in terms of attendance, work ethic and involvement. They ensure low turnover, are willing to do overtime work, assimilate in new environment easily, and have a lower sickness absence rate than Polish workers.

 

This is a good solution for businesses trying to stay ahead of trends and get ready for seasonal demand. It requires a certain degree of organisational work but in the long-run, this can prove effective and enable them to respond to challenges on the job market in a sustainable manner.

 

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