The 2026 minimum wage and minimum hourly rate
From 1 January 2026, the statutory minimum monthly wage for a full-time employment contract in Poland is PLN 4,806 gross, set by a Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 11 September 2025 (Dz.U. 2025, item 1242). For 2026, unlike some earlier years, there is only one adjustment at the start of the year, with no separate mid-year increase planned. The same regulation sets the minimum hourly rate for specified civil-law contracts (principally umowa zlecenia and certain service contracts) at PLN 31.40 gross per hour.
These figures apply to a full-time position; an employee working a fraction of full-time is entitled to a proportionally reduced minimum, calculated against their actual working-time fraction rather than the full monthly figure. Employers should recheck both figures at the start of every calendar year, since the minimum wage is reviewed and typically increased annually rather than remaining fixed.
Which pay components count toward the minimum
Not every payment an employee receives counts toward satisfying the statutory minimum wage test. The calculation generally includes base salary and most regular remuneration components, but specifically excludes certain items such as the seniority-related jubilee award, severance payments, and -- notably since a change some years ago -- the night-work allowance, which can no longer be counted toward the minimum as it previously could be in some interpretations. Getting this composition wrong is one of the more common ways an employer unintentionally falls below the legal minimum despite a headline salary that looks adequate.
A practical risk arises when a role's pay is structured with a relatively low base salary supplemented by allowances, on the assumption that the total reaches minimum wage. Employers should check which specific components the law allows to count, rather than simply summing every payment on the payslip, since an allowance excluded from the calculation can mean the role is technically below minimum wage even though gross take-home pay looks sufficient.
The minimum hourly rate for civil-law contracts
The PLN 31.40 gross minimum hourly rate applies to specified civil-law contracts, most notably umowa zlecenia and certain contracts for services, and the contractor must be paid at least this rate for each hour actually worked, regardless of how the contract's overall fee is structured. This means a flat monthly fee for a zlecenia contract needs to be checked against the actual hours worked in the month, not simply assumed to be adequate because it exceeds a round number.
Businesses using zlecenie contractors with variable monthly hours should track actual hours against the fee paid each month specifically to confirm the effective hourly rate never falls below the statutory minimum, particularly in months with unusually high workload where a fixed fee could translate into an hourly rate below the legal floor.
Budgeting for the minimum wage, not just meeting it
Because the minimum wage increases annually and affects not only the lowest-paid roles directly but also several statutory calculations tied to it (certain allowances and thresholds are expressed as multiples of the minimum wage), businesses should budget for the expected annual increase rather than treating the current year's figure as a fixed planning assumption. A role paying just above this year's minimum may need an increase purely to stay compliant next year, independent of any performance-based raise.
This is particularly relevant for businesses with a meaningful share of staff near the minimum wage, such as retail, hospitality, warehousing and some manufacturing roles, where an annual minimum-wage increase can materially move overall payroll cost even without any change in headcount or hours.
Checking compliance in practice
For full-time employment contracts, compare the employee's eligible pay components (excluding the specifically carved-out items) against the current monthly minimum, adjusted for the employee's working-time fraction if less than full-time. For part-time contracts, the comparison figure itself needs to be the proportional minimum, not the full-time monthly figure.
For zlecenie and similar civil-law contracts, compare the fee paid against actual hours worked using timesheets or another verifiable record, since without documented hours there is no reliable way to demonstrate the effective hourly rate met the minimum if the arrangement is later questioned.
Common mistakes employers make
The most frequent mistake is failing to update pay at the start of a new calendar year when the minimum wage increases, particularly for roles that were compliant under the previous year's figure. A second mistake is counting excluded pay components -- most often night-work allowances or one-off payments -- toward the minimum-wage test when they should not be included.
A third mistake, specific to zlecenie contracts, is paying a flat monthly fee without tracking actual hours, leaving the business unable to demonstrate compliance with the minimum hourly rate if a dispute or inspection arises, even if the fee was in fact adequate for the hours actually worked.
Keeping pay compliant year over year
Build a short annual task into your payroll calendar: confirm the newly published minimum wage and minimum hourly rate each autumn for the following January, check which current employees and contractors are near either threshold, and adjust pay or contract fees before the new rate takes effect rather than retroactively. This single annual check prevents the most common minimum-wage compliance failures.
If you need help reviewing current pay structures against the 2026 minimum wage and minimum hourly rate, Auranik's 1 Point Business Service Package (/poland/consulting/business-services) can help coordinate a payroll review alongside your payroll provider.
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