Background information

In September 2023, the Council of Ministers adopted by circulation the regulation on the minimum wage and the minimum hourly rate in 2024, submitted by the Minister of Family and Social Policy. The regulation entered into force on 1 January 2024. Due to the high level of inflation in Poland, the increase of the minimum wage by 2024 will be made twice: in January and in July.

Content of measure

The higher rate of the minimum wage applies to all persons employed in Poland under an employment contract. Similarly, the minimum hourly wage for work under a civil law contract applies to all persons providing work under such a contract.

The minimum wage will increase in 2024 in two stages. From 1 January, the lowest salary equals to PLN 4242 (€982.45, as of. 1 March 2024) and from 1 July, it will be PLN 4300 (€995.88, as of 1 March 2024).

In 2024, the minimum hourly rate for civil law contracts will also increase - from 1 January it will be PLN 27.70 (€6.42, as of 1 March 2024) and from 1 July - PLN 28.10 (€6.51, as of 1 March 2024).

The average minimum wage in 2024 will be PLN 4271 (€989.16, as of 1 March 2024).

Use of measure

According to government estimates, the number of people covered by the minimum wage increase will be 3.6 million.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

Consultations on raising the minimum wage and the minimum hourly rate took place within the Social Dialogue Council, a tripartite body comprising representatives of the government side and representative employers' organisations and representative trade union organisations. According to available data, positions on the amount and method of determining the minimum wage were taken, among others, by the employers' organisation Lewiatan and the trade unions Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" and the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ).

Views and reactions

The government has taken a unilateral decision on the minimum wage for 2024, as negotiations on the issue, held at the Social Dialogue Council, were unsuccessful. One of the trade union organisations on the Council, the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions, had called for the minimum wage to be set at PLN 4300 (€995.88, as of 1 March 2024) from January and PLN 4540 (€1,051.46, as of 1 March 2024) from July 2024.The "Solidarity" Trade Union has accepted the minimum wage proposal put forward by the previous government.

According to the Konfederacja Lewiatan, one of the employers' organisations that is a member of the Social Dialogue Council, the dynamic increase in the minimum wage can pose a challenge for micro-enterprises, service providers and companies operating in less economically developed areas.

Sources

• 01 March 2024: Rozporządzenie w sprawie minimalnego wynagrodzenia za pracę oraz wysokości minimalnej stawki godzinowej w 2024 r. (www.gov.pl)
• 01 March 2024: Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 14 września 2023 r. w sprawie wysokości minimalnego wynagrodzenia za pracę oraz wysokości minimalnej stawki godzinowej w 2024 r. (isap.sejm.gov.pl)