The Act of 27 August 1997 on Vocational and Social Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities applies to all employers in Poland, public and private, with no minimum size threshold for the duty to provide reasonable accommodations. A "person with a disability" is someone holding an official disability certificate issued by a regional disability evaluation panel, classifying impairment as mild, moderate, or severe. Importantly, presenting a disability certificate to the employer is the employee's right, not an obligation — employers cannot require disclosure and may only act on disability-related entitlements once a certificate has been voluntarily presented. Under Article 23a, employers must provide necessary reasonable accommodations — meaning changes or adjustments tailored to the specific needs a disabled person has communicated to the employer — so long as these do not impose a disproportionate burden. Failure to provide such accommodations is explicitly treated as a violation of the equal treatment principle under Article 18(3a) of the Labour Code.
Under the Act and the Labour Code, employers must adapt workstations, equipment, and schedules to meet the needs of employees with disabilities. Common accommodations include ergonomic furniture, assistive technology, modified duties, and flexible working hours. Employees with a moderate or severe degree of disability are entitled by law to reduced working hours — a maximum of 7 hours per day and 35 hours per week — without any reduction in pay. All disability categories are generally prohibited from overtime and night work. Employees with moderate or severe disabilities also receive an additional 10 days of paid annual leave beyond the standard entitlement. All employees with a disability certificate, regardless of degree, are entitled to an additional 15-minute paid break each working day for exercise or rest, counted as working time.
Employees with a moderate or severe degree of disability are entitled to up to 21 paid working days per year to attend a rehabilitation camp, available no more than once annually. These employees may also take paid time off for specialist medical examinations, therapeutic treatments, and obtaining or repairing orthopedic equipment — provided these activities cannot be performed outside working hours. The combined total of additional leave and rehabilitation time off cannot exceed 21 working days per calendar year. Remuneration during these absences is calculated as if it were cash equivalent for annual leave.
If an employee loses the ability to perform their current role as a result of a workplace accident or occupational disease, the employer must assign or organize an appropriate alternative workstation — including basic welfare facilities — within three months of the employee declaring readiness to return to work. The employee must declare this readiness within one month of being recognized as disabled. This obligation does not apply if the sole cause of the accident was the employee's own violation of health and safety regulations due to fault or intoxication. Failure to comply carries a steep penalty: on the day the employment relationship ends, the employer must pay PFRON an amount equal to fifteen times the average national salary.
Since April 2023, an amendment to the Labour Code (Articles 67(18) and following) gives certain employees a near-absolute right to request remote work. Parents of children under four years of age, parents of children with disabilities, pregnant employees, and caregivers of disabled family members may request remote work, and the employer can only refuse if the nature or organization of the work makes it impossible — in which case a written justification must be provided within seven working days. Many multinational employers manage these requests through their accommodations process alongside disability-related cases, even though they are legally distinct entitlements that do not require medical verification.
An employee or job candidate may request accommodations verbally or in writing by notifying the employer of their specific needs arising from a disability. The employer may ask for a disability certificate and, where appropriate, consult with an occupational health physician or ergonomics specialist to determine suitable adjustments. Polish law does not set a fixed statutory deadline for responding, but best practice is to engage in dialogue and implement accommodations within 30 days. For remote work requests under the 2023 amendment, employers must respond in writing within seven working days. If an accommodation request is refused, the employee can file a complaint with the State Labour Inspectorate or bring a claim before the labour court under the equal treatment provisions of the Labour Code.
The State Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) supervises workplace compliance and can conduct inspections — including unannounced visits — in response to employee complaints. Inspectors may impose on-the-spot fines of up to PLN 2,000, rising to PLN 5,000 for repeat offenders. Labour courts can impose fines from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000 for violations of employee rights, including failures to accommodate. Separately, employers with 25 or more full-time employees who do not maintain at least a 6% disability employment ratio must make monthly contributions to PFRON (the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities). Employees can also bring discrimination claims to the Commissioner for Human Rights.
Managing reasonable accommodations requests under the Act on Vocational and Social Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities can be complex — multiple forms, strict timelines, and cross-team coordination all add burden.
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Start the accommodation dialogue as soon as a disability certificate is presented. Quick engagement signals good faith and reduces the risk of complaints.
Consult your occupational health physician or an ergonomics specialist when designing workstation modifications. Expert input leads to better outcomes and stronger documentation.
Track your disability employment ratio monthly. Falling below the 6% threshold triggers mandatory PFRON contributions, which can add up quickly for larger employers.
Build the 15-minute daily break and rehabilitation leave entitlements into your scheduling and leave management systems proactively. These are statutory rights, not discretionary benefits, and overlooking them is a common compliance gap.
Have a clear reassignment process for employees returning after workplace accidents. The three-month deadline and the fifteen-times-average-salary penalty make this one of the highest-stakes obligations in Polish disability law.
Train managers on Poland's specific entitlements — reduced hours, extra leave, and the overtime prohibition. Misunderstandings here are among the most common compliance failures.
Distinguish between disability accommodations and statutory remote work rights. Parents of children under four and caregivers of disabled family members have a separate legal entitlement to remote work that does not require medical verification — treat these requests through a streamlined intake rather than a medical accommodations workflow.
Keep thorough records of every request, consultation, and decision. A clear audit trail protects both the employer and the employee in the event of a dispute.
