Seasonal work in Poland: fruit harvests, food processing and paperwork

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Why does Poland rely so heavily on seasonal workers?

Poland is one of Europe’s leading producers of apples, sour cherries, raspberries and currants. Its orchards, vegetable farms and frozen-food orjuice plants need extra hands from May to November, far more than the local labour market can supply.

Much of this workforce comes from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia and Asia, but employers also recruit EU citizens. Tourism on the Baltic coast,in Masuria and in the Tatra Mountains adds jobs in both summer and winter, mainly in hotels and restaurants.

The fruit harvest calendar

• Strawberries: late May to July, notably in Masovia, Lesser Poland and Lublin.
• Cherries and sour cherries: June and July.
• Redcurrants and blackcurrants: July.
• Highbush blueberries: July to September.
• Raspberries: July to October, especially in Lublin province.
• Apples: August to October, around Grójec and Warka or Sandomierz.

The busiest farming regions

Masovia, south of Warsaw, has the largest apple-growing area in Europe. Lublin province leads for soft fruit, while Greater Poland is home to manymushroom farms and vegetable growers that employ staff all year round rather than just in summer.

Food processing: a longer season

Cold stores, frozen-food plants and canneries run at full capacity from July to October. Work is done in teams on sorting, washing and packinglines, often in three shifts, with contracts lasting several months and more predictable hours than field work.

Seasonal tourism jobs in Poland

Baltic resorts from Sopot to Kołobrzeg and Międzyzdroje, along with the Hel Peninsula, hire from late June to late August. The Masurian lakes drawsailors and families, while Zakopane and Karpacz depend mostly on the winter ski season.

Typical tourism roles

Hotels, campsites and restaurants look for waiters, cooks, kitchen assistants, housekeepers, receptionists and shop staff. Polish is often requiredfront of house, but English can be enough in venues that serve many foreign guests, particularly in Kraków and Gdańsk.

Who can work without a permit?

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can work in Poland freely. After three months they register their stay with the voivodeship office and can obtain aPESEL number, which makes payroll, health insurance and many everyday formalities easier.

The seasonal work permit for non-EU nationals

Third-country nationals need a zezwolenie na pracę sezonową, issued by the starosta through the district labour office. It covers agriculture,horticulture and tourism, for a maximum of nine months per calendar year.

How does the seasonal permit procedure work?

The Polish employer applies online via praca.gov.pl and pays 100 zloty. If the worker is abroad, the application is entered in the register withinseven working days, and the employer receives a certificate supporting the seasonal visa application.

Arrival in Poland and issue of the permit

Once the worker arrives, the employer notifies the office, attaching a passport copy and the worker’s Polish address; the permit is then issued.Work can start on arrival on the basis of the certificate, and the written contract must be filed before work begins.

Multi-season permits and the oświadczenie

Citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine can get a permit covering three consecutive seasons. The oświadczenie o powierzeniupracy, a simplified declaration for nationalities listed by regulation, does not cover seasonal activities.

The legal framework since 2025

The rules come from the Act of 20 March 2025 on employing foreigners, supplemented by a November 2025 regulation listing seasonal activities.Pay must be at least equal to that of comparable employees in the same company.

Minimum wage and working conditions in 2026

The monthly minimum wage has been 4,806 zloty gross since 1 January 2026, roughly 1,100 euros depending on the exchange rate. The minimum hourly ratefor civil-law contracts such as the umowa zlecenie is 31.40 zloty gross.

Which contracts do seasonal workers sign?

An employment contract, or umowa o pracę, gives the fullest protection. Civil-law mandate contracts remain widespread in farming, andfarmers may also use a harvest assistance contract, insured through the farmers’ social insurance fund KRUS.

Hours, leave and accommodation

The Labour Code sets eight hours a day and 40 hours a week on average, with premiums for overtime. Farms often house pickers in shared rooms,sometimes for a deduction that should be agreed in writing before arrival.

Tax breaks for young workers and students

Employees under 26 are exempt from income tax up to an annual ceiling. Students under 26 on a mandate contract pay no social securitycontributions, which noticeably raises their take-home pay compared with older co-workers.

Finding seasonal work in Poland step by step

Public vacancies are centralised in the national job offers database, fed by the district labour offices. Private job sites and temporary workagencies complement this system, with widely varying levels of reliability and worker protection.

1. Choose a sector and period: harvest, factory or tourism.
2. Search the Centralna Baza Ofert Pracy, EURES and local labour offices.
3. Check that any agency appears in the national register of employment agencies.
4. Get the contract type, hourly rate and housing terms in writing.
5. Non-EU workers wait for the registration certificate, then apply for a seasonal visa.
6. Sign a written contract, translated into a language you understand, before starting.
7. Keep records of hours and payments until the end of the season.

Common mistakes and scams

Abuse mostly targets workers recruited remotely through middlemen. The warning signs tend to be the same whatever the sector or destination region,and most of them can be spotted before you leave home.

• Paying an agency to get a job: charging workers is prohibited.
• Handing your passport to the employer or landlord.
• Accepting a per-crate rate below the legal hourly minimum.
• Travelling without a copy of the contract or the farm’s exact address.
• Working on another Schengen country’s visa without Polish authorisation.

Do I need to speak Polish for harvest work?

No, picking is learnt on site and teams are often multilingual, with Ukrainian or Russian widely spoken. For factory, tourism or supervisoryroles, some basic Polish makes it much easier to get hired and to manage everyday life.

Can I change employer on a seasonal permit?

The permit is tied to a specific employer, so changing jobs requires a new procedure. Citizens of the five countries under the preferential schememay, however, carry out other work for up to 30 days while the permit is valid.

Do EU citizens need a Polish contract?

An EU citizen hired directly by a Polish company signs a contract under Polish law and pays contributions in Poland. The European Health InsuranceCard covers urgent care, but the employer must still register the worker with Polish social security.

Where can I get help if something goes wrong?

The National Labour Inspectorate, PIP, checks employment conditions and accepts complaints, including from foreign workers. The Zielona Liniahelpline, 19524, answers questions on permits, vacancies and workers’ rights in Poland.