Platform work rules in Poland
Poland is drafting its transposition of the EU Platform Work Directive, which must be in national law by 2 December 2026. No national presumption of employment for platform work is in force yet.
Poland's draft platform work law is out for comment
What happened
On 6 August 2026, Poland's Labour Ministry published a draft law on platform work. Other ministries and the public are now giving views. The file was last updated on 24 August 2026.
What it means for you
Nothing new applies to you in Poland yet. Under the draft, a worker who shows the app runs and controls their work would count as an employee. The platform could still prove otherwise. The draft also limits decisions made only by a computer, such as ending someone's work, and adds fines.
Dates to know
- October to December 2026The government plans to adopt the law.
- One month after publicationPlanned start of the law.
- 2 December 2026EU deadline for the new rules to be in national law.
Source: Rządowe Centrum Legislacji. We check this page every week. Last checked .
The EU Platform Work Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/2831) improves conditions for people working through digital labour platforms. Its centrepiece is a rebuttable presumption of employment: where the facts show the platform directs and controls the work, the person is presumed to be an employee, and the platform, not the worker, carries the burden of proving otherwise. It also regulates algorithmic management, requiring transparency about the automated systems that monitor and decide, human oversight of significant decisions, and limits on the personal data platforms may process. Member states must write it into national law by 2 December 2026, and the presumption applies from that date with no retroactive effect. Poland is transposing through a dedicated Act on performing work through digital work platforms, published in draft in August 2026, which carries its own rebuttable presumption of employment.
Where does Poland stand on the Directive?
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy published its draft Act on performing work through digital work platforms on the Government Legislation Centre (RCL) portal on 6 August 2026, reference UC160, two days after entering it in the government's legislative work programme. The draft is in inter-ministerial agreement, public consultation and opinion, most recently updated on 24 August 2026, and the government's own timetable has it adopted in the fourth quarter of 2026 and taking effect one month after publication. It carries a rebuttable presumption of employment where a worker shows they work under the platform's direction and control, limits on fully automated decisions such as terminations, stronger personal-data safeguards, penalties for platforms, and a duty to notify the labour inspectorate. No national presumption of employment for platform work is in force yet.
What is the presumption of employment?
The presumption of employment means that where the facts of the relationship point to direction and control, a platform worker is legally treated as an employee unless the platform proves otherwise. It shifts the burden of proof onto the platform. Each member state sets the exact mechanism in national law, so the trigger and the rebuttal differ country by country.
What must platforms do on algorithmic management?
Platforms must be transparent about the automated systems that assign work, monitor performance and make decisions. Significant decisions, such as suspending or blocking an account, must have human oversight rather than being left to an algorithm alone, and platforms cannot process certain personal data, for example a worker's emotional state, private conversations, or data used to predict trade-union activity.
Hiring in Poland?
What the draft bill in Poland means for you
Poland's draft Act UC160 is in consultation, not law. Teamed employs your Polish team, so the bill's presumption and inspectorate duties would fall on Teamed.
These sit with us
- Evidence of who directs and controls the work
- Transparency on the systems that assign and monitor work
- Human review of significant automated decisions
- Restricted personal data kept out of monitoring
You keep
The role, the brief, the budget. Teamed carries the employer duties Polish law attaches.
Poland has not passed UC160. Adoption is planned for late 2026, taking effect one month after publication.
At a glance
| Presumption of employment | Proposed in draft |
|---|---|
| Algorithmic-management rules | Due by 2 December 2026 |
| Human oversight of decisions | Due by 2 December 2026 |
| National law in force | Not yet (deadline 2 Dec 2026) |
| Penalties | Set nationally on transposition |
Key figures
Frequently asked questions
When does the Platform Work Directive take effect?
Member states must transpose it into national law by 2 December 2026, and the presumption of employment applies from that date. It has no retroactive effect, though it can apply to relationships still ongoing on that date.
Does the Directive apply in Poland yet?
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy published its draft Act on performing work through digital work platforms on the Government Legislation Centre (RCL) portal on 6 August 2026, reference UC160, two days after entering it in the government's legislative work programme. The draft is in inter-ministerial agreement, public consultation and opinion, most recently updated on 24 August 2026, and the government's own timetable has it adopted in the fourth quarter of 2026 and taking effect one month after publication. It carries a rebuttable presumption of employment where a worker shows they work under the platform's direction and control, limits on fully automated decisions such as terminations, stronger personal-data safeguards, penalties for platforms, and a duty to notify the labour inspectorate.
Who is responsible if we hire through an Employer of Record?
If Teamed is the legal employer, your team in Poland is already employed compliantly, so the presumption of employment is not a reclassification risk you carry. Teamed handles the statutory pieces in-country.
The Platform Work Directive is about ending misclassification: if a person is genuinely directed and controlled like an employee, they should be employed like one. When Teamed is your legal employer in Poland, your people are compliantly employed from day one, so a shifting presumption of employment is not a risk you carry.
