Employees from Ukraine, i.e. cheap labor in Poland

Employees from Ukraine, i.e. cheap labor in PolandUntil recently, employees from Ukraine were the only option for most Polish companies to fill in shortages in their enterprises quickly and cheaply. Last year, the Polish labor market saw record low unemployment and high economic growth, which increased the demand in companies for new employees. Due to the lack of Polish employees, many companies had to use the help of an employment agency to hire employees from Ukraine . Why were Polish companies so eager to employ workers from beyond the eastern border?

Workers from Ukraine – a nation close to Poles?

Until the end of last year, there was a tendency among Polish entrepreneurs to employ more workers from Ukraine. Most often it was due to the fact that the Pole did not want to work for such a low wage, and the employees from Ukraine not only worked for the proposed wage, but were also able to work 12 hours a day six days a week. This situation is due to the fact that most of the workers from Ukraine came to Poland only to earn money, so they worked as much as possible.

The statement that Ukrainians are related to Poles (after all, both nations belong to the Slavic culture) can be very detrimental to many Poles – there are many unresolved historical conflicts between these two nations. However, as it happens in life, conflicts in no way interfere with international marriages (for many Polish men, a Ukrainian wife is a great treasure).

What are the benefits of companies employing workers from Ukraine?

In many companies, thanks to employing workers from Ukraine, it was possible to adjust (increase) production to the current market needs. An employee from Ukraine has never had such financial requirements as the native Pole – he was always a cheaper employee, often employed by employment agencies, which gave another advantage: the lack of taking into account the ZFSŚ plans in the plans.

Employees from Ukraine have been migrating to Poland for work purposes since 2012. In 2019, the number of legally working Ukrainians “reached” almost 3 million. However, along with the economic slowdown that has been noticeable since this year, the number of employees from Ukraine began to drop dramatically.

Advantages and disadvantages of having employees from Ukraine in the company?

Employment by companies (not only large but medium ones as well) of employees from Ukraine has not only many obvious advantages, but also disadvantages.

Still (despite the economic slowdown in many areas), one of the main advantages of employing Ukrainians is their high availability. Employees from Ukraine often work 10 or 12 a day a few days a week without any problems, they finally came to Poland to earn money, so they work as much as possible (often also on Saturdays or Sundays). Another big advantage is that L4 is rare for legally employed workers from Ukraine. Another advantage of employees from Ukraine is that they perform the worst jobs in companies – in Poland even the worst job is much better paid than a good job in Ukraine. The last advantage of employees from Ukraine is that they do not care what city they work in – they go home usually once every 3 months.

Hiring workers from Ukraine also has its drawbacks, the main one being their accommodation. A Ukrainian who comes to work in Poland usually does not have a lot of money with him. Therefore, he is often unable to pay for a flat himself and has to take advance payments from the employer – not many companies agree to this. It is different when an employee from Ukraine is employed by an agency, then the apartment is “provided”, but he will pay for it from the first salary . Another disadvantage when employing workers from Ukraine is their legalization of stay and a work permit, it takes a lot of time. The last disadvantage is that many Ukrainians do not understand the Polish language, which leads to communication problems in the company.

Good workers from Ukraine – can you find such workers at all?

Naturally, each company can hire employees from Ukraine on its own, but it is very time-consuming and often even problematic. In such situations, it is worth using the help of an employment agency. The agency will always take care not only of the appropriate selection of personnel for the company, but will also deal with the entire process of legalizing the stay of employees from Ukraine. Very often, employment agencies also organize places to stay in Poland for employees from Ukraine.

Employees from Ukraine work in Poland most often in a three-month or six-month cycle, which is why it is most convenient to employ workers from the east through an employment agency.

For many Polish enterprises, employees from Ukraine were the only support during the high economic growth. For this reason, many Polish enterprises have very positive opinions about employees from Ukraine. Of course, many companies did not manage to avoid negative experiences when hiring employees from Ukraine.