Minimum wage in Poland from 2027: PLN 4,950 gross and PLN 32.30 an hour

Poland knows what the minimum wage will be next year. The Council of Ministers has approved the amount for 2027: PLN 4,950 gross a month and PLN 32.30 an hour for contracts of mandate and similar civil-law contracts. According to Polish media the regulation was published in the Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) on 15 September 2026 and applies from 1 January 2027. Below: what it means for those working in a warehouse, a factory or on a building site, and whether to expect significant changes in your wallet.

What was decided

The minimum wage (płaca minimalna) is the least an employer must pay for a full month under an employment contract. There is also a minimum hourly rate (minimalna stawka godzinowa) for contracts of mandate and some other civil-law contracts. In 2026 it is PLN 4,806 gross and PLN 31.40 an hour. From 2027:

• PLN 4,950 gross a month, PLN 144 more, roughly 3%;
• PLN 32.30 an hour, 90 grosz more than now.

Why the government decided alone

First the amount was discussed in the Social Dialogue Council, where unions, employers and the government sit. The unions proposed PLN 5,200, the employers considered PLN 4,950 acceptable though too high. There was no agreement, so by law the government set the sum itself. At the start of summer the ministry proposed even more, PLN 4,986 and PLN 32.60, but that option did not reach the final regulation.

How much it is "in hand"

The gross amount is the sum before deductions. On an employment contract (umowa o pracę) social contributions, health insurance and tax are deducted from pay. By an approximate calculation a worker gets about PLN 3,700 in hand from PLN 4,950 gross; in 2026 PLN 4,806 gives about PLN 3,606. The exact sum will be shown by your payslip or a calculator, since it is affected by reliefs, PPK contributions and other factors.

For a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenie) it is more complex: contributions depend on whether the person has another contract and whether they are a student. We wrote about this in more detail in the article on students under 26: they are exempt from tax and contributions, and for them PLN 32.30 an hour at 160 hours a month gives about PLN 5,168 paid without deductions. It is an approximate figure, to be checked against your contract.

Who gets a rise automatically

• Those working full time and receiving exactly the minimum: the employer must raise pay from 1 January 2027.
• Those on a contract of mandate or similar who get less than PLN 32.30 an hour: the rate must also be raised.
• Those whose rate is above the minimum: there is no automatic rise, but the gap between the minimum and your pay narrows, which is a good reason to talk about a raise.

What changes for supplements

A number of other payments in Poland depend on the size of the minimum wage: supplements for night work (they are counted from the minimum hour), minimum payments for downtime, some benefit sums. So the rise in the minimum affects not only those at the bottom. If you work nights or weekends, look at how your supplement is written in the contract: from the rate or from the minimum.

What a worker should do

1. In January 2027 check your payslip: whether your gross rate is not below the minimum.
2. If you are on a contract of mandate, calculate the hourly rate: whether it is not below PLN 32.30.
3. If the sums do not match, first write to the employer and if needed to the State Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy).
4. Do not agree to a "rise on paper": when the contract states the minimum and the rest is paid "in an envelope" you lose contributions and pension service.

What it means for the market

The minimum wage rises moderately while prices of housing and food in Poland change faster, so real purchasing power will seem to "stand still". For those who want to earn more it is useful to look at positions with higher rates: evening and night shifts, work with UDT, welding. Look at current vacancies with housing, where rates and terms are written openly, and compare them with the minimum.

Useful Polish words

• płaca minimalna — the minimum wage.
• stawka godzinowa — an hourly rate.
• wynagrodzenie brutto / netto — pay before tax / in hand.
• rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów — a regulation of the Council of Ministers.

Summary

The 2027 minimum wage in Poland will be PLN 4,950 gross and the hourly rate PLN 32.30. The rise is small but it touches many payments. The sums and dates are given from open sources as of 22 October 2026; before using them check them against the text of the regulation in the ISAP database (Dz.U. 2026, item 1213) and official ministry announcements.