Got a difficult letter from your employer? What Polish labour law says

A written letter from your employer — a termination notice, a disciplinary warning, or a change to your terms — can be stressful to receive, especially if your Polish isn't strong. The good news: Polish labour law (Kodeks pracy) sets out fairly strict rules for what these letters must contain and how you can respond, and they apply to you regardless of your nationality as long as you're employed under a Polish umowa o pracę.

A termination notice (wypowiedzenie) must, by law:

• Be in writing.
• Respect the notice period you are entitled to, which depends on how long you have worked there — 2 weeks under 6 months of service, 1 month from 6 months, 3 months from 3 years (art. 36 § 1). The Labour Code fixes the period itself; it does not require the letter to spell it out, so a notice that stays silent on it is not defective for that reason alone.
• Give a genuine reason for the dismissal in the letter itself — since 26 April 2023 this is required for fixed-term contracts (na czas określony) as well as indefinite ones (na czas nieokreślony).
• Include a notice of your right to appeal to the labour court (art. 30 § 5) — the law requires that information, but not the name or address of a particular court, so a letter that does not identify one is still valid.

Your right to challenge it

If you believe a termination (or a summary dismissal without notice) was unjustified or didn't follow the correct procedure, you can appeal to the labour court (sąd pracy). This is a real, commonly-used right — not just a theoretical one.

• You have 21 days to file — counted from the day the termination notice was delivered to you, or, for a dismissal without notice, from the day you were given notice that the contract had been terminated (art. 264 § 1 and § 2 of the Labour Code). That deadline comes from the Labour Code, not from whatever your employer's letter happens to say. If you miss it through no fault of your own, the labour court can restore the deadline, but you have to ask within 7 days of the obstacle ending (art. 265), so treat the 21 days as firm and get advice quickly.
• The claim itself is free to file for an employee.
• You can ask the court to reinstate you, or for compensation instead.

If a letter isn't about termination

Disciplinary letters (upomnienie, nagana) and changes to your working conditions (wypowiedzenie zmieniające) follow their own, separate rules and deadlines. If you're not sure what kind of letter you've received or what it actually requires from you, that's exactly the kind of document worth getting properly explained rather than guessing from a translation app.

If the letter relates to you changing or losing your job while on a work-based residence permit, this also affects your immigration status — see your deadlines if you changed jobs or lost your job on a work-based permit. For how your contract type affects things like sick pay and notice periods generally, see employment contract, zlecenie, or B2B — what each means.

This is general information, not legal advice

Every case depends on your specific contract and letter. If you're considering an appeal, contact the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP), a labour-law solicitor, or a free legal aid point as soon as possible — deadlines in labour law are strict.