Hiring the first employee – checklists and costs

The real cost of an employee at minimum wage in 2025

Many business owners make the same mistake: they look at the gross amount from the contract and think that's their total cost. The truth is different and painful for the wallet. If you agree with an employee on a minimum salary, which from January 2025 is 4,666 PLN gross, you must add to this the contributions paid by the employer. We're talking about retirement insurance (9.76%), disability insurance (6.50%), and accident insurance, which is standardly 1.67%. Added to this is the Labor Fund (2.45%) and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (0.10%). In total, your burden is about 20.48% over the gross amount.

In practice, this means an employee costs you 5,621.60 PLN per month, even though they will get much less in hand. At Foundations of Success, we always repeat: an end to the mess in papers starts with understanding these numbers. Over the last 11 years, we have seen companies fail because the owner forgot about these extra 955 PLN a month per person. If you're planning a budget for 2025, you must assume that the annual cost of maintaining one full-time job at the national minimum is 67,459 PLN, not counting bonuses or vacation equivalents.

Also remember hidden costs rarely written about on the internet. Medical exams in Opole are an expense of 134 PLN, and health and safety training for an office building costs an average of 147 PLN per person. These are one-off shots, but you must pay them before the employee even touches the computer. In our office on 1 Maja St., we often meet clients surprised by these 'small' amounts, which cumulatively create a concrete sum. We know the regulations, you know your business – so focus on earning, and we will calculate every zloty for you to the penny.

An employee at minimum wage costs the company 20.48% more than the amount written on the gross contract.

Medical exams and health and safety – don't skip these points

Before you sign a contract, you must send the candidate for preliminary examinations to an occupational medicine doctor. This cannot be just any doctor, but one with whom your company has a signed agreement. In Opole, we have 4 proven facilities that issue certificates within 24 hours, which is crucial when you need hands for work immediately. The referral must contain a job description and nuisance factors, like working at a monitor for more than 4 hours a day. Lack of a current certificate during a PIP inspection is a fine that in 2024 averaged 2,340 PLN for a small company.

The next step is health and safety (BHP) training. General and job-specific instructions are not just 'signing a piece of paper'. You must document that the employee knows how to safely operate a machine or where the fire extinguisher is in the office. Since September 2013, we have maintained HR documentation for 87 local workshops and stores – we know that order in these documents saves a lot of nerves. Specifics instead of promises: preparing a full BHP folder usually takes us 3 hours and 15 minutes, and gives you peace for years.

Heads-up: Do not forget about the occupational risk assessment. This is a document that must exist for every position in your company. Even if you only hire one person to help in the office, they must sign that they have familiarized themselves with the risks (e.g., eye strain or stress). Many entrepreneurs consider this bureaucracy, but in the event of an accident at work, the lack of this document is a direct path to huge compensation. At Foundations of Success, we ensure that each of our 423 served companies has these papers in perfect order.

Reporting to ZUS – you only have 7 days

From the moment the employment relationship arises, which is usually from the date written in the contract as the starting day of work, you have exactly 7 calendar days to report the employee for insurance to ZUS. You use the ZUS ZUA form (if it's a full-time job and all insurances) or ZUS ZZA (if the employee has another insurance title, e.g., already works elsewhere full-time). Exceeding this deadline by even one day can result in a fine being imposed by the Social Insurance Institution.

In Opole, ZUS inspectors are quite scrupulous. The average time for handling a notification in our office is 47 minutes from receiving employee data. We send documents electronically through the Płatnik system, so you have confirmation of sending (UPO) immediately. Remember that you must also report the employee's family members if they request it – it costs you nothing but is your duty as a contribution payer. By the way, errors in PESEL or home address are the most common cause of corrections, which then have to be straightened out for months.

It's also worth knowing that as an employer, you become a contribution payer. You must send ZUS DRA declarations and individual RCA reports every month. For someone seeing these acronyms for the first time, it might sound like black magic, but that's what you have us for. Our team consists of 6 people who process hundreds of such forms every day. Thanks to this, our clients save an average of 3.2 hours a week just on communication with offices. The numbers must add up, and your contributions must arrive on time to avoid interest.

Being late reporting an employee to ZUS by one day is a risk of penalty. You only have 7 calendar days for this.

Employment contract or mandate contract? Choose wisely

You often ask us in the office: 'Maybe it'll be cheaper on a mandate contract?'. The answer is: it depends. With a mandate contract for a student under 26, you actually save the most because the gross amount equals the net amount (you don't pay any contributions or tax). However, if the contractor has no other employment, contribution costs are almost identical to an employment contract. The difference mainly lies in the lack of paid leave and a notice period compliant with the Labor Code, which is not always beneficial for your business stability.

If you choose an employment contract, you must remember time tracking. The employee must sign an attendance list (or log into a system), and you must settle every hour of overtime. In 2024, we helped organize records in 42 trading companies, where errors in schedules generated unnecessary costs of 400-600 PLN per month per person. Ending the mess in papers means that every minute of work is documented and paid according to regulations, which will please any inspector.

Honestly, the choice of the type of contract should depend on the nature of the work. If someone has fixed hours and follows orders under your supervision, then by law it is an employment contract, even if you call it something else. PIP can reclassify such a contract retroactively, which involves the necessity to pay back contributions and huge penalties. At Foundations of Success, we choose the form of employment so it is safe for your pocket and consistent with reality. We know the regulations, you know your business – together we will make your first employee an investment, not a problem.