Audits of Legality of Employment

What Is an Audit of the Legality of Employing Foreigners?

An audit of the legality of employing foreigners is a comprehensive review and verification of the documentation and procedures within your company related to hiring employees from outside Poland (citizens of EU/EEA/Switzerland and third countries). Its main purpose is to assess the company’s compliance with current immigration and labour laws, identify any shortcomings and risk areas, and recommend specific corrective actions.

Why Conduct an Audit in Your Company? Key Benefits

Investing in an employment legality audit is an investment in the security and stability of your business. The main benefits include:

• Avoiding Heavy Fines: Inspections by PIP and the Border Guard can result in significant fines for illegal employment or even minor procedural errors.
• Minimizing Legal Risk: An audit helps identify and eliminate situations that could lead to legal liability for the company or its management.
• Protecting Company Reputation: Detection of irregularities by control authorities can negatively impact your brand image. An audit helps prevent such situations.
• Identifying and Correcting Errors: Proactively detect gaps in documentation (visas, residence and work permits, declarations), errors in contracts, or irregularities in settlements.
• Optimizing HR Processes: An audit can highlight areas where procedures related to hiring and managing foreign employees can be improved.
• Preparing for Inspections: Being aware of the actual situation and having a corrective action plan significantly reduces stress and negative outcomes during potential official inspections.
• Certainty and Peace of Mind: Gain confirmation that your company operates in full compliance with complex legal regulations.

What Does an Audit Conducted by Our Law Firm Cover? Scope of the Audit

Our audit is always tailored to the specifics of your company, but typically covers areas such as:

• Legal Basis for Stay and Work: Verification of the validity and adequacy of visas, residence cards, work permits (all types), declarations on entrusting work.
• Employee Contracts: Analysis of employment contracts or civil law contracts for compliance with permit/declaration conditions, provisions of the Polish Labour Code (where applicable), and minimum wage requirements.
• ZUS Registrations and Settlements: Verification of the correctness and timeliness of social security registrations and contribution payments.
• Employee Documentation: Review of personnel files, working time records, and payroll documentation for compliance with regulations.
• Information and Archiving Obligations: Checking if the company fulfils its obligations to inform authorities (e.g., PUP, ZUS) and stores documentation as required.
• Equal Treatment Principles: Assessment of whether the employment conditions for foreigners violate equal treatment principles.
• Internal Procedures: Analysis of existing company procedures regarding the recruitment, hiring, and management of foreign employees.

How Is the Audit Conducted? The Process

Typically, we conduct the audit in several steps:

1. Initial Consultation: We define the scope, objectives, and timeline for the audit.
2. Documentation Review: We analyse the documentation provided by your company (remote audit is often possible, on-site if necessary).
3. Analysis and Findings Identification: We verify compliance, identify any irregularities, gaps, and risk areas.
4. Audit Report: We prepare a detailed report containing a description of the findings, identified risks, and most importantly, practical recommendations for corrective and preventive actions.
5. Post-Audit Support (Optional): We offer assistance in implementing the recommended changes and improvements.

Why Entrust the Audit to Our Law Firm?

By choosing our Law Firm, you gain:

• Specialized Knowledge: We possess in-depth knowledge of Polish immigration and labour law concerning the employment of foreigners.
• Practical Experience: We are familiar with the practices of control authorities (PIP, Border Guard) and know what they pay particular attention to.
• Confidentiality and Individual Approach: We guarantee full discretion and tailor the audit scope to the needs of your industry and company.
• Concrete Solutions: We not only identify problems but primarily propose clear, practical, and implementable recommendations.