Every employee employed under an employment contract has the right to receive a salary not less than the national minimum wage. The minimum wage is the amount of remuneration guaranteed by the state, its amount depends, m.in on the anticipated increase in prices, so that everyone has the opportunity to meet their living needs. What does the lowest national net and gross mean? How much is the national minimum wage now?
Read and learn:
- What is the national minimum wage?
- Gross – the lowest national wage
- Net – the lowest national wage
- Who decides how much the national minimum wage is?
- On what basis is the current national minimum wage determined?
- What does the minimum wage consist of?
- The lowest national wage – how much is it in the case of part-time work?
- The lowest national per hour net – who does the hourly rate apply to?
- What does the national minimum wage affect?
- What if the employer does not pay the national minimum wage?
- Does the employer have to draw up a new contract when the minimum wage increases?
- Lowest gross in other countries
- How has the national minimum wage changed over the years?
What is the national minimum wage?
The national minimum wage is the minimum wage that an employer must provide to an employee employed under an employment contract. If an employer pays a salary below the minimum wage, it violates employee rights.
The amount of remuneration of an employee who performs work under an employment contract cannot be lower than the national minimum. This amount is available to all employees, regardless of their qualifications, position, salary components, length of service, as well as the system and schedule of working time. The amount of the minimum wage applies to the monthly rate and is subject to annual indexation.
The minimum wage was guaranteed in the The Act of 10 October 2002. .
Gross – the lowest national wage
The lowest national gross is the total sum of salary before deduction of taxes and contributions (social security, health insurance, etc.), it is the amount that appears in the employment contract. In turn, the employee’s account is credited with the net salary – reduced by mandatory fees (the lowest national “hand” salary).
The lowest national wage in 2025 is PLN 4666 gross, so to find out what this amount is, you need to subtract contributions and taxes.
Social security contributions:
- pension insurance (9.76 per cent) – PLN 455.40;
- disability insurance (1.5 percent) – PLN 69.99;
- sickness insurance (2.45 percent) – PLN 114.32;
and:
- health insurance (9% of the gross amount less social security contributions) – PLN 362.37;
- advance tax – PLN 153.
How much is the national minimum wage net in 2025? It is PLN 3510.92.
Net – the lowest national wage
The national net minimum (national take-home minimum) is the amount an employee receives in their bank account, after all taxes and contributions have been deducted.
National minimum net salary – how many people receive the minimum wage?
According to data from 2024, 3.6 million. of Poles received the minimum wage for work.
Who decides how much the national minimum wage is?
The minimum wage proposal is prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy and presented to the Council of Ministers, which responds to it. Once accepted, the proposal goes to the Social Dialogue Council (RDS), where representatives of the government, trade unions and employers’ organisations consult it and can present their version until 15 July, if they do not do so, the government sets the minimum wage itself. The Council of Ministers must announce the current national minimum wage by 15 September each year in an announcement in the Monitor Polski.
On what basis is the current national minimum wage determined?
The amount of the minimum wage is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage for work. The national minimum wage is determined on the basis of several important parameters, m.in taken into account:
- the expected increase in prices for the next year is a very important indicator aimed at providing employees with purchasing power at an unchanged level, so that the national minimum net take-home pay increases in proportion to the cost of living, such as food, energy, housing or transport prices;
- two-thirds of real economic growth is a factor taken into account if the minimum wage is less than half of the national average
The increase in the minimum wage may be greater than the minimum adopted in the law.
What does the minimum wage consist of?
The minimum wage can include many components:
- basic salary in temporary, piecework and other forms (i.e. salary resulting from the employment contract);
- statutory and discretionary bonuses and awards;
- additional remuneration for work performed during working time, but not resulting from the scope of activities;
- on-call duty, home emergency service;
- compensatory payments (e.g. compensation up to the amount of the minimum wage);
- remuneration for the time of non-performance of work (for holiday leave, health leave, for the time of inability to work due to illness and others);
- allowances (e.g. coal, energy and other allowances);
- compensation benefits (e.g. in connection with the shortening of the notice period).
The employee’s salary may consist of the basic salary and various allowances, but it cannot be lower than the national minimum. If the sum of the components of the employee’s salary does not reach the national minimum amount, it is necessary to compensate so that the salary is at least as much as provided for by law.
Some allowances and benefits cannot be added to an employee’s salary to meet the minimum wage requirement. They are treated as additional benefits.
When calculating the amount of the employee’s remuneration, the following are not taken into account:
- jubilee award;
- severance pay related to retirement or disability pension;
- overtime pay;
- night work allowance;
- length-of-service allowance;
- allowance for special working conditions.
What does this mean in practice? If you work overtime in a given month, the employer must pay the amount due, it cannot “count” this overtime as part of the minimum wage.
The lowest national wage – how much is it in the case of part-time work?
For part-time workers, the national minimum wage is calculated in proportion to the number of working hours.
For example, if in the case of full-time work, the lowest national wage is PLN 4666 gross, for a part-time job it will be PLN 2333 gross.
The lowest national per hour net – who does the hourly rate apply to?
In 2017, regulations were introduced to protect the lowest paid people and limit the abuse of contracts of mandate, the minimum hourly rate came into force, it applies to people who perform work on the basis of civil law contracts (or the self-employed).
What is the difference between the minimum wage and the minimum hourly wage?
The minimum wage (the amount paid monthly) applies to employees employed under an employment contract, and the minimum hourly rate applies to people employed under civil law contracts and the self-employed.
The remuneration under a contract of mandate may be specified in a monthly rate, in which case it is important that the amount converted into working hours is not lower than the minimum hourly rate. If the principal does not comply with the minimum hourly rate, he may be fined from PLN 1000 to PLN 30,000.
The lowest national wage – how much do people up to 26 years of age receive?
In the case of people up to 26 years of age who work under a contract of mandate, the lowest national net and gross hourly rate is the same, if the hourly rate is PLN 30.50 gross, people under 26 years of age will receive the same amount “on hand”.
What does the national minimum wage affect?
The national minimum wage is the basis for determining the amount of certain benefits resulting from the employment relationship, and its amount depends, m.in:
- night work allowance (20% of the hourly rate);
- remuneration for downtime (cannot be lower than the national minimum);
- severance pay in the case of collective redundancies (may not exceed 15 times the lowest national wage);
- preferential social security contributions.
What if the employer does not pay the national minimum wage?
The employee should receive the salary specified in the contract on a predetermined date. In accordance with Article 282. § 1. point 1. of the Labour Code, an employer who does not pay remuneration, unlawfully reduces it or makes unjustified deductions is subject to a fine of PLN 1000 to 30,000.
What can you do if the minimum wage has been set in the contract and the account has been credited with an amount less than the lowest national net salary? The best solution is to file a complaint with the National Labour Inspectorate, along with a brief description of the irregularities that have occurred. It is worth remembering that the data of an employee reporting a violation of the regulations is protected and will not be disclosed during inspection activities.
Does the employer have to draw up a new contract when the minimum wage increases?
The remuneration must be included in the content of the employment contract, so when the employee receives the minimum wage and the current national minimum wage changes, the employer is obliged to prepare an annex.
The exception is a situation where the remuneration is not specified in a specific amount, and instead the employment contract contains a provision that the employee receives the minimum wage in accordance with the rate applicable in a given year resulting from the Act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage for work – then the employer does not have to prepare an annex to the contract.
Lowest gross in other countries
There are currently 27 Member States in the European Union, 22 of which have a minimum wage.
What is the national minimum wage in other countries? In many countries, there is a minimum hourly wage, but based on it, it can be estimated that in 2024 the highest salaries were guaranteed:
- Luxembourg – €2570.93;
- Netherlands – approx. €2188.80;
- Ireland – approx. €2032;
- Germany – approx. 1985,60 €.
What is the gross national minimum wage in countries that guarantee the lowest wages in the EU? In 2024, the minimum wage was as follows:
- Latvia – €700;
- Hungary – €675;
- Bulgaria – €477.00.
In euro terms, the national minimum wage in Poland from July 2024 was approx. €998, ranking 10th out of 22 countries.
How has the national minimum wage changed over the years?
| Since when has it been in force? | Lowest national gross | Lowest national net | Minimum gross hourly wage |
| From January 2025 | PLN 4666 | zł3510.92 | zł30.50 |
| From July 2024 | PLN 4300 | PLN3261.53 | zł28.10 |
| From January 2024 | PLN 4242 | zł3221.98 | zł27.70 |
| From July 2023 | 3600 PLN | PLN2,783.86 | zł23.50 |
| From January 2023 | 3490 PLN | PLN2709.48 | zł22.80 |
| From January 2022 | PLN 3010 | 2 363,56 | zł19.70 |
| From January 2021 | 2800 PLN | PLN2061.67 | zł18.30 |
| From January 2020 | PLN 2600 | zł1920.62 | PLN 17 |
| From January 2019 | PLN 2250 | zł1633.78 | zł14.70 |
| Since January 2018 | 2100 PLN | 1530 PLN | zł13.70 |
| Since January 2017 | 2000 PLN | PLN 1459 | 13 PLN |
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Nika Walęcka
Copywriter, author of articles with practical advice that will help you look for satisfying employment. It provides a lot of information that is useful in preparing applications, conducting job interviews and building a professional image.
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