Employer insolvent in Poland: unpaid wages from the FGŚP fund
Short answer: If your employer is legally insolvent, FGŚP can pay wages for up to 3 months before the insolvency date, plus some other claims, without interest. The employer or administrator files the list within a month.
If your employer in Poland goes insolvent and cannot pay your wages, a state fund can pay part of what you are owed. It is called the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (Fundusz Gwarantowanych Świadczeń Pracowniczych, FGŚP). This guide follows the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy pages on the fund, and a page from the Warsaw voivodeship labour office (dated 4 March 2026) that sets out who is covered, what is paid, for what period, and how claims are filed. The ministry pages are undated. Details are as of 17 October 2026. Contact the voivodeship labour office responsible for your employer if you are in this situation.
What the fund is
The ministry says the fund was created in 1994 to guarantee that employees get the benefits due to them if they do not receive them, in situations where the employer cannot pay them itself. It exists under the law of 13 July 2006 on protecting employee claims in the event of employer insolvency, and follows a 2008 EU directive on protecting employees when the employer becomes insolvent.
The fund is not for every unpaid-wage dispute. The condition for payment is that the employer is insolvent in the sense of the law.
What counts as insolvency
The Warsaw labour office lists the legal cases. For a Polish employer the main ones are:
* the court declares the employer bankrupt * the restructuring court opens restructuring proceedings against the employer * the court rejects a bankruptcy petition because the assets are not enough, or only just enough, to cover the costs of the proceedings * the court discontinues bankruptcy proceedings for lack of assets to cover costs * a sole trader employer is removed from the business register because they stopped trading, in which case the date of removal or of ceasing activity is the date of insolvency
The page also lists cases involving foreign proceedings in EU and EFTA states. If you think your employer's situation fits, ask the labour office whether it counts.
Who can get payments
According to the ministry, the following are entitled:
* employees of the insolvent employer * former employees * family members of a deceased employee or former employee who are entitled to a survivor's pension
The Warsaw labour office adds people who do paid work on another basis than employment, if they are subject to compulsory pension and disability insurance for it. It says the law does not apply to a domestic helper employed by a private person.
Neither source mentions nationality or residence status. They describe people by their relationship to the employer. For a foreigner, ask the labour office whether anything differs for you.
What is paid
The ministry lists what can be met from the fund:
* pay for work * pay for time of no-fault downtime, release from work and other justified absence * sick pay for incapacity for work, under article 92 of the Labour Code * pay for annual leave * a compensatory supplement under articles 230 and 231 of the Labour Code * severance pay under the special rules on group dismissals for reasons not concerning employees * compensation for a shortened notice period * a cash equivalent for unused annual leave, for the calendar year in which employment ended and the year immediately before it * employer social insurance contributions on the amounts paid from the fund
The Warsaw labour office stresses that only the principal amounts are covered, without interest.
The three-month rule
The Warsaw page says the wage items, meaning pay for work, downtime, leave, sick pay and the compensatory supplement, are met for a period of no more than 3 months directly before the date the employer became insolvent. Or no more than 3 months directly before the end of employment, if the employment ended in the 12 months before the insolvency date.
Severance pay, compensation for shortened notice and the leave equivalent are covered if employment ended no more than 12 months before the insolvency date, or no more than 4 months after it. So wages owed for earlier months are not covered by the fund.
How claims are filed
Under the Warsaw labour office page, within a month of the date of insolvency the employer, trustee, bankruptcy administrator, liquidator or another person managing the employer's assets prepares and files a collective list of unpaid claims with the voivodeship marshal. It names the persons entitled, the claim titles and amounts. The list is filed on paper in three copies and electronically, with attachments such as a copy of the court decision.
The ministry says that detailed information is available from the voivodeship labour office responsible for the employer's registered seat, and for a sole trader, for the main place of business. The ministry's helpline is +48 222 500 108, open on working days from 8:15 to 16:15.
The labour portal (psz.praca.gov.pl) mentions advances paid at the request of an employee for unpaid claims. This guide does not set out the conditions, so ask the labour office.
What the sources do not say
The sources do not give a cap on the amount in zloty, and do not say how long payment takes. They do not say what to do if the employer or administrator does not file the list. They also do not explain what to do if your employer is simply late with wages but is not insolvent. In that case, other routes apply.
* Photos: cover, desk after work (CC0, Wikimedia Commons); body, gavel (public domain, Wikimedia Commons). Illustrative.
Frequently asked questions
Does the fund pay if my employer is just late with pay?
No. The condition is insolvency of the employer in the legal sense, such as bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings.
How many months of pay are covered?
Pay items for no more than 3 months before the insolvency date, or before the end of employment if it ended within the preceding 12 months, according to the Warsaw labour office.
Who files the claim?
The employer, trustee, administrator or liquidator files a collective list with the voivodeship marshal within a month of insolvency.
Are interest and late fees covered?
No. Only principal amounts, without interest.
