Non-Compete Agreements in Poland: What the Labour Code Says
Short answer: Under Labour Code art. 101(1)-(3) a non-compete needs written form. A ban after employment is only for staff with key information and needs compensation of at least 25% of previous pay.
Many job offers in Poland come with a separate paper called "umowa o zakazie konkurencji", a non-compete agreement. Foreigners often sign it without knowing what it covers, how long it lasts or whether the employer has to pay for it. The rules sit in the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), articles 101(1) to 101(3). This guide follows the explanation published by Zielona Linia, the public employment information service run by the Centre of Employment Services Information, which cites the Labour Code and the State Labour Inspectorate. The page is dated 1 November 2021 and the Labour Code text is the consolidated version in the Journal of Laws 2026 item 1245. This is accurate as of 18 October 2026 based on these sources. This article describes employment contracts under the Labour Code. The sources we used do not address business-to-business (B2B) or civil-law contracts, so those are not covered here.
Two different kinds of ban
The Labour Code separates a ban that applies while you work for the employer from a ban that applies after the job ends. They have different conditions, so check which one your paper describes.
During employment (art. 101(1))
Under article 101(1) §1, within the scope set out in a separate agreement, an employee may not run activity that competes with the employer, and may not work for a company that runs such activity, whether under an employment contract or on another basis. Zielona Linia stresses several limits:
- The agreement has to be in writing. Without written form it is void (art. 101(3)).
- It cannot ban any extra activity at all. It must clearly state which kind of activity counts as competing.
- The extra activity must be directly linked to what the employer does and pose a real threat to its interests.
- It can be signed before you start or while you are already employed.
- It stops applying when the employment ends, unless the parties agreed on a shorter period.
If you break the ban and the employer suffers a loss, article 101(1) §2 lets the employer claim compensation under the Labour Code rules on employees' financial liability.
After employment (art. 101(2))
A ban that applies after you leave is possible only for an employee who has access to particularly important information whose disclosure could harm the employer. In the agreement you promise, for an agreed time after the job ends, not to run a defined competing activity. The employer promises to pay compensation. The compensation cannot be lower than 25% of your pay before the employment ended, for a period equal to the length of the ban. Zielona Linia notes that fixing the length of the ban and the amount of the compensation is a necessary condition of this type of agreement.
For example, if the ban lasts 12 months and your earlier monthly pay was 10,000 zł, the minimum compensation would be 2,500 zł a month, or 30,000 zł in total. This is our calculation from the 25% rule, not a figure from the source.
What the Supreme Court said
Zielona Linia quotes two Supreme Court rulings:
- 17 December 2001 (I PKN 742/00): an agreement that bans competition after employment without payment is not void, but the "unpaid" clause is replaced automatically by the compensation guaranteed in article 101(2), at least 25% of your previous pay.
- 11 January 2005 (I PK 96/04): an employer that signed a post-employment ban must pay the agreed compensation even when it no longer fears competition from the former employee.
These are older rulings, so a court today may look at the facts differently. Treat them as the direction of case law reported by the source, not as a guarantee.
A practical checklist before you sign
1. Make sure it is a separate written agreement signed by both sides. 2. Read what exactly counts as "competing". A vague list is a warning sign under the rule that the scope must be clear. 3. Check whether it applies during employment, after it, or both. 4. For a ban after the job, look for the length in months and the monthly compensation. If either is missing, ask the employer to add it. 5. Compare the compensation with the 25% minimum. 6. Keep a copy, and if the wording is unclear, ask for free advice. The Zielona Linia information line is 19524, with the call charged at your operator's normal rate.
* Photos: signing a document (public domain) and Aleksander Gierymski, Sand workers (public domain), Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative.
Frequently asked questions
Is a non-compete agreement valid without a signature on paper?
No. Article 101(3) of the Labour Code requires written form for both the during-employment and the after-employment agreement, and says that otherwise they are void.
Does my employer have to pay me after I leave if I accepted a non-compete?
Yes. Under article 101(2) a ban after the job ends comes with compensation of at least 25% of your earlier pay, for the same length of time as the ban. The ban is for employees with access to particularly important information.
