If you want to start or expand your business, it is worth considering Poland. It is an attractive country located in Eastern Europe, which belongs to the European Union. It has many advantages in terms of location, time zone, costs and opportunities in the IT sector. In this article, we will present why foreign investors should consider opening a branch in Poland.
Opening a Branch in Poland
There are 2 ways to register a branch in Poland. The choice depends on where the company that wants to do it is located.
Foreign entrepreneurs from EU or EFTA Member States may establish their branches under the same conditions as Polish citizens (the procedure is simplified). However, if they are from non-EU countries or non-EFTA countries, the opening of a branch depends on whether international agreements do not prohibit it or if both countries have relevant mutual agreements signed with Poland. If you want to know more about the current requirements, you can read about the rules in Poland regarding the type of activity, services and taxes.
Types of contracts in Poland
If we think about hiring programmers or workers for other positions in the IT industry in Poland, the type of contract is an important issue. In this country, the most common contracts are the Employment Contract and a B2B (Business-to-Business) contract.
The employment contract includes the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employee. The employer must pay the employee as previously agreed, and the employee is to perform the duties ordered by the superior. A B2B contract is an alternative to an employment contract. A programmer becomes self-employed by starting their own business to provide services to another company. In a B2B contract, the employee is responsible for paying fees related to employment, e.g. for taxes or contributions. You can read about the other differences, paid holidays and the issue of taxes in 2022 in our article on types of contracts in Poland.
Why should you consider Poland?
First of all, the ease of doing Business index might provide us with interesting conclusions. The development of Poland in this matter is shown by the results from 2003 to 2020. In 2020, the country was in the 40th place out of 190 analyzed countries.
Time zone and the currency
Poland is located in the Central European Time zone (GMT + 01:00). Most European countries, including Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, belong to the same time zone. Described Central European Time (CET) is valid for the winter period from October to March. However, during the summer period, from March to October, the valid time is UTC + 02:00.
The currency in Poland is the Polish zloty (EUR 1 = 4.70 PLN, 1 USD = 4.46 PLN – exchange rate on May 6, 2022).
Furthermore, Poland is also a good place for IT outsourcing, because of a similar time zone organizing work or live meetings is not a problem. You can read about the benefits of this type of service in the article about top 8 benefits of IT outsourcing.
The best cities to start a business in Poland
Based on the data from our report on the IT job market in Poland, the most popular cities to work in the IT industry are Warsaw, Krakow and Wrocław.
The table above shows that according to fDi Intelligence, Warsaw came second in terms of a business-friendly location (in the category of major European cities).
The ranking of Business Friendly Cities 2021, also lists the above-mentioned locations. A big advantage of Warsaw is the large local market, educated residents and above all, the proximity to the airport. In the capital of Poland, 130,235 active companies were operating in 2021, including 37,615 companies with foreign capital (approximately 40% of all in the country). There were mentioned oter cities such as Kraków, Wrocław, Lublin, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk and Poznań.
In the fDi’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2022/23 ranking by fDi Magazine, Krakow was distinguished in the business friendliness category – position 1, human capital and lifestyle – position 2, economic potential – position 6, overall category – position 4, FDI Strategy category – position 9. In addition, the ABSL report shows that in Krakow, the department of centers providing services for the IT industry is over 40%. You can read more about the great business potential of this city in our article on hiring IT specialists in Krakow.
The high level of the English language
In the context of looking for employees in the IT sector in Poland, it is worth checking the matter of language skills. The EF English Proficiency Index data shows that Poles occupy 16th place on the list of countries with the best use of the English language. If you are interested in the English language proficiency level of Polish programmers, the results of the report on the IT job market in Poland, which was published in 2022, show positive conclusions. Over 70% of the surveyed IT specialists declared that they use it at the B2/C1 level.
Talented IT specialists
The fact that you can have access to talented employees in Poland is best shown by the data compiled by HackerRank. Polish programmers take 3rd place in the category of the best programming skills. You can read more about the high level of specialist knowledge of Polish programmers in our article: 5 Reasons Why You Should Choose Poland for Outsourcing IT.
Opportunity to obtain government grants
Obtaining a government grant may be a significant help in the context of opening a branch in Poland. It can be obtained through the Programme for supporting investments of major importance to the Polish economy for the years 2011-2030. Moreover, the support provided in the form of a grant is based on an agreement concluded between the Minister and the investor.
The program provides investment support for the following titles
- Support for the costs of creating new jobs (employment grant)
- Support for eligible costs of a new investment (investment grant)
- Support for employee training
Summary
If you are looking for a place to open a branch of your company in the European Union, it is worth considering Poland. The above-mentioned data show that there are cities here that are very attractive in terms of business and it’s reflected in the rankings. If you are thinking about developing a new technology business, you can contact us. We are able to professionally advise on the selection of locations for new branches, local labor law and tax issues, as well as recruit IT specialists to your team.