Country profile POL
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | 2023 | C138 & C182 | Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 19 June 2023 on the list of prohibited work for juveniles and the conditions of employment for some of that work (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1240) - Annex 1, Annex 2 | [{"link_name":"Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 19 June 2023 on the list of prohibited work for juveniles and the conditions of employment for some of that work","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20230001240"}] | Yes | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | Poland has adopted a binding regulation establishing a national list of hazardous work prohibited for juveniles under the age of 18. The list is set out in Annex 1 of the Council of Ministers Regulation of 19 June 2023 (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1240), which includes detailed categories of prohibited activities, such as work involving excessive physical exertion, exposure to chemical, biological, and physical hazards (e.g. radiation, noise, and extreme temperatures), or tasks that may negatively impact the psychological or moral development of adolescents. The regulation allows limited exceptions for 16–17-year-olds in vocational training (Annex 2), provided the work is non-permanent, directly linked to their training, and subject to prior risk assessments, medical clearance, and close supervision. Employers are obligated to post workplace-specific lists of hazardous work and consult with an occupational health physician. This regulation replaces the 2004 version and fully satisfies the requirement under C182 and C138 to maintain a detailed and consultative national list of hazardous child labour. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 1998 | C138 & C182 | Labour Code of Poland | [{"link_name":"Labour Code of Poland","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19740240141/U/D19740141Lj.pdf"}] | 18 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | Under Polish law, the employment of persons under 18 in hazardous work is strictly prohibited. According to the Labour Code and its implementing regulations, adolescents must not be employed in night shifts, overtime, or work involving physical strain, hazardous machinery, or substances. Specifically, work that could endanger life, health, or moral development is forbidden, and a Labour Inspectorate guideline states that hazardous tasks are absolutely banned for persons under 18. However, from age 16, adolescents may perform certain tasks otherwise prohibited if it is part of vocational training, provided they are temporary, supervised by a qualified trainer, and adequate protective measures and instruction are in place. The type of work must be listed in the training curriculum and approved; full compliance with safety and health standards is mandatory. These provisions ensure that Poland's framework aligns with C138 and C182. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | 2005 | C182 | Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction | [{"link_name":"Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=wdu20051791485"}] | Yes | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Poland’s legal framework explicitly prohibits the involvement of children in illicit drug activities, including production and trafficking. The Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction criminalises the recruitment or involvement of minors in the manufacture, distribution, or trafficking of narcotics. Penal provisions carry significant penalties, ranging from 6 months to 10 years’ imprisonment, with enhanced sentences when minors are involved or the quantities are significant. The public prosecutor may also waive proceedings for minor possession offences only if the individual is not a minor and participates in rehabilitation—a safeguard that cannot apply to minors, ensuring that children are not legally tolerated in drug-related offences. These measures fully align with C182’s requirements by prohibiting all recruitment or use of children in illicit drug activities. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 1997 | C182 | Penal Code of Poland - Article 202, Article 204 | [{"link_name":"Penal Code of Poland","source_link":"https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/uncac/LegalLibrary/Poland/Laws/Criminal%20Code%20(Poland).pdf"}] | Yes | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | Poland’s Penal Code explicitly prohibits the use of children in prostitution and pornography. Article 204 criminalises profiting from, facilitating, or coercing persons into prostitution, including minors, with penalties ranging from 1 to 10 years of imprisonment depending on the circumstances. Article 202 § 3 bans the production, distribution, import, possession, or display of pornographic material involving minors, particularly those under 15 years of age. This provision was strengthened in 2008 to include Articles 202 §§ 4a–4c, which extend the prohibition to simulated child pornography and criminalise possession, offering penalties of up to 5 years. These offences apply regardless of whether the acts are recorded or performed live. Poland’s legal framework aligns with the requirements of EU Directive 2011/93/EU and the Lanzarote Convention, ensuring that all forms of sexual exploitation and pornography involving minors are fully prohibited. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | 1997 ; 2002 | C182 | Constitution of Poland - Article 85 ; Law of 21 November 1967 on Universal Obligation to Defend the Republic of Poland (as amended) | [{"link_name":"-Constitution of Poland","source_link":"https://andyreiter.com/wp-content/uploads/military-justice/pl/Laws%20and%20Decrees/Poland%20-%201967%20-%20Defense%20Law.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Law of 21 November 1967 on Universal Obligation to Defend the Republic of Poland","source_link":"https://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/konse.htm"}] | Yes | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | Under Polish law, compulsory military service cannot be imposed on persons under the age of 18. National law specifies that only citizens aged 18–28 may be conscripted, and voluntary recruitment is only permissible from age 17 and requires informed parental consent, proof of age, and genuine voluntariness. Since the suspension of conscription in 2009, Poland operates an all-volunteer professional military system, with no compulsory recruitment of minors. These provisions ensure that no individual under 18 is subject to forced or compulsory military recruitment, fully complying with the C182 prohibition. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 1997 | C182 | Penal Code of Poland - Article 115(22), Article 189a | [{"link_name":"Penal Code of Poland","source_link":"https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/uncac/LegalLibrary/Poland/Laws/Criminal%20Code%20(Poland).pdf"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | Poland criminalises all forms of child trafficking and the sale of children for sexual or labour exploitation. Article 115(22) defines trafficking in human beings in line with the UN Palermo Protocol, including recruitment, transportation or receipt of children for exploitation. Article 189a, introduced in 2010, merges sex trafficking and labour trafficking offences, prescribing penalties of 3 to 15 years’ imprisonment (up to 25 years if committed during the armed conflict in Ukraine). Polish law also prohibits related practices such as debt bondage, slavery, servitude, forced labour and the illicit sale of body parts involving children. Specific provisions further criminalise child prostitution, grooming, and sexual exploitation of minors under 15. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 1998 | C138 | Labour Code of Poland - Article 191, 194 and 196 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code of Poland","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19740240141/U/D19740141Lj.pdf"}] | 15 | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | Poland allows adolescents aged 15 years and above to engage in apprenticeships or vocational training under specific conditions set out in the Labour Code. Article 191 establishes that a juvenile (aged 15–18) may be employed for the purpose of vocational training, provided they have completed at least 8 years of primary education and possess a medical certificate confirming the work is not harmful to their health. Articles 194 to 196 define the structure of such employment, requiring that it must take the form of a contract for vocational training for a specific occupation. This contract must comply with curricula approved by the Minister of Education and Science and be implemented under the supervision of a qualified instructor. The training may occur in schools, training institutions, or approved enterprises and must meet the standards of Poland’s dual education system. Work carried out in the course of such training is excluded from C138’s general minimum age restriction, in line with ILO guidance. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 1998 ; 1991 | C138 | Labour Code of Poland - Article 190 ; Act on the Education System - Article 35 | [{"link_name":"-Act on the Education System","source_link":"https://www.prawo.vulcan.edu.pl/przegdok.asp?qdatprz=akt&qplikid=1"},{"link_name":"-Labour Code of Poland","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19740240141/U/D19740141Lj.pdf"}] | Yes | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | In Poland, compulsory schooling lasts for 8 years and begins at age 7, ending at approximately age 15. According to Article 35 of the Act on the Education System, full-time compulsory education must be completed before a minor can enter into employment. This aligns with Article 190 of the Labour Code, which sets the minimum age for employment at 15, on the condition that the adolescent has completed compulsory primary education and obtained a medical certificate confirming that the work is not hazardous to their health. Thus, the minimum working age is not less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling, meeting the requirement under C138. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | 2023 | C138 | Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 19 June 2023 on the list of prohibited work for juveniles and the conditions of employment for some of that work (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1240) - Annex 1 and Annex 2 | [{"link_name":"Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 19 June 2023 on the list of prohibited work for juveniles and the conditions of employment for some of that work","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20230001240"}] | Yes | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | Poland has updated its regulatory framework in line with Convention C138 through the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 19 June 2023 (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1240), which entered into force on 30 September 2023. This regulation replaces the 2004 framework and establishes a detailed list of work prohibited for adolescents under 18 (Annex 1) and specifies conditions under which certain prohibited tasks may be carried out by those aged 16 and above as part of vocational training (Annex 2). The regulation outlines strict conditions for the determination of light work, including the requirement that such work be non-hazardous, not interfere with schooling, and be supervised by qualified personnel. Employers must conduct risk assessments, ensure access to medical examinations, and secure written consent from a legal guardian and approval from the labour inspectorate. Additionally, employers are obliged to visibly post the list of permitted and prohibited work within the workplace. These provisions ensure compliance with the standards of C138, by clearly defining acceptable activities and working conditions for adolescents. |
| Minimum age for light work | 1998 | C138 | Labour Code of Poland | [{"link_name":"Labour Code of Poland","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19740240141/U/D19740141Lj.pdf"}] | 13 | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | Article 200(1) of the Labour Code allows the employment of persons aged 13 to 15 years for light work, provided the work is not harmful to their health, development, or educational obligations. The work must not interfere with school attendance or the child’s ability to benefit from instruction. Employers must obtain written consent from the child’s parent or legal guardian and approval from the labour inspector. The types of light work permitted are specified in the 2014 Council of Ministers Regulation, which includes tasks such as office help, gardening, and certain cultural activities. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 1998 ; 1997 | C138 | Labour Code of Poland - Article 190 ; Constitution of Poland - Article 65(3) | [{"link_name":"-Labour Code of Poland","source_link":"https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19740240141/U/D19740141Lj.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Constitution of Poland","source_link":"https://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/konse.htm"}] | 15 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | The Labour Code (Article 190) defines an “adolescent employee” as a person aged between 15 and 18 years. Employment of persons under 15 is prohibited, except in specific cases of light work under regulated conditions. Article 65(3) of the Constitution of Poland explicitly prohibits the permanent employment of children under the age of 16. Adolescents aged 15–17 may be employed only if they have completed compulsory primary education (8 years) and present a medical certificate confirming that the work is not harmful to their health. |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 09-AUG-2002 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 22-MAR-1978 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This government-endorsed plan outlines Poland’s strategy to combat human trafficking, recognising that trafficking constitutes a severe violation of human rights and a modern form of slavery. As the second consecutive plan of its kind, it sets out goals such as raising public awareness, improving victim support—including for minors—enhancing institutional coordination and legal frameworks, training professionals, and strengthening prevention and prosecution efforts at both central and regional levels. It also incorporates measures against forced labour and child exploitation. | [{"link_name":"National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Human Beings","source_link":"https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwipoMObpbD7AhWugv0HHS5cBDcQFnoECBYQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.pl%2Fattachment%2Fcba4f451-adc9-48a7-8871-2958256e83de&usg=AOvVaw3YNEj9t0Ujy-nQzdqtazz0"}] | 2022-2024 | National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Human Beings | Council of Ministers |