Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection have access to labour market on the same conditions as Polish citizens. There is no difference between refugees and subsidiary protection beneficiaries in this regards. Access to employment is not limited to certain sectors.
Beneficiaries of international protection face many challenges in entering the labour market. It starts with the long period of exclusion during the first six months of the procedure for international protection when they are not allowed to work. Then they face other obstacles, such as discrimination by potential employers and performance of simple and low-paid jobs, which pushes them into undocumented work. They often work below their qualifications and skills or do not work at all due to family responsibilities. Other problems influencing their situation are trauma and depression. Also, research shows that in order to achieve a good level of integration in the labour market, it is important to have appropriate information, social networks, adequate language training, and a welcoming atmosphere.[1] However, the two most significant challenges that beneficiaries of international protection need to overcome to access the labour market are language and recognition of education and qualifications.[2] Additionally, local labour offices are rated quite negatively by NGO representatives working with refugees, since they are not prepared to help beneficiaries of international protection to enter the labour market in Poland, despite a clear obligation to do so in the law.[3] NGOs report that foreign employees face discrimination, based on multiple factors (including nationality, race, religion, gender, age).[4]
Low language skills and low professional qualifications results in unemployment or employment with low salary; instability of employment; small chances for a promotion.[5] It is easier to find a job in bigger cities, e.g. in Warsaw where vocational trainings are provided in foreign languages. Support of the state is only provided during the 12-month Individual Integration Programme (IPI). Although beneficiaries of international protection have access to professional qualifications programs, they are held in Polish which exclude their participation in practice. There are no programs specially dedicated to foreigners improving professional qualifications by learning Polish. Additionally, the specific needs of foreigners are not taken into account.[6]
In the report from 2020, the following issues were identified: insufficient knowledge of Polish by beneficiaries of international protection, modest linguistic skills of the labour market services and limited ties and social networks, which often act as barriers for them to find a job. [7] Assistance provided by social workers within IPI in most cases consists of support in completing the documentation necessary to register at the labour office, searching for job offers and contacting a potential employer as well as informing about the possibility of participating in vocational training in Polish. Vocational trainings on the other hand do not respond to market needs.[8]
An important finding of the study is that despite early and effective inclusion in the labour market which gives a greater chance for integration of beneficiaries of international protection with Polish society, there is a lack of mechanism to mainstream integration of beneficiaries of international protection in the labour market. There is also a lack of a monitoring system for the acquisition of work skills and recognition of qualifications as well as for labour market inclusion of beneficiaries of international protection. Moreover, data related to trainings and the effectiveness of IPI in relation to labour market inclusion are not collected in a systematic way.[9]
One of the key problems remains insufficient knowledge of the Polish language by beneficiaries of international protection. Refugees interviewed for research often bring up that employers do not have time for explanations and translations. [10] Hence, provision of long-term and effective language courses remains one of the key factors needed for improving the access to labour market. Meanwhile, around 35 per cent of beneficiaries of international protection attend language courses. This results from either lack of courses in some localities, an inability to reconcile work with participation in a course due to the latter’s hours, or low attractiveness of the courses (i.e. their failure to meet the needs of refugees).[11]
Another issue reported in 2022 by SIP is that migrant workers who suffered exploitation or abuse in Poland are not sufficiently assisted. No state support is offered to them. National Labour Inspectorate is an authority that investigates the legality of migrants’ work and punishes them for working without needed documents rather than offering support in the event of exploitation or abuse.[12]
[1] K. Sobczak-Szelc, M. Pachocka, K. Pędziwiatr, J. Szałańska, M. Szulecka, From Reception to Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Poland, 2023, available at: http://bit.ly/3KiKMCy, 179.
[2] K. Sobczak-Szelc, M. Pachocka, K. Pędziwiatr, J. Szałańska, M. Szulecka, From Reception to Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Poland, 2023, available at: http://bit.ly/3KiKMCy, 168.
[3] Ibidem, 171.
[4] P. Mickiewicz, Dyskryminacja cudzoziemców na rynku pracy [in] Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej (SIP), SIP w działaniu. Prawa cudzoziemców w Polsce w 2018 r. (2019), available (in Polish) at: http://bit.ly/2S507LV, 53.
[5] Mikołaj Pawlak ‘Zatrudnienie’ in A Górska, M Koss-Goryszewska, J Kucharczyk (eds), W stronę krajowego machanizmu ewaluacji integracji: Diagnoza sytuacji beneficjentów ochrony międzynarodowej w Polsce (Instutut Spraw Publicznych 2019), 32.
[6] Mikołaj Pawlak, ‘Kwalifikacje zawodowe’ in A. Górska, M. Koss-Goryszewska, J. Kucharczyk (eds), W stronę krajowego machanizmu ewaluacji integracji: Diagnoza sytuacji beneficjentów ochrony międzynarodowej w Polsce (Instutut Spraw Publicznych 2019), 37.
[7] K. Sobczak-Szelc, M. Pachocka, K. Pędziwiatr, J. Szałańska, ‘Integration Policies, Practices and Responses. Poland – Country Report’, Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond Project (#770564, Horizon2020), available at: http://bit.ly/3bfjTxL
[8] K. Sobczak-Szelc, M. Pachocka, K. Pędziwiatr, J. Szałańska, ‘Integration Policies, Practices and Responses. Poland – Country Report’, Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond Project (#770564, Horizon2020), available at: http://bit.ly/3bfjTxL
[9] K. Sobczak-Szelc, M. Pachocka, K. Pędziwiatr, J. Szałańska, ‘Integration Policies, Practices and Responses. Poland – Country Report’, Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond Project (#770564, Horizon2020), available at: http://bit.ly/3bfjTxL, 134.
[10] RESPOND Poland Policy Brief, Adult Refugees’ Integration in Poland, 2021, https://bit.ly/3vrD0QZ
[11] RESPOND Poland Policy Brief, Adult Refugees’ Integration in Poland, 2021, https://bit.ly/3vrD0QZ
[12] Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej and others, third party joint submission to the 41st Session of the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Poland – 4th cycle, 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3mdl9ec