Deductions from pay — what your employer may take and how much must be left

Your employer cannot freely “take” money from your pay. The Labour Code lists what may be deducted without your consent, within what limits, and what part of your pay must remain with you. Everything else — e.g. a charge for housing provided by the employer — requires your written consent. Here are the rules for people employed under an employment contract (umowa o pracę), including temporary workers.

What your employer may deduct without your consent

From your pay — after deducting social security contributions, the income tax advance and PPK contributions (pracowniczy plan kapitałowy, employee capital plan) — the employer may deduct only (Art. 87 § 1):

1. maintenance (alimenty) enforced on the basis of an enforcement title (tytuł wykonawczy, e.g. a judgment with an enforcement clause),
2. other debts enforced on the basis of an enforcement title — usually a seizure by a bailiff (komornik),
3. cash advances (zaliczki) paid to you by the employer,
4. financial penalties (kary pieniężne) for breaching health and safety or fire regulations, leaving work without justification or alcohol at work (Art. 108).

Deductions are made in this order (Art. 87 § 2). You cannot waive your right to pay or transfer it to another person (Art. 84).

A separate matter is the offset of an amount paid for an absence for which you were not entitled to pay (e.g. an unexcused absence in the previous month) — the employer offsets it in full (Art. 87 § 7).

The maximum that can be deducted

Limits on deductions (Art. 87 § 3 and 4):

• maintenance — up to 3/5 of pay,
• other debts and advances — together up to 1/2 of pay, and together with maintenance — up to 3/5,
• financial penalties — the penalty for one offence or one day of absence may not exceed one day’s pay, and all penalties together — 1/10 of pay after the other deductions (Art. 108 § 3).

The amount exempt from deductions

Part of your pay must always remain with you (Art. 87¹ § 1). It is calculated from the net minimum wage — the minimum wage after deducting contributions, the tax advance and PPK contributions:

• 100% of this amount — for enforcement of debts other than maintenance,
• 75% — for deductions of advances,
• 90% — for deductions of financial penalties.

For enforcement of maintenance there is no exempt amount — only the 3/5 limit applies.

In 2026 the minimum wage is PLN 4,806 gross. For a full-time job, with basic tax-deductible costs, a submitted PIT-2 form and no PPK, this gives about PLN 3,605.85 net — in that case this is how much must remain with you in a bailiff seizure. If you contribute to PPK, the amount is slightly lower. For part-time work the exempt amounts are reduced proportionally (Art. 87¹ § 2). From January 2027, together with the minimum wage of PLN 4,950 gross, the exempt amount will rise.

Housing, transport, clothing — only with your consent

Any other charge — e.g. for accommodation provided by the employer, transport to work or damage — may be deducted only with your consent given in writing (Art. 91 § 1). Even then an exempt amount applies (Art. 91 § 2):

• 100% of the net minimum wage — when the money goes to the employer (e.g. for company housing),
• 80% of that amount — when the deduction is in favour of someone else (e.g. a loan instalment, a fee for another company).

This means that with pay equal to the minimum wage (full time, no supplements) the employer cannot deduct a single złoty for housing, even if you have signed a consent.

What this means for you

If you are an employee:

• Check your payslip (pasek wypłaty): each deduction should have a name and an amount.
• Do not sign a consent to a deduction if you do not know what you are paying for and how much. Ask for a specific amount and purpose to be written in.
• If you are a foreigner living in accommodation provided by your employer or agency, check whether the charge is deducted from your pay or paid separately — and whether you have given written consent.
• If deductions do not comply with the law, you can file a complaint with the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP).

If you are an employer:

• Before deducting for accommodation or another benefit, obtain the employee’s written consent and check the exempt amount.
• With several deductions, keep to the order in Art. 87 § 2 and the overall limits.
• From the January 2027 payroll, recalculate the exempt amounts using the new minimum wage.

Legal basis: Act of 26 June 1974 — Labour Code (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245), Art. 84, 87, 87¹, 91, 108; Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 11 September 2025 on the minimum wage and minimum hourly rate in 2026 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242); net calculation: pit.pl (minimum wage 2026). Legal status as of 30 September 2026.