Volunteering in Poland
Young people who are ready to acquire some professional experience often begin their careers through volunteering, i.e. voluntary unpaid work. Polish law regulates the terms of providing services by volunteers. They are specified in the Act of 24 April 2003 on public benefit and volunteer work.
Pursuant to the Act (Article 42 sec. 1), volunteers can perform work in favour of:
Entity type |
Scope of services performed on voluntary basis |
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In the field of their statutory operation, including in particular in the field of public benefit activity, with the exception of business activity they pursue. |
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with the exception of business activity they pursue. |
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with the exception of business activity they pursue. |
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in the scope of medical activity they pursue. |
It is also possible to volunteer for international organisations in Poland.
A volunteer should possess qualifications and meet the requirements corresponding to the type and scope of services rendered, although in practice volunteering begins with tasks a given volunteer is able to discharge; they are later adapted appropriately to the experience gained in the further course of cooperation.
From the legal perspective, it is important to bear in mind that volunteering is not equivalent to employment relationship; as a result, persons which already have or are planning to obtain the unemployed status can also be volunteers.
The scope of cooperation, mode of operation and the term of providing voluntary services by the volunteer should be determined in the agreement concluded with the institution benefiting from volunteering (it is necessary in case of activities whose duration exceeds 30 days). The institution using volunteers may also cover the costs connected with a volunteer’s activity (such as trainings, business trips or allowances).
A volunteer is not paid for services rendered. If the organisation decides to offer a volunteer a payment for rendering such services after the period of cooperation, an appropriate contract must be concluded.
Template of contract on volunteering-based cooperation
Nationwide network of volunteering centres