You are working in a restaurant and accidentally drop a tray of glasses. You damage a piece of equipment in a
warehouse. Or you make a mistake while using a company laptop. Your manager looks at the damage and says:
“You broke it, so you have to pay for it.” Is it really that simple?
In Poland, the answer is no. Employees can sometimes be financially responsible for damage they cause at work,
but an employer cannot automatically make you pay every time something goes wrong.
If you work under an umowa o pracę, Polish labour law sets specific rules for employee liability. In a typical case,
the employer must show that you failed to properly perform your work duties, that you were at fault, that the
employer actually suffered a loss, and that your actions caused that loss.
This distinction matters because accidents happen at work. Equipment breaks. Glasses get dropped. Workers make
mistakes. The normal risks of running a business cannot simply be transferred to employees every time something
costs the company money.
The circumstances are important. Imagine that a worker damages a machine because they ignored clear
instructions and used it incorrectly. That is different from a machine breaking because it was already defective, the
employee was not properly trained, or the employer failed to provide suitable working conditions.
The amount an employer can demand also depends on what happened. If damage was caused unintentionally,
compensation under the general rules is limited to the employer’s actual loss and cannot normally exceed three
months of the employee’s salary. If an employee deliberately causes damage, however, they can be required to
compensate the employer for the full amount.
There are also special rules for property specifically entrusted to an employee. This could include money, tools or
other property given to a worker with an obligation to return it or account for it. Liability in these situations can be
greater. Even then, the circumstances still matter. For example, a worker may be able to avoid liability if the loss
occurred for reasons beyond their control.
Another important question is whether your boss can simply take the money from your next salary. In Poland,
deductions from wages are regulated. An employer cannot treat your salary like a company account and freely
subtract whatever amount they believe you owe. There are rules governing what can be deducted, and other
amounts generally require the employee’s written consent.
This means you should be careful if you are handed a document immediately after an accident and told: “Sign this
and we’ll deduct it from your salary.” Do not sign something you do not understand just because you feel
embarrassed or under pressure.
Instead, ask what exactly you are being charged for. How was the amount calculated? Why does the employer
believe you are responsible? Was the equipment working correctly? Had you received proper training?
Keep your own records as well. Save messages and photographs where relevant, and write down what happened
while you still remember the details. If other workers witnessed the incident, remember who was present.
Making a mistake at work does not automatically mean that you owe your employer money. At the same time,
employees are not completely protected from responsibility when they genuinely cause damage through their own
fault.
The key question is not simply: “Who broke it?” It is how the damage happened, who was responsible, and what
the law actually allows the employer to recover.
If you are being pressured to pay for workplace damage and are unsure whether the demand is legitimate, you can
seek advice from a trade union, labour rights organisation, or Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa
Inspekcja Pracy – PIP).
A broken plate, damaged tool or workplace mistake can be stressful. But do not let that pressure convince you to
immediately hand over money or sign something you do not understand.