As the labour market goes digital, more and more employment-related processes are moving online. One of the most important employee documents is the employment certificate (świadectwo pracy), which officially confirms the course of a person's employment. It contains key information used to establish employee entitlements with subsequent employers and pension entitlements. With digitalisation progressing, the question arises whether an employment certificate can be issued in electronic form.
Traditional ways of documenting employment are gradually giving way to modern IT solutions. What matters most here is ensuring that electronic documents are authentic and reliable. The employment certificate, as a record of essential information about a person's employment, needs particular protection against forgery and must have full legal effect.
The employment certificate is one of the most important documents in every employee's working life. It contains information on the period of employment, the positions held, the type of work performed and the circumstances in which the employment relationship ended. You need it when applying for a new job and when your pension entitlements are being determined
The employer's obligation to issue an employment certificate
The employer has a statutory obligation to issue an employment certificate within strictly defined time limits and in specific circumstances. This obligation stems directly from the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy) and is absolute, which means it cannot be made conditional on anything else.
When the employment relationship is terminated or expires, the employer must issue the employment certificate to the employee on the day the employment relationship ends. The exception is when the employer intends to enter into another employment relationship with the same employee within 7 days of the termination or expiry of the previous one.
If, for objective reasons, the certificate cannot be handed to the employee or a person authorised by them within the required time, the employer must send it within 7 days of the original deadline. It can be sent through a postal operator within the meaning of the Postal Law Act (Prawo pocztowe) of 23 November 2012 or delivered in another way.
An employment certificate covers the period or periods of employment for which no certificate has yet been issued. The employer cannot issue a certificate for periods already documented in previous employment certificates. Each period of employment can be documented only once
If the employer enters into another employment relationship with the same employee within 7 days of the termination or expiry of the previous one, the legal position is different. The employer then has to issue an employment certificate only at the employee's request, submitted on paper or electronically.
The request can be made at any time and may concern the previous period of employment or all periods of employment for which no certificate has yet been issued. The employer must issue the certificate within 7 days of receiving the request. Such a request is often linked to the partial employment certificate.
Practical example: An employee on a fixed-term employment contract ending on 31 December is offered an extension starting on 5 January of the following year. As the gap between the contracts is only 4 days, the employer does not have to issue an employment certificate automatically. The certificate will be issued only at the request of the employee, who can submit it at any time.
An important provision is Article 97 § 1³ of the Labour Code, which states that issuing the employment certificate cannot be made conditional on the employee first settling accounts with the employer. This means that even if there are financial disputes or other unresolved matters between the parties, the employer must issue the certificate within the statutory time limits.
What the employment certificate must contain
The content of the employment certificate is strictly regulated by law and must include specific items of information. Filling in all the required fields correctly is crucial for the document's validity and its usefulness in the employee's further career.
The certificate must state the period of employment, with the exact start and end dates. It must also state the type of work performed, described precisely and clearly. The certificate must also list the positions held, including all promotions and organisational changes during the period of employment.
A key element of the certificate is information on how the employment relationship was terminated or the circumstances in which it expired. This part of the document has particular legal significance, as it affects how future employers assess the employee and may have consequences for employee entitlements.
The employment certificate must mention any attachment of wages under the rules on enforcement proceedings. This information is mandatory and must be included if such an attachment occurred during the period of employment
The employment certificate must also contain any other information needed to establish employee and social insurance entitlements. This may include information on non-contributory periods, work in special conditions or other circumstances affecting future benefits.
At the employee's request, the certificate must also state the amount and components of their pay. This part is optional and is included only if the employee expressly asks for it. Likewise, at the employee's request, the certificate must state the qualifications obtained (Article 97 § 2 of the Labour Code). The certificate must also be issued when the parting follows a termination notice given by the employee.
All information in the employment certificate must be true and based on the records kept by the employer. False information in an employment certificate may result in legal liability for the employer.
Written form of the employment certificate: legal requirements
The form of the employment certificate is strictly defined by law and must meet specific formal requirements. The certificate should be issued to the employee in written form, which under Article 78 § 1 of the Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), in conjunction with Article 300 of the Labour Code, means a handwritten signature on the document.
The signature requirement is also reflected in the auxiliary template of the employment certificate, annexed to the Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 30 December 2016 on the employment certificate (consolidated text: Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2024, item 1016), which provides for the document to be signed by the employer, a person representing the employer or a person authorised to make declarations on the employer's behalf.
According to the decision of the Regional Court in Katowice of 11 March 2014 (IV Cz 177/14), certain minimum requirements for a signature can be identified. It must consist of at least the surname, although not necessarily written out in full; an abbreviation is acceptable, and it does not even have to be fully legible.
A signature should consist of identifiable letters that allow the signatory to be identified. It must allow comparison and make it possible to establish, through repetition, that it is the form the person usually uses, even if it is barely legible. What matters are the individual, repeatable features characteristic of a specific person
Only a written mark counts as a handwritten signature. This reflects the meaning of the word "signature", which refers to the act of writing. In particular, an ink fingerprint or a facsimile, i.e. a copy of a signature that another person can stamp on a document, is not a signature.
An essential feature of a signature is that it is handwritten. This makes identification possible, because only a handwritten signature, which carries the personal features of the signatory's handwriting, allows a graphological examination to confirm that it is authentic. This position is confirmed by the decision of the Supreme Court, Civil Chamber, of 10 April 2008 (IV CZ 23/08).
The shape of the letters, the way they are joined and other individual features of handwriting make a signature unique and allow it to be verified. These elements are crucial for preserving the legal effect of the document and ensuring its authenticity.
Qualified electronic signature: the legal basis
The legal basis for issuing an employment certificate in electronic form lies in the provisions of the Civil Code on the form of legal acts. Under Article 78¹ of the Civil Code, to observe the electronic form of a legal act, it is enough to make a declaration of intent in electronic form and sign it with a qualified electronic signature.
Two basic conditions must therefore be met. First, a declaration of intent must be made, i.e. the document must be drawn up in electronic form. Second, the document must bear a qualified electronic signature, which ensures the document's authenticity and integrity.
The definition of a qualified electronic signature is set out in Article 3 point 12 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
A qualified electronic signature means an advanced electronic signature that is created by a qualified electronic signature creation device and is based on a qualified certificate for electronic signatures. This type of signature has the strongest legal effect of all types of electronic signatures
Remember that the electronic form is not the same as the documentary form, defined in Article 77² of the Civil Code. To observe the documentary form of a legal act, it is enough to make a declaration of intent in the form of a document in a way that makes it possible to identify the person making the declaration.
The documentary form does not require a handwritten or electronic signature on the document. It applies when a document is drawn up as text, audio or audiovisual material, and also as an electronic message ending with the author's first name and surname.
The difference between the electronic form and the documentary form is crucial for the validity of an employment certificate. The documentary form does not provide sufficient legal protection for a document as important as the employment certificate.
How to obtain a qualified electronic signature
You can obtain a qualified electronic signature from one of the certified providers listed on the website of the National Certification Centre (Narodowe Centrum Certyfikacji). Obtaining a qualified electronic signature requires following specific procedures and security requirements. We prepare employment certificates, including electronic ones, for clients using our HR and payroll services.
A qualified signature kit usually includes the following:
- A special cryptographic card on which the qualified certificate is stored
- A card reader connected to the computer via a USB port
- Software for using the electronic signature
- A user manual and technical documentation
- A qualified certificate with a defined validity period
The process starts with submitting an application to the chosen certification service provider. The applicant must confirm their identity by presenting the appropriate identity documents. The provider then verifies the data and issues the qualified certificate.
A qualified electronic signature lets you sign and submit returns in the Płatnik system (ZUS software for contribution returns), log in to the profile on the ZUS Electronic Services Platform (PUE ZUS), file tax returns electronically with tax offices (urząd skarbowy) and sign financial statements sent to the KRS (National Court Register)
In addition, a qualified electronic signature lets you send data to the tax authorities in the form of the Standard Audit File for Tax (Jednolity Plik Kontrolny, JPK), confirm your identity in dealings with public offices and in communication between employees of public administration units, and sign and download personnel files of employees and contractors.
A qualified certificate has a defined validity period, after which it must be renewed. The cost of obtaining and maintaining a qualified electronic signature is relatively low compared with the benefits of using it.
Example of use: A company employing remote workers in different cities can issue employment certificates in electronic form, so employees do not have to come to the company's registered office in person. The employee receives an employment certificate signed with a qualified electronic signature by an authorised person, which gives the document full legal validity.
Using the electronic form for the employment certificate
As Article 78¹ § 2 of the Civil Code provides, a declaration made in electronic form is equivalent to a declaration of intent made in written form. This gives rise to a fundamental legal principle: since the certificate must be drawn up in written form, it can also be drawn up in electronic form. Since 1 January 2019, the Labour Code has also allowed employee documentation to be kept and stored in electronic form (Article 94 point 9a), and the employee may submit a request for the certificate on paper or electronically (Article 97 § 1¹); the law does not, however, expressly specify the form of the certificate itself.
The equivalence of the electronic and written forms means that an employment certificate issued in electronic form has the same legal effect as a traditional paper certificate. Employers can therefore choose between the two forms depending on their needs and technical capabilities.
The documentary form mentioned earlier, referred to in Article 77² of the Civil Code, has not been made equivalent to the written form or the electronic form. Consequently, issuing an employment certificate in documentary form is not legally permissible and makes the certificate defective.
The electronic form can be expected to become increasingly common for employment certificates and other employment documents. Technological progress and employers' growing legal awareness favour the digitalisation of HR processes
Introducing the electronic employment certificate brings many practical benefits. Above all, it removes the need for physical contact between employer and employee, which is particularly important for remote work or when the employee is in another city.
The electronic form also means faster delivery, with no postal delays. In addition, electronic documents are easier to archive and manage, which matters to both employers and employees.
| Certificate form | Advantages | Disadvantages | Legal requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | Traditional, widely accepted | Requires physical contact, risk of loss | Handwritten signature |
| Electronic | Fast delivery, easy archiving | Requires a qualified signature | Qualified electronic signature |
| Documentary | Simple to produce | Legally not permitted | Does not meet legal requirements |
Employers considering the electronic employment certificate should make sure their IT system is properly secured and that staff responsible for issuing documents are trained. It is also essential to give employees a way to verify the authenticity of the documents they receive.
Security and verification of electronic documents
Using the electronic form of the employment certificate means ensuring an adequate level of security and a way to verify the authenticity of documents. A qualified electronic signature is the highest level of protection available in the legal system.
Documents bearing a qualified electronic signature are protected against unauthorised changes. Any attempt to modify the content of a document after it has been signed is detected by the verification system, which ensures the document's integrity.
The authenticity of an electronic employment certificate can be verified with specialist software or online services offered by certification service providers. Verification confirms that the document was actually signed by the indicated person and has not been modified since.
- A qualified electronic signature provides the highest level of security
- Electronic documents are protected against unauthorised changes
- Authenticity can be verified with specialist software
- The system automatically detects attempts to modify signed documents
- Qualified certificates have a defined validity period and must be renewed
Employers using electronic employment certificates should also make sure electronic documents are properly archived. Documents must be stored so that they remain accessible for the period required by law and are protected against loss or damage.
