Is your HR department drowning in paperwork, and are employees signing contracts during onboarding instead of focusing on their work from day one? Find out how to legally maintain an electronic file, sign employment contracts entirely digitally, and digitize existing records—in compliance with the Labor Code and without legal risk.
Yes—as of January 1, 2019, the amended Labor Code (Article 94(9a) and Articles 94⁸–94¹² of the Labor Code) gives employers complete freedom to conduct employee records in electronic form. An electronic document is, by law, equivalent to the paper version (Art. 94¹¹ of the Labor Code) — this is not a „worse” option, but a fully valid alternative.
Keeping records electronically instead of on paper isn't just a matter of convenience—it's a real office space savings, archiving costs, and the time HR spends searching for documents. For companies with hundreds or thousands of employees, the difference is enormous.
Yes—and it's completely legal. Article 78¹ of the Civil Code provides that an electronic form with a qualified electronic signature is equivalent to a written form. Since the Labor Code requires employment contracts to be in writing (Art. 29, § 2 of the Labor Code), and an electronic form with a QES meets this requirement, an employment contract can be concluded entirely digitally—without a single sheet of paper.
A key detail that many HR departments overlook: Not every electronic signature is sufficient.
| Signature Type | Equivalent to a written form? | Is this appropriate for an employment contract? |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) | ✅ Yes (Article 78¹ of the Civil Code) | ✅ Yes |
| Trusted Signature (Trusted Profile) | ❌ No (documentary form) | ❌ Does not meet the requirement |
| Personal Signature (e-dowód) | ❌ No (documentary form) | ❌ Does not meet the requirement |
| Handwritten signature on a scan | ❌ No | ❌ No |
Using a trusted digital signature for an employment contract is a mistake, though it does not render the contract invalid—the written form of an employment contract is not required under penalty of invalidity. However, the employer must then confirm the terms of the agreement to the employee in writing before allowing the employee to begin work, and failure to do so constitutes an offense punishable by a fine of between 1,000 and 30,000 PLN (Art. 281 § 1(2) of the Labor Code). Check out the difference between signatures in our guide: Trusted Profile vs. Qualified Digital Signature — Differences.
The process of electronically signing an employment contract is simpler than it might seem. Here is the standard procedure:
The entire process takes about a dozen minutes and doesn't require a printer, scanner, or courier.
An employment contract isn't the only document an employee signs. There are many more documents that end up in the electronic file. How should you handle the other documents?
Do you already have employees and stacks of paper files? You can convert them to electronic format—but simply scanning the documents isn't enough.
Converting paper documentation to electronic form requires:
This step—verifying the scans—is precisely the area where qualified seal works best (see the next section).
Qualified Electronic Seal (QSeal) It is the electronic equivalent of a company stamp: it confirms that the document originates from your company (legal entity) and has not been altered — eIDAS It carries with it a presumption of the authenticity of the data's origin and integrity. In the context of HR, it proves useful in two situations:
The podpisano.pl lineup includes two options: SimplySign qualified electronic seal (cloud-based, for automation) and Certum Mini (card with a reader). More about stamps and their uses in automation: Qualified Seal QSeal — KSeF and Automation.
| Criterion | E-file (electronic documentation) | Paper files |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Article 94(9a) and Articles 94⁸–94¹² of the Labor Code | Article 94(9a) of the Labor Code |
| Storage location | server/cloud (encrypted) | physical archive |
| Document Access Time | seconds | minutes–hours |
| Risk of loss or damage | minimum (backup) | fire, flood, theft |
| GDPR Compliance | easier control of access and logs | difficult to audit |
| Archiving Costs | low (storage) | tall (surface area, binders) |
| Remote Onboarding | ✅ full | ❌ Requires in-person attendance or mail |
| Signature required for migration | QES or qualified digital seal | not applicable |
| Retention period (since 2019) | 10 years | 10 years |
Electronic personnel files and qualified digital signatures aren’t a futuristic vision—they’re tools that are available right here and now. Polish labor law gives your HR department complete freedom—provided you use the appropriate signatures.
As authorized partner Certum We help HR departments implement qualified digital signatures for their entire team—from product selection, through installation and training, to support with digitizing records. We serve companies at our offices in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, and Radom, or online.
📞 Call us: +48 22 417 05 55 — We'll advise you on which type of digital signature or qualified seal is best suited for your organization.
🛒 Check out these products: SimplySign (mobile QES for employees and HR professionals), SimplySign qualified electronic seal (for large-scale digitization and automation).
For more information on legal requirements, see the Labor Code and the website gov.pl/web/finanse.
Yes—a qualified electronic signature (QES) confers on an electronic form the same legal effect as a written form under Article 78¹ of the Civil Code. An employment contract signed by both parties using a QES is fully valid and does not require any paper document.
No. A trusted signature only provides documentary form, not written form—a qualified electronic signature (QES) is required for an employment contract concluded electronically. A contract with a trusted signature will not be invalid, but the employer must confirm the terms and conditions to the employee in writing before allowing them to begin work; otherwise, the employer commits an offense.
For employees hired on or after January 1, 2019 — 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the employment relationship ended. For employees hired between 1999 and 2018—50 years, unless the employer submits the OSW and RIA forms to ZUS (in which case, 10 years). For employees hired before 1999, the period is always 50 years.
This is neither required nor recommended. After switching to electronic records, the employer is not required to maintain paper files. It is essential to properly transfer the records (scan + qualified digital signature or the employer’s seal, or the signature of an authorized person) and to inform employees of the change and their option to receive a paper copy within 30 days.
Yes—to provide a signature that satisfies the written form requirement, an employee needs their own QES. As an authorized partner of Certum, we can help employees (including foreign nationals) obtain a qualified electronic signature, including through online identity verification (IDnow).
A qualified seal is an electronic company seal used by an employer (as a legal entity)—useful for mass certification of scanned paper documents during digitization and for the electronic issuance of employment and earnings certificates. It replaces the HR manager’s signature when processing large volumes of documents; however, it is safer to affix the qualified signature of an authorized person to an electronic employment certificate.
