Warehouse work in Poland – what should you know?

Employees in Polish warehouses earn differently. No one will tell you what salary you will receive, because neither the recruiter , nor the employer, nor the agencyknows . Only God knows this.

But the human brain is designed in such a way that it requires specifics. It’s easier to live with specifics.

When you know what the salary will be, it is easier to go to work abroad. You already count the days and hours you will work and how much you will earn.

A good recruiter or intermediary knows that a person needs to be told the rate. A person wants to hear how much they will earn. They are not interested in a recruiter’s sincere admission that “It all depends on the number of hours” or “It depends on the month and orders.” The person needs to be told something like, “The salary will be at least 3200”. And the person believes. Even when they know that the agency employee who is hiring them cannot know for sure. Recruiters are often accused of not telling the truth or distorting information, but people don’t think that they are often to blame for this.

A job seeker does not want to hear the truth from a recruiter, but what they want to hear.

What are the salaries in warehouses in Poland?

The salary depends on several factors

The speed of work

All goods that are taken out of the warehouse are scanned with a special handheld scanner. The more pieces of goods you scan, the better.

Many Polish warehouses have a point system. For example, 1 scanned item is 1 point.

Special statistics are kept daily and summarized during the month. If a person scans less than 100 items per hour on average, such an employee either receives a minimum wage of 12.8 PLN per hour or is fired.

If an employee scans from 100 to 200 items per hour on average (read: from 100 to 200 products), their salary will be PLN 13.5 per hour.

If an employee scans 200 to 300 items per hour, their salary is PLN 14.7 per hour net.

If an employee scans 300 to 400 items per hour, their salary is PLN 16.8 per hour net.

Warning. This information is provided with approximate data. The conditions and items may be different at each warehouse, or there may be no items at all. It all depends on the specific employer. But as a rule, the system is organized as described above.

The warehouse you work in matters

With a 1-point system, an item is NOT always 1 point. If the goods are large and it is physically impossible to pack a lot of them in an hour, then such goods may have more items.

Large or small items

And vice versa – if it’s a small item, it can have, for example, 0.25 points. This is fair, because someone can pack 100 packs of finger batteries, and someone can pack 100 TVs. In this case, the payment should be different.

There are different warehouses, and some have only large-sized and heavy goods, while others have small ones that need to be packed faster and in large quantities.

Temperature conditions in the warehouse

It is also very important. The colder and harder the conditions, the more you can be paid per item or per hour of work.

The faster you work, the more you earn?

The faster you transport goods from one location to another, the more goods you will load. The more points you earn, the better your rating will be. The more zlotys you earn.

But for this, you must first undergo training, and then work and gain experience and skills.

Training period

Every new employee undergoes training. It is conducted by a special representative of the employer or several employees. Newcomers may also be assigned as interns to more experienced colleagues. The training period is necessary not only for further work (to know what to do and how to do it), but also often to obtain a special certificate, without which you cannot work.

Certificate.

This is a permit that allows you to work in a warehouse with certain types of equipment and forklifts. You should check with recruiters or employers directly to find out about permits and certificates and whether they are required at all, as well as how much they cost and how long they take to obtain.

Often, if it is necessary to obtain a certificate, employers give the employee the opportunity to pay for it later. Realizing that the person has already come to work, the employer may offer to deduct the cost of the certificate from the salary – for 1 or 2 times.

Price of the certificate

You need to check with the recruiter or employer.

Advantages of the certificate

It is issued for several years, and even if you quit your job, you will already have a certificate. In the future, having work experience and such a certificate, you will be taken “hand and foot” to any warehouse with high pay.

Waiting time for a certificate

From a few days to weeks – you need to check with your employer or a representative of an employment agency.

Can I just buy it?

No, you can’t. It is issued on the basis of training and the result of the knowledge and skills acquired by the employee.

Will I get my certificate back when I leave my job?

If your salary was deducted from your paycheck or you paid for it, you have every right to such a certificate.

If the employer paid for the certificate for you with the hope that you will work for them for a long time, they may ask you to buy it back. In this case, the price should be adequate to the average price in Poland and the time of its receipt.

You won’t always make money in the warehouse, even if you are fast

Even if you are a “meteor” and a “rocket”, you need to be prepared for the fact that the warehouse may simply not have that much product in stock. Therefore, you may have some downtime.

There may also not be a sufficient number of orders.

The last two points are rare, but you need to keep them in mind and be prepared. After all, they can also ultimately affect your earnings.

You should be in good physical shape

Of course, everything is relative. No one requires you to be an athlete or Hercules, but you should have physical endurance. We’re not talking about lifting heavy loads (although it can happen), because everything is loaded with the help of machinery. However, you will need to move around a lot and be on your feet.

For people who have worked physically before, working in a warehouse shouldn’t seem too hard.

People who have worked in an office before may feel that it is difficult, especially at first.

People with health problems should not or are not allowed to work in a warehouse. In any case, you will be allowed to work or not after consulting a Polish doctor before you start working.

Is it an easy job?

It depends on the person (what he or she is set up for), the specific warehouse, conditions, employer, foreman, team atmosphere and many other factors.

In general, it cannot be called the most difficult, but it is not easy either. There is also a stress factor here, because the number of goods scanned and moved depends on the salary and even the potential possibility of being fired.

Who is the right job for?

Working in a warehouse is suitable for both men and women. The employer takes into account who is assigned where.

Women work with lighter loads, men with heavier ones.

No one can guarantee which warehouse you will be assigned to. It means that if there are several warehouses and the temperature in one of them is close to zero because vegetables are unpacked there, you can only express your desire that you do not want to work there. The employer may or may not take your wish into account. Therefore, you will have to choose from two options 1) Work in the warehouse where they say 2) Refuse to work at all

Employees are recruited on a first-come, first-served basis, and if one warehouse needs people, you will most likely get there.

Can we work together with our spouse?

It’s no surprise that husbands and wives often want to work in the same warehouse. Unfortunately (or fortunately), no one can guarantee you this opportunity.

The recruiter you’re talking to doesn’t deal with job allocation at all. The jobs are allocated by the employer. Even if a warehouse needs a lot of people, you can get assigned to different shifts and different teams. You can ask and hope, but no one can guarantee you 100 percent.

And often the employer does not want a husband and wife to work in the same warehouse. The husband will always try to run up and help his wife so that she doesn’t take too much weight, etc. Therefore, this can interfere with their personal work and work at the facility as a whole.

Also, because of such close proximity to each other, work can be unproductive. Such couples can negatively influence other couples with their behavior, etc.

Therefore, you should be prepared for the fact that if you go to work in warehouses in Poland with your husband or boyfriend, you will most likely not work together. This is not 100% true, but you should be prepared for it.

Will we be accommodated together?

This is a problematic issue. Even if they do, it will be on a condition that you won’t like. As a rule, not together, but with another couple. Or the wife will live in a room with women, and the husband will live in a room with men.

Why is this? Are we not human?

Are you really ready to hear the answer? If you are realistic, then read the explanation.

It’s all about money

An employer or agency, like you, wants to make money, so they are guided by sound financial judgment.

1) Renting a house is not always expensive (depending on the area and its availability), but renting a separate room for 2 is always more expensive.

2) Money saved is money earned. For an agency, it is always better (more economical) to rent a house with 2 large rooms and put 4 men in one and 4 women in the other than to look for a house with 4 separate rooms to put a couple in each

3) You could work hard and find separate housing for couples, but it may be far from the place of work and there is a problem with commuting. But the main thing is that people are often very ungrateful and even if the job is 100% in line with the description in the vacancy, they still run away from work without even warning, leaving quietly at night, and the housing is idle until other people are found for the vacancy. During the downtime, the employer pays for the housing, and for the people who have fled, they have already paid for a medical examination, work clothes, and reputation with the employer.

Therefore, most agencies follow the path of least resistance and look for affordable housing with normal conditions but without additional conditions (such as accommodation for couples).

Compromises

Working different shifts

When I worked at an employment agency, I offered couples the following compromise. If 2 couples shared a room and the work was in 2 shifts, I suggested that they agree to work different shifts. In this case, the couples who shared a room hardly ever crossed paths.

Should you be patient?

It’s worth remembering that you came to work. If you are offered adequate living conditions and good (market) wages, then living in a worker’s dormitory is economically justified and it is normal. You will have to be patient for a while, but you will be rewarded for it later.

Rent your own accommodation

If you don’t want to share your living space with anyone other than your beloved spouse, the best option for you is to rent a separate apartment in Poland, but why it can be sometimes difficult, you can read in this article.

Agencies usually offer compensation and additional payments for people who have their own housing. You should always ask them about this.

How to get a job in a warehouse in Poland

Find an agency or employer that offers such a job and ask the recruiter, intermediary or employer about all the conditions and everything you are interested in.

Have a visa and an invitation. (There isa quarantine now, so I will also write about visa-free travel further, if Poland lifts the quarantine, visa-free travel to work will become relevant again.)

Upon arrival, you must undergo a medical examination and training. If you have already arrived with a visa, you have an invitation. If you have a visa-free regime, you will also have to wait at least 3 days for the invitation. If you do not have an invitation, you will have to undergo a medical examination and training while you wait for it.

All permits will take from 3 days to a week from the moment you arrive. You will not be able to start work on the 2nd day after arrival (and in quarantine, a two-week observation is required).

Should I believe what the recruiter promises, including the amount of the salary?

Trust your inner voice. Don’t be too picky, don’t be afraid, and don’t draw negative scenarios, but be reasonable and think logically.

Today there are many employment agencies and there are many decent workers. If you are told that warehouse salaries depend on production (and after reading this long article you already know why), then you should ask how much you can earn on average per month.

When I worked as a recruiter, I asked people who had already worked in warehouses if I could give their Viber contact to a person who wanted to come to work. No one ever minded and they gave me the number.

Then the person would consult with someone who actually worked in the warehouses and decide whether to come or not. In general, no one can tell you about a job better than someone who works there.

During such communication, a person either immediately weeds out or decides to go. I have never had anyone come and refuse to go after 2 days.

Although people can sometimes “throw away the ball” too. They work and are satisfied, but they are afraid that a lot of workers will come and there will be few working hours, so they say that the conditions are bad. Or they want to take their relatives or friends (who sometimes even get paid!) and tell everyone else about the bad conditions. They don’t realize that a recruiter will find others on the employer’s request or another agency will find people.

In any case, we wish you a good job that will not only be financially satisfying.