Work / About taxes ("Umowa o dzielo") and minimum wage in Poland [30]

I think it is more - its 1750 per month - divided by 168 hours that is 10.41.

But maybe there are some special rates for new hires ?

Law / Online kantory in Poland [14]

Strong warning that your money is at risk with no insurance if it goes wrong. A lot of people lost serious cash two weeks ago during the swiss franc shock

Life / Whats with going to sauna naked in Poland? [41]

Its really weird - i take a sauna twice a week for 20 years and i never saw that.

Live and let live - except going in their with your shoes, thats unhygeinic and a discourtesy to fellow users.

On the nudity question i follow local custom - in poland that tends to be naked in a mens locker room or use a towel in a coed sauna. In other countries like germany then fully naked.

Genealogy / Want to find a person [756]

It is not illegal in poland

Are you sure it is in germany - i used linkedin for lots of german business and there are plenty of german equivalents on the market.

Still there are enough poorly drafted or ill thought out data laws in europe that it would not surprise me

Life / Whats with going to sauna naked in Poland? [41]

Pigsy what i meant is that you would bring the dirt from outside into the sauna.

Life / Are there any grey markets in Poland where you can convert currency for a better rate? [4]

No - this is not the 1980s. There are hundreds of kantors in central Warsaw so the free market does its job pretty well

Work / Do workers in Poland have to pay ZUS, social security and other salary deductions? Brutto Netto exceptions [10]

if you are a director of the company then you can receive your salary without these deductions. But you would not be entitled to any benefits and also you can be fired/removed without notice.

There are various other ways like having your own enterprise - but it will not totally avoid those charges, in fact often they can be higher.

If you are a regular employee then forget it.

Love / My Pole bf is flirting with an old friend from high school [12]

So you called her a ***** when basically your bf is at fault, and then get sensitive when she calls you names back ?

Real Estate / How can I get an estimate on the value of a building in Lodz? [2]

Errr...go to a valuer. Or do it yourself - workout how man flats you could fit there, at what rent and what occupancy.

This sounds łike a serious financial decision so honestly you would be better shelling out a few thousand zloty for a pro than relying on this forum

Work / What is the salary of a cleaner in queen boutique hotel in Krakow or in any other restaurant or hotel? [17]

About 11 zloty per hour

Work / What is the salary of a cleaner in queen boutique hotel in Krakow or in any other restaurant or hotel? [17]

I doubt it - that is the minimum wage and with unemployment in krakow around 7 percent then why pay more for an entry level job ? 13 zloty if you are lucky would be the maximum.

No i am not in krakow so i might have underestimated the riches available

Work / Advice on attending business professionals events? Warsaw, Poland [4]

Which town ? Warsaw or somewhere where the other 35 million live.

If you have misspelled and mean "nothing fancy" then suggest the Professionals in Warsaw group which is on linkedin - normally something on every two weeks, mixed crowd of people, not pretentious and you can come late and leave early if you want.

If you mean "something fancy" then all the chambers of commerce have regular do's - some informal and usually a ball once per year - the British and French balls are pretty good. Best parties by sector are in real estate like the CEE awards, or the Shopping Center forum awards.

Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]

Here we go again. I expect Dom will be along presently to tell you to stay home and become a geophysicist.

Without kids you will be fine but work out your transport cost to Gliwice - relative to earnings then gas is expensive in Poland. You will have plenty of days in watching TV and only spending a few zlots on food so there should be plenty left to treat yourself.

News / SKM and surcharges - Fast Local Trains in Tri-City, Poland [25]

Doug you seem to have an unreasonable problem with authority.

When I first came to Poland it was 5 zloty extra to buy a ticket on the train (intercity) and I often did it because the line was longer than 15 minutes in the station ticket counter. It was not posted anywhere in the train - somebody told me and I remembered it and thought it was fair. I would normally tell the conductor as I was running to the train that I would buy on the train.

I cant understand why you are making such a fuss about 2.50 zloty

Yes of course its inefficient, its a public business in Eastern Europe - what's the alternative ? cast all those people onto the street with no other jobs or wait patiently for a few years until they retire or die from a life of smoking Mocne ?

Real Estate / Sweeping powers? What rights do chimney sweeps have when inspecting rented properties in Poland? [8]

He just wants a tip - its bad luck not to tip them according to custom in some parts of Poland.

Either give hin 20 zlots or give him the bum rush and tell him you dont want to see him again.

News / Why no reprivatisation in Poland? Holocaust-era property ownership. [119]

Germany did pay heavy reparations to Poland - extensive machinery and raw materials were given in exchange plus some cash. In the 50s the Polish commie govt let the East Germans off but the West Germans did pay some more in trhe 70s.

History / Polish mathematicians who solved the Enigma machine [86]

Its a movie made for entertainment. there is nothing to stop a Polish director making his own version of the story and marketing it.

Life / Best selling womens items at daily and weekly markets in Poland? [11]

Its a bit of a time consuming way to raise money - bring it from Turkey, pay duty, hold it in inventory, all for the sake of a hip replacement.

Surely it would be easier to collect the cash put one third in the bank, one third on the stock market and one third on a horse ?

If your message is serious then I think that Polish women shop less and less at outdoor markets for clothes. There are 3 or 4 quite cheap chains now with clothing and they are cheaper than the market plus you can return your product if its a bad fit.

Real Estate / Getin Noble Bank / Dombank - it is possible to cancel mortgage agreement in CHF? [41]

I see a similar case was dismissed by the court in Warsaw today. Probably the right decision.

Life / What's the best way to send money to people in Poland? Other than bank transfer, Western Union and Moneygram. [13]

I think with Ria you can cash out at an ATM but you need to check that.

There are some quite big, wire services dealing with specific PolAM markets - especially Chicago, Toronto and Jersey - that have deals with supermarkets in East Poland. Can't remember the names of any of them but google would help you.

Life / Best selling womens items at daily and weekly markets in Poland? [11]

I'm here right now. I live here, have kids here and I actually know a good deal about the issue.

At the time I wrote that email I was visiting family in the US.

End of conspiracy theory ?

Life / Best selling womens items at daily and weekly markets in Poland? [11]

You could get a new baby body or t shirt for under 10 zloty in any small town in Kaufland, Pepco or Tesco - why would you buy second hand ?

Love / Want to ask a Polish girl out? [27]

Good luck !

Just be confident, look her in the eye and stand up straight (you are a big guy :) - all Polish girls like that - dont hassle her if she says no but smile and say you are glad you asked her - she might remember that for the future. And if she says no don't change your routine if thats where you've been getting your takeout since you were a kid.

Law / My permanent residence card is being cancelled due to divorcing within 2 years of receiving it [19]

If you have kids then that will be strongly in your favor.

Ditto if you speak Polish and can get some kind of letter of support from your HR dept that you are a valued employee and that you are passing on valuable skills to Polish staff etc.

Law / Questions regarding pregnancy laws / maternity and paternity leave in Poland [18]

Could somebody reference me the proper Polish lawcodes concerning this so I can tell them to **** off and leave my GF in peace? :-)

You are legally in the right but I would avoid doing that - she has a good job and if someone, not even married, did that to me in reference to one of my own employees then I would first of all tell them to put a ring on it and then wonder why a qualified banker is not able to look after her own affairs.

Work / Moving to Poland to work installing fire sprinkler systems [8]

You could not live off the interest you save unless you had about 2 million dollars cash - that would give you about 20k dollars after tax.

If you have a skill and speak polish then come over and enjoy yourself

Law / Paying tax on UK I.S.A. in Poland? [20]

If you cash in your ISA then you would need to pay Polish tax on the benefits, assuming you meet the Polish residency test.

If you dont cash it in and only have paper gains then you are OK and have no tax to pay.

the ISA follows residency not citizenship and thus I think you are barred from making new contributions to the ISA while you are not tax resident in Britain.

You should check all of the above however - i had the same experience when leaving from a work tour in Britain. Its now very difficult for US citizens to open a new ISA even if they are long term residents of Britain.

all that said for the amounts involved I dont think it would be worth engaging an accountant - just ring up the people managing your ISA and ask them.

Work / Moving to Lublin from the UK - any financial assitance, benefits or free healthcare available in Poland? [17]

Surely there is an excellent gap in the market here

buy these peoples houses for 15.999 and then sell them back to them in a few years - take a cut of the benefits (say 1.500 per year) - its already a 10% return and if it goes wrong you still have a house you can resell to someone else ?

wouldn't use my own capital as it involves too much reliance on politics, forex etc but just thinking...

but the rule is stupid - how can the benefits be so large compared to your salary that its worth to jack your job because of that ? I don't think that's right - doesn't the minimum wage in the UK cover living expenses ?

UK, Ireland / Inheritance Law in Poland and debts - how does it affect a British child? [27]

Polish law and lawyers unfortunately are not set up for any complications like marrying foreigners, getting divorced, adopting step children etc. I am trying to write a will at the moment that covers kids and assets in several countries and its not easy.

Your Polish lawyers point about surnames is a bit of a weird one but its basically correct since its a citizenship issue.

my view is that your kids as British citizens are not subject to Polish jurisdiction even if the Polish family law passes the debt on to them - if they have never been Polish citizens, nor resided there and had no claim on the assets, then what right does the Polish law have to impose debts on them ? Might be wrong however !

Love / Are Polish men shy and take things slow? [118]

shizuka there are probably 2 things holding this guy back - that you are older and that you are his boss. So he will not make the first move. Ask him for a coffee after work, then after half an hour leave and tell him that you would like to spend more time with him again - he will sure get the message that you like him.

Good luck !