Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

Try companies that have supply lines to Romania - quite a lot of retailers e.g. Auchan, CCC, Reserved, Kaufland but also manufacturing companies, car companies etc. These are the two biggest growing markets and its really difficult to find any logistics people. Smarten up your CV and get on the phone - might take you a few months but I'm sure you will find something interesting.

Law / International business trip, travel time reimbursement? How is it settled in Poland? [15]

if you want an hourly paid job when you get exactly the number of hours you work then McDonalds and KFC are probably hiring.

I presume the company that doesn't pay your Sundays also DOES pay you for the time you spend on the internet at work, or the times you need to leave 30 minutes early to take your kid to the doctors etc etc.

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

So what you are saying is that both types of women are so shallow - western women care only about looks and eastern women only about money ?

my own wife is a Pol-Am so probably a bit of both ! unfortunately I have neither looks nor money :)

Feedback / A special "for those living in Poland..." section. [33]

No I disagree - I have spent some time living here full time and some away but always have a strong connection. Like most people I am able to discuss a wide variety of topics without referring to Islam, Smolensk, Gays etc. However really this forum is just a reflection of the culture war in Polish society that reminds me strongly of early 90s USA. Its obvious some threads will cause flame wars and I just don't click on them.

to the mods I salute you - it is a thankless task. What is weird is that almost every forum are regularly visit - some travel forums, college hoops, some soccer, lots of music, have the same amount of axe grinders trying to bring grade school debating skills about totally unrelated issues. dzienki ;)

Work / Some questions about average wages and hiring a cleaning woman/maid in Poland [23]

For a maid About 15 zloty an hour if you want someone you can trust who speaks a bit of english. Also consider their travelling time and cost - if just outside the city means no bus then you will prbably need to throw some petrol cost in there.

For the other two you will get nothing in a big city now for under 2.500 zloty, for your assistant who spoke good english you would need at least 3000.

Study / Clark University in Warsaw Campus (Professional Communication) [12]

If you mean the one near Boston then it is a University or at least a grad school, and fairly respectable at that. No idea what this Warsaw extension is like though.

Work / Some questions about average wages and hiring a cleaning woman/maid in Poland [23]

The minimum wage is 11 zloty in January. In practice only about 5 percent of the legal workfoce get this - security guards, short order chefs etc.

In Wroclaw good luck getting anybody for less than 15 who speaks english.

Work / Some questions about average wages and hiring a cleaning woman/maid in Poland [23]

I have no idea who is advertizing jobs at 6 zloty an hour but paying that much is a criminal offence in Poland.

The average in Poland is not 2.500 - it is 3.900 gross mean and the median I guess is around 2.900. That is an average fort he whole country including small towns in the east. Wroclaw would be circa 15 percent above that average.

The figure i gave you of 15 is what I pay my cleaner, she speaks English and if needed I trust her with the kids for an hour or so. You seem set on the idea that you can get someone for 10 zloty so rather put your ad in the paper and tell us hwo it goes.

Law / British living in Poland - tax treaty with the UK? [30]

steve you are quite incorrect - if you are in Poland more than 184 days you would be liable for polish income tax even if you owned Brideshead.

What owning a uk property means is that you might finf it hard to avoid british inheritance tax when the day comes

Law / Biggest supermarket chains in Poland vs Germany [23]

They are allowed - its just competing with Lidl and Aldi on their own turf is extremely difficult. In the non food sector there are some very successful operators in Germany - Zara from Spain, Primark from UK, jysk from Denmark.

Law / Biggest supermarket chains in Poland vs Germany [23]

wulkan the data i saw on money.pl today was qute different - foreign supermarkets pay much higher tax, both in absolute terms (something like 10x the amount paid by Polo, Stokrotka etc) and as a perćentage of the top line.

Law / Biggest supermarket chains in Poland vs Germany [23]

Sorry wulkan - its too much hassle to post links on my tablet - but the same data was in most of the Polish business press and when I am back on my laptop I will post it.

i am unsure why supporting small shops is seen as desirable policy - when I first came to Poland that was all there was and the service was awful - you had to get meat, dairy, veg, sweets from different counters, queue and pay 4 times, could not touch the products as they were behind a vitrine, you could not always expect a fridge on a hot day, I also remember some bizarre policies where you had to carry a basket even if you only wanted to buy a quart of milk. It was obvious this model would be wiped out once duties were abolished after EU entry.

Work / Information about jobs for Indian students in Poland [286]

You want to do an MBA but you cannot even make 1 minutes google search to see what the currency is in Poland ?

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]

I have stayed out of this debate - my reaction on election night was that there were enough checks and balances in the system to ensure nothing drastic happens.

Now I am getting really concerned and many investors the same - for me the most worrying thing is the bringing in of people with zero experience and often very young (some just out of college) to run institutions. This can create lasting damage - of course its partly PO's fault for not reforming this system of party patronage when they had 8 years clear run to do it.

News / Jacek Kurski, the new chairman of TVP (Telewizja Polska) [37]

The issue for me is not really whether he pays child support, or some slurs he made in the past - I don't care and I don't expect him to be a saint.

Surely the issue is whether he has any experience in running a TV station - answer is no. Alternatively does he have any experience running a large organization - again the answer is no.

I'm a conservative but of course I accept that people in the media are left leaning and like drinking flat white - its obvious if you just think back to the people at school and college who wanted to do that kind of stuff. I don't especially get bothered by that.

I see this morning that Beata Tadla has been fired - no idea why but surely removing a young mum from her job is not a great signal of how to behave.

Travel / What do you know about Torun, Poland? [30]

I really like the bulwar - has parking and very central. Not cheap but might be worth ringing them up and seeing of you can do a deal

Work / What is Warsaw's Google Campus all about in Poland? [13]

I have dealt with these guys a bit. Its a PR initiative - they are not expecting to unearth many diamonds in any of these places in terms of businesses but its a good place to meet coders and developers.

As for mentoring I think they are quite choosy about who is there.

The space is more expensive but its also a better level.

I actually think its really positive that they choose Warsaw compared to Budapest or Prague

News / PiS to impose blanket retail tax in Poland [291]

Seems like the govt has managed to annoy everyone with the new tax - small players who thought they would be protected now get hit harder than the foreign operators, petrol stations and utility shops see their entire margin wiped out. I read in Rz today about the contortions that furniture shops will use to get round the nonsensical weekend tax - that on Saturday you don't purchase that sofa, you merely look at it and buy it on tick and get it delivered on Monday.

Clear to me that nobody in the govt has any idea of unintended consequences or of economics - the law looks it was drafted by a sophomore student.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]

they are very dangerous - totally inexperienced, profoundly cliquey, confrontational and should not be let anywhere near the economy, education or infrastructure or foreign policy.

if they want to talk about abortion or Smolensk then that's fine - keeps their incompetent hands off the important stuff.

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

I will try and give you a sensible response. There are many discussions on here stating that Polish courts and legal system do not treat foreign fathers well. Your best chance might be a long road through the British courts, but you would need to clear up that rape allegation first.

I know many lawyers but it is clear here that your lawyer does not trust you to pay - on that basis then a retainer is an acceptable agreement. 2,500 zloty is not much money for such a matter.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]

Polonius you say to give PiS a chance. I think many people were willing to - my reaction on election night was that this is a democracy, that there are enough safeguards and that there are enough intelligent people in PiS not to do anything drastic to dismantle a story that while far from perfect has been constant growth. Since 2004 this is the highest living standards and freedom that Poland has ever enjoyed. I have a lot in common with PiS - I'm a once a month churchgoer, small kids, have a small farm, and I also think Polish internal politics is no business of the EU.

But what they have done in 3 months is dissipate all of that goodwill - they have chosen confrontation wherever possible, they have wasted time and energy on trivial issues of identity politics, they have appointed people with zero experience to run huge corporations, they have favored ideology over common sense time and again. Worst of all I am amazed at the extent to which Duda and Szydlo are puppets of the fruitcake wing of the party. I think that Szalamacha and Morawiecki won't last long and then it will be difficult to recruit a finance minister who wants to hitch their reputation to this crowd - that could be seriously risky for the zloty and Poland's ability to finance itself.

Life / First hand experiences of the Mafia in Poland [28]

very strange post that - if you are talking about 3 year olds being abused then the best person to go to is the police.

Rest of the post looks like a pretty good party - if you take drink and drugs then then that is your problem if you can't remember things or do things you regret.

Work / Average salary in Poland for PhD in IT [40]

Well it seems like these are technical IT jobs and evidently the Poles are either unable or unwilling to do them at this price. Of course it is not a conspiracy to keep Poles out of the market as these ads seem to relate to multiple companies in Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, even Lodz sometimes.

I have to say the whole Shared Service thing baffles me - they get huge grants from the EU or Polish govt to establish these centres which then employ foreigners.

News / 2016, the year of change in Poland? [70]

Yes I think its terrific that they are winning the battles of the 1980s - things that really were keeping the average Pole up at night.

Now I'm looking forward to my 500+ which I understand will be in my bank account on the 1st of April. The government seem to have been a bit quiet about it the last few weeks but given their competence I full trust in them and I have no doubt I will be able to spend it on clothes for my kid on 2nd April.

Life / Places to buy a decent suit in Warsaw [16]

you will certainly not get tailor made for 2000 zloty. A regular tailor made suit is 3000 and what you have there looks like quite a lot more work. I also doubt you would find tailors outside the main towns - I have one who is pretty good but he is extremely ancient and to put it mildly works at his own pace - I'm still waiting for a suit I had measured in November.

There should be plenty of options in Krakow to hire something like that I would have thought ?

News / 2016, the year of change in Poland? [70]

Yes, second kid - proud Pole and he attends church with me every Sunday. Come on Mrs Szydlo - don't let us down with that cash.

News / 2016, the year of change in Poland? [70]

There was no discussion of whether we needed the money or not - PiS promised it to all parents of two kids. But I have 100% faith they will deliver their promise just as soon as they have finished the important business of deciding who might have been a double agent 30 years ago.

News / 2016, the year of change in Poland? [70]

Nope - the draft law says all second kids get it and that is what was promised by Mrs Szydlo in the election. Its our reward for producing another generation of hard working Poles and I'm waiting for it to be paid. 1st April she said.

News / 2016, the year of change in Poland? [70]

Last night when watching TVP i noticed that these cursed soldier things are being sponsored bt PZU, PKO and PGNiG. like in Hungary, these businesses are now being treated as extensions of the state - totally direspectful for shareholders like myself to see our cash spent on party political works.

Still i will be getting my 500 zloty in April, I have no doubt about that because Mrs Szydlo promised it. i trust her very much and obviously I realize that first they have important matters like changing the management of stud farms to handle.

News / 2016, the year of change in Poland? [70]

Oh, there will be no trouble raising the cash from the LTE - I'm sure investors will be forming a line round the block to buy that - of course there is no danger of this government scaring people away with say arbitrary taxes or making someone totally unqualified the telecoms minister or the regulator.