Workers' rights and exploitation

Unpaid wages, housing tied to the job, agency work, working time; where to get free help in Polish.

Warning signs

• Less than the minimum wage, unpaid overtime, pay "later", pay in cash without a slip.
• Accommodation arranged by the employer with deductions from wages, or the flat is lost with the job.
• No written contract, contract only in a language you do not read, "service contract" (Werkvertrag) or agency work (Leiharbeit) used to avoid rules.
• Passport or documents held by the employer. No one may hold your documents; the specific legal basis was not cited here.

Where to get free help

• Faire Mobilität (DGB network): free, confidential advice for workers from Central and Eastern Europe; Polish-speaking advisers; a Berlin office exists (check the site for current contact details).
• BEMA Berlin (Berlin advice centre for migration and good work): free advice in several languages. Current opening hours and languages not verified.
• Customs enforcement (FKS) checks minimum-wage and undeclared-work violations: zoll.de.
• Labour court (Arbeitsgericht Berlin) for disputes; a union or lawyer can represent you.

Deadlines you must watch

• Dismissal: lawsuit within three weeks of receiving the written notice (§ 4 KSchG).
• Contractual cut-off periods (Ausschlussfristen): many contracts and collective agreements bar pay claims unless made within a set period. Read your contract and ask an advice centre quickly. Permissible length of such clauses not covered here.
• Minimum wage claims: § 1 MiLoG.

Joining a union

Unions advise members on pay and contracts. See the DGB.