Employment of Foreigners in Poland from the Point of View of Entrepreneurs - Opole Voivodeship Study

The subject of the studies presented in the article was an assessment of the demand for employment of foreigners in companies based in Opole Voivodship. They aim was to establish the reasons which have made, or could make, them employ foreign workforce; to obtain information on the benefits and difficulties connected with using foreign workforce. They are focused on getting a regional preferences map of employers when it comes to employment of foreigners.Design/methodology/approach: The study involved managers, i.e. owners, directors, managers or people responsible for personnel policy in enterprise. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. In the research was used a structured questionnaire interview. The study included 263 employers and were carried out in late 2014 and in early 2015.Findings: It was established that the lack of native workers is the main reason why foreign workforce is more and more widely used. The most valuable advantage obtained thanks to employing a foreigner is acquisition of a worker who holds skills that are in demand. Most difficulties by hiring foreigner have the entrepreneurs with complicated law regulations. Research/practical implications: The research showed the need for developing services connected with job placement of foreign workforce. This can be acknowledged to be a chance for the appearance of a demand for specialist services rendered to immigrants, such as translation of documents, accommodation agency, tax agency. Wage earning immigration can thus become a significant factor stimulating development of entrepreneurship.Originality/value: The studies proved that there exist differences in determiners, barriers and advantages which come from employment of foreigners depending on the size of the company. This is a significant methodological establishment in the context of realization of studies of migration in enterprises, which points to the necessity of introducing a division of the examined firms according to the number of the employed workers.