Significant July Pay Hikes Confirmed for Polish Healthcare Workers

Starting July 1, hundreds of thousands of Polish healthcare professionals will receive statutory salary increases based on the national average wage, following the government’s decision to maintain current indexation rules.

New Wage Standards for Medical Professionals

Beginning in July, minimum salaries in the healthcare sector will rise, with specialist physicians earning nearly 13,000 PLN gross and top-qualified nurses over 11,000 PLN. These figures are calculated based on the 2025 average national economy wage of 8,903.56 PLN, which serves as the indexation anchor for the entire sector.

The updated salary scale applies to various professional groups, including midwives, paramedics, laboratory diagnosticians, physiotherapists, and support staff. The system operates by multiplying the average national wage by a coefficient assigned to each specific occupational category.

Salary Tiers and Professional Classifications

The law distinguishes ten professional groups categorized by qualification and education requirements. Physicians and dentists with specializations hold the highest coefficient of 1.45, while support staff in non-medical roles requiring less than secondary education are set at 0.65.

Nurses and midwives with master’s degrees and specializations will see their minimum wage increase to 11,485.59 PLN, a rise of over 931 PLN. Similar increases apply to pharmacists and laboratory diagnosticians, while lower tiers for support and auxiliary staff will see smaller, albeit proportional, wage adjustments.

Government Retreats from Planned Reforms

Although the Ministry of Health initially considered delaying these increases until January 2027 and shifting the calculation method to match the lower 3 percent public sector wage growth, they ultimately withdrew the proposal. This move followed strong opposition from medical trade unions, which threatened public protests against the austerity measures.

With the government abandoning the proposed changes, the statutory indexation will proceed as scheduled this July. Union representatives argued that tampering with the calculation mechanism would have failed to address the systemic financial and staffing crises long plaguing the healthcare sector.