Recording job interviews in Poland: the Criminal Code, the Labour Code's data limits and UODO

In Poland, recording an interview you take part in is generally not a crime: Article 267 of the Criminal Code punishes obtaining information "not intended for" you and using a listening device to obtain information you are "not entitled" to, and a candidate's answers are intended for the interviewer. The real limits are in the Labour Code and data protection law. Article 22¹ lists the data an employer may require from a candidate; anything beyond it, which a recording will almost always capture, can be processed only on consent, and refusing or withdrawing that consent may not count against the candidate. The data protection authority, UODO, says candidates' data should be deleted promptly after recruitment. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds Poland to our country series alongside Germany, the UK, Canada and Australia. Poland's Labour Code sets out, item by item, the personal data an employer may ask a candidate for, and that list changed at the end of 2025.

The Polish rules at a glance

Can a participant record a conversation in Poland?

Generally yes, under the Criminal Code. Article 267 (consolidated text, Dziennik Ustaw 2026, item 1342) punishes whoever "without authorization obtains access to information not intended for him," for example by connecting to a telecommunications network, and, in § 3, whoever, "in order to obtain information to which he is not entitled, installs or uses a listening, visual or other device or software" (our translations). The penalty is a fine, restriction of liberty or up to two years' imprisonment, and prosecution requires the victim's request. A recruiter is an intended party to the interview and is entitled to hear what the candidate says, so recording one's own interview does not fit either paragraph. A colleague who secretly records an interview they are not in, or a hidden device left running, is a different matter.

What does the Labour Code allow you to collect from a candidate?

This is where Poland differs from most of Europe. The Labour Code (consolidated text, Dziennik Ustaw 2026, item 1245) sets out what an employer may require:

• Article 22¹ § 1: the employer requests from a person applying for employment their first and last name, date of birth, contact details they choose, education, professional qualifications and employment history. Under § 2, education, qualifications and history may be requested only when necessary for the type of work or position.
• Pay history is now excluded. Since an amending act of June 4, 2025 took effect on December 24, 2025, the employment history in § 1 excludes "information about pay in the current employment relationship and in previous employment relationships." A recording that captures a candidate's current salary captures data the employer may not require.
• Article 22¹a: the consent of a candidate can be the basis for processing other personal data, except data on criminal convictions. Not giving consent, or withdrawing it, "cannot be grounds for unfavorable treatment" of the candidate and "cannot cause any negative consequences, in particular it cannot be a reason justifying a refusal to employ."
• Article 22¹b: special category data, such as health, can be processed on consent only when the candidate provides it on their own initiative.

A recording or transcript holds everything said, which is nearly always more than the Article 22¹ list. The Labour Code's route for that extra data is consent under Article 22¹a, which is why the practical rule in Poland is to ask, to make clear that saying no changes nothing, and to have a way to continue the interview without recording.

What does UODO say about candidates' data?

The Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) published a guide for employers, "Ochrona danych osobowych w miejscu pracy" (data protection in the workplace), with the law as of October 4, 2018 (UODO). Its summary of the guide makes three points relevant to interviews:

• Only what the law allows. An employer may require from candidates only the data that legal provisions entitle it to collect, and data must not be collected "in reserve" or "just in case" when the employer is only considering hiring at some unspecified time.
• No anonymous recruitment. "Blind" or "hidden" recruitment, where the employer looking for staff remains anonymous, does not comply with data protection rules. Agencies should check how they identify the client to candidates.
• Delete promptly. After recruitment ends, candidates' data should be deleted without delay, unless candidates consent to longer use for future recruitment.

The guide predates the 2025 pay-history change, so read it alongside the current Labour Code text.

Which GDPR rules apply to the recording?

The GDPR applies alongside the Labour Code: the Article 13 information before the interview, minimization, a retention limit, and the candidate's rights of access and erasure, answered within one month. Consent under the GDPR must be freely given and as easy to withdraw as to give, which the Labour Code's no-consequences rule reinforces. If a tool scores or ranks candidates, Article 22 GDPR limits decisions based solely on automated processing, and the EU AI Act's rules for recruitment systems may apply; see the EU AI Act for recruiting. For the lawful-basis analysis more generally, see our guide to legitimate interest in recruitment.

What if you interview a candidate in Poland from the US?

Article 267 is unlikely to be your problem as a participant, but the US side of the call has its own rules, which depend on the state you are in; see is it legal to record a job interview. If the job is in Poland, the Labour Code's limits on candidate data bind the employer wherever the interviewer sits. An employer or agency established in the EU is covered by the GDPR under Article 3(1); for a US company with no EU establishment, coverage depends on Article 3(2).

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, on the same consent footing as a recording. Tell the candidate which tool is used and whether audio is kept, do not ask about current or past pay, and delete transcripts when the process ends. Interview Signal, for example, joins no call as a bot, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not keep audio after transcription; the transcript is still personal data under the rules above.

A consent line for interviews in Poland

Zanim zaczniemy: chciał(a)bym [nagrać naszą rozmowę / sporządzić
transkrypcję rozmowy za pomocą oprogramowania], aby skupić się na
Panu/Pani i dokładnie zapisać odpowiedzi. [Nagranie / Transkrypcję]
wykorzystamy wyłącznie w tej rekrutacji i usuniemy [termin] po jej
zakończeniu. Czy wyraża Pan/Pani zgodę? Może Pan/Pani odmówić lub
w każdej chwili poprosić o przerwę. Nie będzie to miało żadnego
wpływu na Pana/Pani kandydaturę.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record our conversation / make a
transcript of it with software] so I can focus on you and capture your
answers accurately. We will use the [recording / transcript] only for
this recruitment and delete it [period] after it ends. Do you agree? You
can refuse or ask to pause at any time. It will not affect your
application in any way.)

More wording options are in our interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in Poland

• Only interviews you take part in are recorded.
• Candidate's consent asked for before recording, with a clear statement that refusing has no consequences (Article 22¹a).
• A way to continue the interview without recording.
• No questions about current or previous pay; no special category data prompted.
• Article 13 GDPR information in the invitation and privacy notice; the hiring employer identified to the candidate.
• Recordings and transcripts deleted when the recruitment ends, unless the candidate consents to future use.
• No decision based solely on an AI score.

Interviewing elsewhere in the EU? Compare the Netherlands, Italy and France.