Beginning teachers in Poland are to get the same pay rise as everyone else: government bill goes to the Sejm

What happened

On 20 October 2026 the Council of Ministers adopted a bill amending the Karta Nauczyciela (Teachers' Charter, the law on teachers' employment and pay), and on 21 October the prime minister sent it to the Sejm (the lower house of parliament) as print no. 3263. On 22 October it was referred to committees for its first reading. The government asked for a shortened procedure because the law is meant to take effect on 1 January 2027.

This is still a bill: the Sejm must pass it, the Senate must review it and the president must sign it. The text may still change.

What exactly changes

The Teachers' Charter links teachers' average pay to the kwota bazowa (base amount) set each year in the budget act. Today the average is 120% of the base amount for a nauczyciel początkujący (beginning teacher), 144% for a nauczyciel mianowany (appointed teacher) and 184% for a nauczyciel dyplomowany (chartered teacher). The bill changes only the first figure, from 120% to 122.7696%.

In 2024–2026 beginning teachers received an extra 2.308% under separate budget-related laws, but each of them applied for one year only. As the government writes in its justification, with the base amount planned to grow by 3% in 2027, beginning teachers' average pay would rise by only 0.68% without a new law. The new index is meant to give them the same percentage rise as other teachers, in 2027 and in later years.

Figures from the bill

According to the regulatory impact assessment, with a planned base amount of PLN 5,765.80:

• a beginning teacher's average pay from 1 January 2027 would be PLN 7,078.65 instead of PLN 6,918.96, i.e. PLN 159.69 a month more;
• the change concerns about 121,000 people, or about 114,000 full-time posts (SIO education database, June 2026);
• in 2027 the rise is to be paid no later than 3 months after the budget act is published, backdated to 1 January.

What it means for your pay

Average pay is not the figure on your payslip. It is a gross amount that the local authority running the schools must ensure on average for all teachers of a given grade; it includes basic salary, allowances and overtime, among other things. Basic salary is set separately in a regulation of the education minister. The base amount for 2027 is only planned so far and will be fixed in the budget act.

A beginning teacher is someone who has not yet obtained the grade of appointed teacher. If you are retraining as a teacher or just starting work in a school:

• when comparing job offers, ask about basic salary and allowances, not about average pay;
• if the law takes effect, check your early-2027 payslip to see whether the school paid the arrears from January;
• you can follow the bill in the Sejm under print number 3263.

What is still unknown

It is not known when the Sejm will debate the bill or whether it will amend it. The Joint Commission of Government and Local Government gave it a negative opinion: the local government side doubted that municipalities and counties would receive enough money for the rises. The final base amount depends on the 2027 budget act. We will report when the law is passed.