Does language onboarding replace health and safety training?

No. Onboarding teaches vocabulary that helps you understand the health and safety training, instructions and signs, but it does not replace the training itself.

Is the 90-day plan the same for every job role?

The stages are fixed, but the vocabulary and examples depend on the job role. A warehouse worker practises different sentences than a customer service office employee.

What happens after onboarding ends?

The employee can move on to a regular group course or to individual lessons. The decision is made easier by the report from the third month.

Does onboarding make sense for an employee who already knows some Polish?

Yes, in that case we shorten the first stage and move faster to independence at the workstation. The starting point is shown by the audit.

Language Onboarding for Foreign Employees – 90-Day Polish Plan

What language onboarding is

Language onboarding is the part of inducting a new employee in which learning Polish is subordinated to what happens at the workstation in the following weeks. An ordinary course starts with the alphabet and introducing yourself; onboarding starts with the sentences that keep you safe and let you carry out your first tasks. It is one of the forms of cooperation in our offer for companies.

The 90-day plan – three stages

The plan divides the first three months into stages, and each stage ends with a check of whether the employee can do what they need at the workstation.

Language onboarding – stages
Stage	Goal	Topics	How we check
Days 1–30	Safety and instructions	Greetings, numbers, times, instructions, health and safety signs, asking for repetition	The employee reacts to typical instructions and can say that they do not understand something
Days 31–60	Independence at the workstation	Reporting faults and shortages, describing work done, asking about tasks	The employee reports a problem without an interpreter's help
Days 61–90	Team and formalities	Shift handover, schedule, leave, sick leave, a chat during a break	The employee handles a simple HR matter and holds a short conversation with a supervisor

Days 1–30: safety and instructions

In the first month what matters is that the employee understands instructions and warnings and can admit that they have not understood something. There is little grammar and a lot of ready-to-use sentences.

Uwaga! Wózek jedzie. – a warning you have to understand immediately.
Nie rozumiem. Proszę powtórzyć. – the most important sentence of the first week.
Gdzie mam to położyć? – a question about a place.
Zaczynam o szóstej, kończę o czternastej. – working hours.

Days 31–60: independence at the workstation

In the second month the employee learns to talk about what they are doing and what went wrong. The past tense appears, because reporting a problem is usually a description of what happened.

Maszyna się zatrzymała i pokazuje błąd.
Skończyłem zamówienie numer dwanaście.
Brakuje rękawic w rozmiarze L.
Co mam teraz robić?

Days 61–90: team and formalities

In the third month the employee learns matters that a colleague or an interpreter handles for them today: leave, swapping a shift, an absence.

Chciałbym wziąć urlop w przyszłym tygodniu.
Jestem chory, mam zwolnienie lekarskie.
Na mojej zmianie wszystko w porządku, tylko drukarka nie działa.

Before arrival: lessons are online, so the first classes can take place before the employee reaches Poland. A few lessons before the first day at work are enough for them to be able to introduce themselves and understand basic instructions.

Phrases for the first week

The first week is the hardest, so we start with a short list of sentences that the employee can keep saved on their phone.

Phrases for the first week at work
Phrase	When to use it
Dzień dobry, jestem nowy / nowa.	The first meeting with the team
Kto jest moim kierownikiem?	Finding out whom to report matters to
Proszę mówić wolniej.	When an instruction is given too fast
Czy dobrze rozumiem, że…?	Confirming an instruction
Gdzie jest szatnia / toaleta / stołówka?	Finding your way around the site
Kiedy jest przerwa?	Organising the day

You will find more sentences useful in every industry in our set of phrases for work.

A checklist for HR and the shift manager

Language onboarding brings the best results when the company prepares a few things on its side – most take less than an hour.

Before the start: send the employee the test link as part of the language audit and agree the lesson times with us.
Give the teacher sample materials: a workstation instruction, health and safety signs, a model leave request.
Appoint a person in the team who answers the new person's questions in the first week.
Ask the shift manager to use short sentences and the same phrases the employee is learning in lessons.
After 30, 60 and 90 days, review the HR report and talk to the manager about what is working.
After 90 days, decide on further learning – in a group or as part of the course for employees.

The most common mistakes in onboarding foreigners

The most common mistake is to assume that the employee will "somehow manage" – and then all matters go through one colleague who interprets.

Starting to learn after a few months – by then the employee already has a habit of asking for interpretation.
A list of 500 words for the first week – better 30 sentences they will use straight away.
No link to the job – lessons about the weather and hobbies will not help report a breakdown.
No feedback – without a check after each stage you cannot tell whether the plan works.

Language onboarding – Polish in the first 90 days of work