Main Determinants and Barriers in Employment in Social Economy Entities in Poland with Special Consideration for Social Enterprises

Social economy entities play a significant role in Poland, by creating new workplaces and new types of activity; moreover they fight unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, taking part in solving various social problems, offering occupational and social reintegration. However, their development and operation faces many economic, legal and organisational obstacles. These translate into the level, quality and structure of employment in specific entities of social economy.The paper introduces the main social economy entities, discussing their significance with regards to the creation of workplaces, specifics of employment and the problems of utilising the most important factor in their operation – i.e. the resources of human workforce. The main research objective here is to specify the determinants of the level and structure of employment in the entities of social economics in Poland and the identification of the current problems in employment in social enterprises The research process and the execution of the research objectives were aimed at the verification  of the research hypothesis of a positive and multidirectional influence of the social entities on the level of employment, including the employment of the “persons with employment disadvantage and  long-term unemployed” and increase of occupational activity. With regards to the research problem, the authors of the paper applied various research techniques, including: descriptive, comparative, critical analysis of the publications and source materials and ration analysis concerning employment.