Who We Are

The Association of Agents and Franchisees (Stowarzyszenie Ajentów i Franczyzobiorców, SAiF) was established in 2020 to provide support and assistance to individuals harmed by franchise networks, particularly those operating in the retail sector.

The members of the Association represent a large group of people who have had a harsh encounter with the functioning of this business model, which, unfortunately, is often designed in a way that leads to human harm and tragedies. Frequently, these situations are very tragic. Moreover, this situation broadly impacts the market itself, leading to an imbalance among its participants and weakening the role and position of the state.

Association Goals

👉 Initiating a genuine debate on a range of tax and labor issues that remain mostly unregulated or allow for "circumventing the law" by franchise networks.

👉 Introducing into the public debate the issue of asymmetrical employee burdens and labor costs, which force franchisees to take actions and workloads that would not occur with the 8-hour (on average) workday required by the Labor Code regulations.

👉 Making decisionmakers aware of the potential additional revenues for the state budget - the budget could earn more if franchise networks, which are in fact regular retail chains, paid taxes like their competitors who do not "disguise" themselves as franchises.

👉 We propose either the adoption of comprehensive new regulations regarding franchises or a far-reaching revision of existing laws. We do not want the issue to continue being ignored, nor the idea of regulating franchises to be "frozen."

Are We Anti-Żabka Retail Chain?

No.

Żabka is the largest convenience store chain in Poland, with nearly 11,000 stores as of mid-2024, making it the largest franchise network in the country.

While our activities might appear antagonistic towards Żabka, the reality is that Żabka leverages the current franchise regulations in Poland to its advantage. The laws governing franchises in Poland are unclear, disorganized, and spread across 14 different acts. This regulatory environment allows Żabka to maximize its competitive edge over non-franchise networks and contributes to worker exploitation, as employees in Żabka stores are not legally considered company employees.

We advocate for fair and organized franchise regulations in Poland. However, Żabka continues to exploit legal loopholes aggressively, and other competitors are closely observing and emulating these practices.

“Franchise for Change”:

A Study on the Necessity of Regulating the Franchise Issue in Poland

(PDF report, free to download and use)

Regulation of Franchise in Poland: Timeline of Recent Events

Appeal from the National Secretariat of Banks, Trade, and Insurance of NSZZ Solidarność union to Prime Minister M. Morawiecki (Polish)

The Association of Agents and Franchisees is registered in the National Court Register under number 0000835839.

You can support our statutory activities with a donation to the following association account:
MBANK 27 1140 2004 0000 3002 7992 1119.