Do I have to appear in my employer's videos and adverts?
Short answer
As a rule, you do not have to. Your image is your personal right (Article 23 of the Civil Code, KC), and distributing it requires your permission (Article 81(1) of the Act on copyright and related rights). Your image is also personal data, which is not in the list of data the employer may demand from an employee (Article 22(1) of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy). The employer may process it on the basis of your consent, and refusing or withdrawing consent may not lead to negative consequences (Article 22(1a) § 2 of the Labour Code). It may be different when appearing in front of the camera is the essence of your job, e.g. you are employed as a presenter, model or spokesperson.
In this guide: Your image is a personal right and personal data. When your consent is needed, whether you can withdraw it and what to do when the employer pressures you.
Who this applies to
This guide is for employees whose employer asks them to take part in a recruitment video, an advert, or a photo shoot for the website or social media. It will also be useful for employers planning such materials. We describe people working under a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) and B2B separately.
What to do
- Ask for details before you consent. Where the material will be published (website, social media, television, intranet), how long it will be available, whether your first name and surname will appear, whether there is payment for taking part.
- Check your contract and scope of duties. An employee carries out the managers' instructions concerning work, if they are not contrary to the law or the contract (Article 100 § 1 of the Labour Code). If work in front of the camera is not part of the agreed type of work, an instruction to appear in an advert can hardly be regarded as an ordinary work instruction.
- If you agree, set out the scope in writing. Good consent states the purpose, the place of publication and the period. The Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) stresses that consent must be voluntary and the employee must be able to refuse without negative consequences.
- If you refuse, do it calmly and in writing. A short message saying that you do not consent to your image being recorded and published is enough. You do not have to give a reason.
- If pressure appears, document it. Record the dates of conversations, the content of messages, who applied pressure. The incident log will help with this. If after refusing you face penalties, worse rotas or being left out, this may be unfavourable treatment prohibited by Article 22(1a) § 2 of the Labour Code.
- Choose your route. You can demand that the material be removed, file a complaint with the President of the UODO (Prezes UODO) concerning personal data, or seek protection of your personal rights in court (Article 24 KC). In the case of repeated harassment, see the guide on mobbing. You can get free labour law advice from the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP): How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?
Exceptions and caveats
- Work in front of the camera as the essence of the position. When the contract provides, for example, for work as a presenter, model, company influencer or press spokesperson, taking part in recordings may be one of the duties. The scope of use of your image should then be clearly described in the contract.
- Payment for posing. Article 81(1), second sentence, of the Act on copyright says that permission is not required if the person received the agreed payment for posing, unless they expressly stipulated otherwise. If you receive additional money for a photo shoot, state in writing what you agree to. The Act does not say whether ordinary pay is "payment for posing"; this requires assessment in the specific case.
- Crowd and event. Permission is not required when you are only a detail of a whole, e.g. an assembly or a public event (Article 81(2)(2)). A shot in which you are the main subject is something else.
- Intranet and ID badges. According to the UODO guide, photos on the intranet, available only to employees, may be permissible on the basis of the legitimate interest of a private-sector employer, and the employee may object (Article 21(1) of the GDPR, RODO). A photo on an ID badge as a rule requires consent, unless a provision requires identification (the UODO gives the example of security staff). Publishing an image on a website requires voluntary consent.
- Questionable voluntariness. The Article 29 Working Party (guidelines made available by the UODO) points out that, because of the employee's dependence on the employer, consent at work is rarely fully voluntary. The employer should therefore not treat a signature on a form as a formality.
- Withdrawal of consent. You can withdraw consent to data processing at any time. Withdrawal does not work retroactively, which means it does not make unlawful what was done before. The Act on copyright does not expressly regulate revoking permission to distribute an image. In practice, materials already printed or broadcast are difficult to withdraw, so agree the rules in advance.
- Image and special categories of data. If the material reveals, for example, your state of health, processing such data on the basis of consent is permissible only when you provide it on your own initiative (Article 22(1b) § 1 of the Labour Code).
Employment contract vs contract of mandate or B2B
| Issue | Employment contract | Contract of mandate, B2B |
|---|---|---|
| Instructions | obligation to carry out instructions concerning work (Article 100 § 1 of the Labour Code) | no subordination; the content of the contract counts |
| Consent to data processing | Article 22(1a) of the Labour Code: refusal may not cause harm | general GDPR rules; Article 22(1a) of the Labour Code applies to employees and candidates |
| Distribution of image | permission under Article 81 of the Act on copyright | the same |
| Protection of personal rights | Articles 23-24 KC (in conjunction with Article 300 of the Labour Code) | Articles 23-24 KC |
If the principal has written participation in promotional materials into the contract, check carefully what you are agreeing to and whether you can terminate it. If in practice you work as if you were employed, see Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties.
Example
Assumptions: an accounting department employee with an employment contract receives a request from the marketing department to take part in a recruitment video that is to go on the company website and social media. Her contract says nothing about appearances. No payment is provided for taking part.
The employee does not want to appear and replies by e-mail that she does not consent to her image being recorded and published. Her manager suggests that "this will affect your annual appraisal badly". The employee records the date and content of the conversation. Refusing consent may not be grounds for unfavourable treatment (Article 22(1a) § 2 of the Labour Code), so if her appraisal actually got worse for this reason, she has material for a conversation with HR, for legal advice or for a court case. Had she agreed, she could later withdraw consent to further data processing, but she would not reverse the effects of publication before the withdrawal.
Documents and deadlines
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Written consent stating the purpose, place and period of publication | limits the use of your image to the agreed scope |
| Written refusal or withdrawal of consent | evidence of your decision and its date |
| Notes on pressure and its effects | evidence of possible unfavourable treatment |
| Contract and scope of duties | shows whether appearances are part of the job |
The provisions we checked do not provide for a specific deadline for withdrawing consent or demanding removal of the material. Act quickly, however, because the longer the material is in circulation, the harder it is to remove.
Frequently asked questions
Can the employer dismiss me because I do not want to appear in an advert?
The Labour Code says that lack of consent or its withdrawal may not be the reason for termination with or without notice (Article 22(1a) § 2 of the Labour Code). If you receive a notice of termination, you file an appeal with the labour court within 21 days of service (Article 264 § 1 of the Labour Code).
I agreed to a photo on the company website. Can I withdraw?
Yes, you can withdraw consent to data processing at any time. Write to the employer that you withdraw your consent and ask for the photo to be removed. Withdrawal works for the future.
Can I be in a group photo from a company event without consent?
If you are only a detail of a larger whole, e.g. a public event, permission to distribute is not required (Article 81(2)(2) of the Act on copyright). When the photo focuses on you, permission is needed.
Will the PIP help in this matter?
The PIP websites contain no position on employees' images. Personal data matters are supervised by the President of the UODO. At the PIP you can get labour law advice, e.g. about unfavourable treatment after a refusal.
Useful tools
Related guides
- Mobbing at work: what evidence to collect and where to get help?
- Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties
- How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?
- PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?
Sources (documents in Polish)
- Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245
- Kodeks cywilny, tekst ujednolicony ISAP
- Ustawa o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych, t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 24
- UODO, Ochrona danych osobowych w miejscu pracy. Poradnik dla pracodawców (2018)
- Grupa Robocza Art. 29, Wytyczne w sprawie zgody (WP259), tłumaczenie na stronie UODO
Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.
Change history
- 15 October 2026: First publication.
This guide is for information only. The current legal provisions and the information of the National Labour Inspectorate apply. An independent information website. We are not the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy).