Across Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltics, employers are experiencing a sharp rise in salary expectations — often far above official inflation levels or internal budget planning assumptions. This trend is particularly evident in Finance, Legal, Marketing, and mid-senior Tech roles.
According to Hays Poland 2025, Deloitte Human Capital Trends, and EY CEE Workforce Barometer, compensation expectations across CEE have risen by 8–18% YoY depending on function — significantly faster than the 5–7% increases most organisations budgeted for in 2025.
Executive Summary
- Salary expectations across CEE outpaced employer budgets by 30–60% in 2025.
- Finance, Legal, and Marketing roles show the highest upward shifts.
- Hybrid work and skill mobility gave candidates more negotiating leverage.
- Cost of living increases only partially explain the rise — skill scarcity is the bigger driver.
- Companies with slow or rigid grading structures lose top candidates within days.
📈 Why Compensation Expectations Are Rising Faster Than Inflation
The rise in salary expectations is not simply an effect of inflation — it is the result of deeper structural shifts in the CEE labour market.
Hays CEE reports a persistent deficit in Finance BPs, Legal Counsels, Tax/Compliance roles, and senior IC Engineers. Limited supply + high demand → wage pressure.
Candidates can now compete for roles across Poland, Baltics, or even Western Europe. This raises their compensation benchmarks beyond local norms.
Many organisations refresh salary bands annually, while the market shifts quarterly. The gap compounds quickly and becomes visible to candidates.
According to Deloitte 2025, over 45% of white-collar specialists in CEE benchmark their salary expectations based on Western Europe or remote-first companies, not just local norms.
Office commuting, childcare, subscription tools, and professional education contribute to higher baseline expectations — especially among mid-senior specialists.
📌 Roles Showing the Fastest Salary Growth (CEE, 2025)
- Finance: FP&A, Business Partners, Auditors (+10–16% YoY)
- Legal: In-house Counsel, Regulatory, ESG (+12–18% YoY)
- Marketing: Digital, Growth, Brand (+8–14% YoY)
- Tech: Senior IC engineers, DevOps, Data roles (+10–18% YoY)
- People/HR: HRBPs with change/transformation experience (+10–12% YoY)
⚠️ What This Means for Employers in CEE
Organisations across the region need to adapt quickly. The biggest risks include:
- Top candidates rejecting offers if bands are outdated by 10%+
- Slower hiring cycles → losing candidates to faster competitors
- Higher attrition among mid-level specialists due to market recalibration
- Salary compression between old & new hires — creating internal tension
Companies with flexible compensation frameworks, transparent salary philosophy, and faster hiring processes will have a meaningful competitive advantage in 2025.
📬 Need a 2025 Salary Benchmark for Your Roles?
At TALANTY PARTNERS, we support organisations across Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltics with market-aligned hiring strategies, salary benchmarking, and executive recruitment in Finance, Legal, Marketing, HR, and Technology.
If your compensation bands or hiring processes need a 2025 update, we’re here to help.
📫 Contact us: contact@talanty.partners