Background information

The Social Security Institution (ZUS) has been in charge of administering some instruments within the anti-crisis policy measures since the outbreak of the pandemics in 2020. In particular, the Social Security Institution is to make decisions on deferrals of social security dues and granting stoppage allowances. In early summer of 2021 the Chair of the Social Security Institution disclosed a summary of ZUS activities within those two fields since the spring of 2020.

Content of measure

There is no specific content of the measure. The statement allows to have a glimpse on the scale of public aid channeled into enterprises by Social Insurance Institution since the outbreak of the pandemic. It is thus a valuable source of given general lack of comprehensive information on the aid granted and official evaluation thereof.

According to the statement by the Chair of the Social Security Institution, as of the end of June 2021 the amount of support from ZUS is PLN 37.5 billion. In order to channel the aid to the recipients, over 8 million applications were processed. The total value of deferrals of social security dues is reported at PLN 15.0 billion and stoppage allowances at PLN 6.4 billion.

Use of measure

The statement provides a useful point of reference for the studies and public discourse on the process of public aid granted under the anti-crisis measures. The Social Security Institution has proved to be transparent in sharing with the public the information on the scale of the public aid granted by itself.

During the pandemic, there were 3.8 million applications for standstill benefits and the amount paid out was PLN 6.4 billion (€1.5 billion, as of 16 December 2024). On the other hand, there were 1.6 million claims for additional care benefits, and the amount paid out was PLN 1.1 billion (€0.26 billion as of 16 December 2024). As of September 2024, 2,100 standstill benefits were considered to have been wrongly awarded (Leśniak, 2023).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Social insurance	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The decision to release the statement was not subject to any process involving social partners.

Views and reactions

There are no public statements or any other views released by the social partners regarding the case known.

Sources

• 08 July 2021: The Chair of ZUS: under the anti-crisis shield, we have provided PLN 37.5 billion in support (www.bankier.pl)
• 09 July 2021: Anti-crisis shield: ZUS granted support for PLN 37.5 billion (www.zus.pl)
• 23 September 2023: Automat ZUS mylił się w sprawach Tarcz, firmy będą zwracać pieniądze (www.prawo.pl)