Background information

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemics the government proposed a legislative package of measures intended to counter-act the direct economic effects of the public health crisis. The package, commonly referred to as the Anti-crisis Shield, consist of three legislative acts which all came into force on 1 April.

Of the three acts, the Act amending the Act on Special Measures regrading Prevention, Counteraction and Combating COVID-19 Other Contagious Diseases and Crisis Situations Related and Some Other act of Law is the key piece of legislation regarding the unfolding economic crisis. The Act (abbreviated as the “Special Act”) is a follow-up to the initial ad-hoc regulation introduced in early March.

Content of measure

Clause 15zb of the Special Act introduces two new temporary solutions (regarding obligatory payments to PFRON (Państwowy Fundusz Rehabilitacji Osób Niepełnosprawnych - the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled People) that are made by employers hiring employees with disabilities (the measure is addressed to companies that have the employment rate of people with disabilities below six percent). The measures are an additional financial relief for companies struggling with financial difficulties, having problems with paying taxes and social contributions. The measures will be operational up to six months after cancellation of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are as follows:

• Temporary waiver of prolongation fee when an employer applies for deferment or payment in instalments (prolongation fee is an additional fee charged in the event of deferment or payment in installments of taxes and social contributions, currently 4% per annum).
• Temporary waiver of additional fee when an employer applies for payment in instalments or deferment.

Use of measure

No information to date (October 2020).

Target groups

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

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	No special funding required

Social partners

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

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

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

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Social partners not involved.

Views and reactions

No positions of social partners are known.

Sources

• 01 April 2020: The Act of 31 March 2020 amending the Act on Special Measures regarding Prevention, Counteraction and Combating COVID-19 Other Contagious Diseases and Crisis Situations Related (Ustawa z dnia 31 marca 2020 r. o zmianie ustawy o szczególnych rozwiązaniach związanych z zapobieganiem, przeciwdziałaniem i zwalczaniem COVID-19, innych chorób zakaźnych oraz wywołanych nimi sytuacji kryzysowych oraz niektórych innych ustaw (dziennikustaw.gov.pl)