Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure PL-2020-14/526 – Updated – measures in Poland
Country | Poland , applies nationwide |
Time period | Open ended, started on 01 April 2020 |
Context | COVID-19 |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Employment protection and retention
– Income support for people in employment (e.g., short-time work) |
Author | Jan Czarzasty (Warsaw School of Economics) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 13 April 2020 (updated 16 August 2021) |
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemics the government proposed the 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 “Anti-Crisis Shield 1.0”) is a follow-up to the initial ad-hoc regulation introduced in early March.
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.
The original act deals mostly with reorganization of work (allowing for a wide use of online work, not to be confused with telework of home-office) and care allowances for parents of children aged up to eight forced to temporarily provide personal care due to closing of care facilities and schools.
In the area of job protection by subsidising wages the Special Act offers i.a. public financial support for employers to pay wages in cases of work stoppage or reduced working time. In such cases the state offer to step in and partially cover wages. The aid is on request, some conditions apply.
In the area of wage subsiding and job protection specific measures of the Special Act are as follows.
Employers may request the public aid due to halting operations in the event of:
decrease in sales by at least 15% experienced over two consecutive months after 1 January 2020 (the reference period comprised the same two months of the previous year) due to COVID-19 outbreak;
If granted, the aid will cover the wages in the amount equal to minimum wage and the social security costs borne by employer in the amount of 50% of minimum wage for three months:
Employers may request the public aid due to introduction of shortened working time on the following conditions:
Working time reduction by no more than 20%;
If the conditions are met, the state will supplement the wages in the amount of 40% of the average pay including social security dues for three months.
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
12 August 2021 |
The "Anti-Crisis Shield" scheme is still in place, and presumably will stay in force until the state of pandemic is over. |
17 September 2020 |
The "Anti-Crisis Shield" is a set of legislative acts establishing special measures to counteract the effects of COVID-19 on social and economic issues. Up to date (October 2020), five acts have been enacted, four of which (Anti-Crisis Shield 1.0 to 3.0 and 5.0, the order is reflected in the Sources section) are discussed in this entry. Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0 has been omitted as its focus is not on employment protection or wages. |
As of October 2020, the government reports that PLN 212 billion (some €47 billion) have been spent through various channels activated under the "Anti-Crisis Shield".
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Applies to all workers | Does not apply to businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
Company / Companies
|
National funds
|
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:
None.
Information provided to Social Dialogue Council, yet no consultations carried.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Anti-crisis shield: Employment protection and wage subsidies, measure PL-2020-14/526 (measures in Poland), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/PL-2020-14_526.html
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