Anti-crisis shield in the context of labour law

by Michał Prokop

23 March 2020

We have been show the unofficial draft of the so-called anti-crisis shield. The draft legislation in the area of labour law and business support as regards subsidised wages stipulates that:

1. The Council of Ministers may issue a regulation to extend the payment of the additional care allowance to parents who take care of children.
2. The mandatory periodical medical check-ups of employees are suspended in the state of epidemic emergency or the state of epidemic.
3. Enterprises may apply for grants to protect jobs and payments from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund.
4. Enterprises are also entitled to money for payment of social insurance contributions of employees in the part payable by employers on the allowances/benefits mentioned above.
5. Allowances and benefits are payable over the total period of 3 months after signing the contract.
6. To obtain benefits from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund, an enterprise must meet the following criteria: 
   – as a rule is not in arrears with tax liabilities and contributions to the social insurance, health insurance, the Fund or Labour Fund; 
   – there are no grounds for declaring the enterprise bankrupt.
7. Employees in the meaning of these regulations include also those hired on contracts of mandate and contracts for services.
8. Allowance and benefits are paid over periods of economic downtime or reduced working hours (the maximum reduction is by half of weekly working hours).
9. Employers pay employees affected by the economic downtime reduced wages – but reduced by not more than 50% and not less than the minimum wage under the minimum wage legislation, taking into consideration the weekly working hours.
10. The wage is subsidised from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund up to 50% of the minimum wage.
11. Enterprises which suffer lower turnover as a result of COVID-19 may cut the weekly working hours by 20% but to no less than half-time, but the remuneration for work must not be lower than the minimum wage.
12. After the weekly working hours are reduced, the wage is subsidised from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund up to the minimum wage for reduced working hours but no more than 40% of the average monthly wage in the previous quarter.
13. Employers have to write down the terms and methods of work in the period of economic downtime or reduced weekly working hours in the collective labour agreement or in consultation with the company's trade unions.
14. If there are no trade unions in the employer’s establishment, the terms and methods of work in the period of economic downtime or reduced weekly working hours must be agreed in consultation with the employees’ representatives elected in the employer’s usual procedure.
15. The terms and methods of work in the period of economic downtime or reduced weekly working hours must be set within two days after the employer announces his intention to introduce the economic downtime period or period of reduced weekly working hours. If the terms and methods of work in the period of economic downtime or reduced weekly working hours are not agreed within that deadline, the employer sets them on his own.
16. Article 42(1)–(3) of the Labour Code (amending notice of termination) does not apply to the setting of the terms and methods of work in the period of economic downtime or reduced weekly working hours.
17. Requests for allowances and benefits are considered on a first-come first-served basis as long as the resources last (PLN 800 million but may be increased).

The above regulations are at the initial stage of the procedure in the government and parliament, so significant variations may still happen.