September was another month full of challenges for employers and employees. The students returned to schools and with them the additional care allowance, which has not been extended since September 20, 2020. The amount of the minimum wage applicable from 2021 has also been established, which will be PLN 2,800 and in the case of an hourly rate, PLN 18.30 Employers were certainly pleased with the information about the change in the position of the Social Insurance Institution regarding the overpayment of contributions with the simultaneous exemption from paying them, as a result of which the payers’ accounts will be recalculated and employers will receive a refund of contributions. You can read about this and other issues in the following summary of the topics that we discussed in our HR and payroll blog in September.
1. Remote work – an equivalent for the employee using private equipment for business purposes
Records of the so-called Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0 allow the possibility of using the employee’s private equipment while performing remote work, provided that it allows secrecy, confidentiality and protection of personal data. However, the legislator did not define the procedure and rules for the payment of the possible employee’s compensation on this account. If the employer decides to pay the equivalent, he can only use the provisions on teleworking in this case.
2. ZUS introduces online visit booking
The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) has launched a new service for applicants who want to settle matters in the form of a traditional visit to the local ZUS unit.
From September, a visit to ZUS can run much more efficiently thanks to booking a meeting with a ZUS employee via the ZUS PUE portal. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, visits to ZUS so far have involved waiting in long queues. Thanks to the booking of visits, the service is to take place without unnecessary waiting.
3. Remote work extended for another period
Provisions on remote work included in the Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0 (Act of 19 June 2020 on interest subsidies for bank loans granted to entrepreneurs affected by COVID-19 and on simplified proceedings for approval of an arrangement in connection with the occurrence of COVID-19, Journal of Laws No. 2020, item 1086) were in force until September 4, 2020.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the above regulations have been extended for the next months. From September 5, the employer may instruct his employee to perform remote work during the epidemic threat or epidemic state, and within 3 months from the announcement of its completion.
4. The value of the equivalent for an employee using private equipment as part of remote work
The current provisions of the labor law do not specify the minimum or maximum amount of the equivalent for the use of private equipment for business purposes, but it seems justified that it should be set in real amounts taking into account the current costs and workload. How to determine the value of the equivalent for an employee who uses private equipment for business purposes? This can be done in two ways: by tax laws on depreciation or by dividing the market value of the equipment by the number of months it is used for business purposes.
5. Is this the end of abolition relief?
Recently, a draft amendment to the acts on income taxes was published, including the act on personal income tax (Act of July 6, 1991 on personal income tax, Journal of Laws 2020, item 1426), dated September 15, 2020 One of the most important changes processed by the government under the project is the abolition of the abolition allowance described in Art. 27 of the Act, which will significantly affect the tax settlements of foreign income earned by Polish tax residents.
6. Write-off to the Social Fund by the end of September
Until September 30, employers obliged to establish the Company Social Benefit Fund have time to transfer the 2nd installment of the write-off or the possible amount resulting from its increase to the fund’s account. In 2020, the amount of the mandatory contribution to the Social Fund for an employee employed under a full-time employment contract is PLN 1,550.26. Employers were required to make the first write-off by May 31 in the amount of 75% of the full write-off.
By the end of September, enterprises should transfer the remaining 25% of funds allocated for this purpose to the ZFŚS account.
7. Posting employees to Poland after 30 July 2020
In the case of posting an employee, we are talking only about a temporary change of his workplace. This may be dictated, for example, by the performance of a contract signed by the current foreign employer with an economic entity conducting business in Poland or by referring an employee to a branch or enterprise located in Poland but belonging to a given group of enterprises, to which the foreign employer also belongs.
Since the end of July 2020, a number of regulations regarding the posting of workers within the European Union countries have changed. The changes were dictated by the need to adapt national regulations to the provisions introduced by Directive 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union of June 28, 2018 amending Directive 96/71 / EC on the posting of workers as part of the provision of services. Thus, all European Union countries have been obliged to adjust their national regulations by July 30, 2020.
8. Posting employees to Poland – the employer’s obligations towards the National Labor Inspectorate
After the amendment to the provisions on the posting of workers, employers focused mainly on providing employees with appropriate employment conditions, in accordance with the provisions of the Polish Labor Code. An employer who temporarily changes the workplace of an employee from another Member State to Poland must remember that posting entails a number of obligations that the employer must face towards state institutions dealing with the protection of employee rights in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
The authority responsible for the control of cross-border employees working in Poland is the National Labor Inspectorate. The National Labor Inspectorate is the competent authority responsible for informing about the current provisions on the posting of workers, but also for communication between competent entities of other Member States in the field of monitoring compliance with the posting regulations.