The amount of the minimum remuneration for work is negotiated annually by the Tripartite Commission, which includes representatives of the government, employees and employers. This year, the Social Dialogue Council failed to develop a common position regarding the amount of the minimum wage in 2024, which is why the Council of Ministers, by way of a regulation, will independently determine the amount of the wage in question. According to the regulations, the government has until 15 September to do so.
The Central Statistical Office has published data on the level of the average wage in the first quarter of 2023, which have a decisive impact on the amount of the minimum wage in 2024 in Poland. The average salary was PLN 7,124.26.
Based on the draft regulation of the Council of Ministers on the amount of the minimum remuneration for work and the amount of the minimum hourly rate in 2024 (RD740) the minimum remuneration for work in 2024 will be PLN 4,242, while the hourly rate will be set at PLN 27.70. According to the regulations, if the average annual inflation exceeds 5%, there should be two adjustments of the minimum wage in a year. Therefore, another change in the minimum wage awaits us again in July 2024 and it will be an increase to PLN 4,300 gross and PLN 28.10 in the case of an hourly rate. Therefore, the average cost of employing an employee compared to the current year will increase by about PLN 800.
Increasing the minimum wage also affects other components of the remuneration for work. Changing the amount of the minimum wage will primarily change the amount of such components of the remuneration as:
- night work allowance – the amount of the allowance is determined by dividing the minimum wage by the number of hours to be worked in a given month,
- severance pay for group layoffs – the amount of severance pay for an employee depends on the length of service in a given organization, but is also limited in amount to 15 times the minimum remuneration for work,
- remuneration during downtime pursuant to Art. 81 of the Labour Code – for the period of downtime introduced through the fault of the employer, the employee is entitled to a remuneration of 60%, but not lower than the minimum wage.
In addition to the above wage components, an increase in the minimum wage will also change:
- the amounts of the amounts free from deductions from the salaries of employees,
- the minimum amount of income constituting the basis for calculating the contribution to the Labour Fund,
- the minimum amount of the contribution base for retirement and disability pension insurance for people on childcare leave.