What are the legislative changes for 2024 in Poland?
At the start of every year, there will be changes to laws and regulations. As your local knowledge partner, we love to share with you a list of the most significant changes to the Polish employment law, so that you don’t have to.
Better position of the employee in the labour court
In 2024, there will be an increasing number of court cases in the field of labour law in which, recognising the termination of an employment contract as ineffective or reinstating an employee to work, the court, at the employee’s request, imposes in the judgment on the employer the obligation to continue employing the employee until the final conclusion of the proceedings.
Moreover, when awarding an employee’s remuneration in labour law cases, the court will ex officio make the judgment immediately enforceable in a part not exceeding the employee’s full one-month remuneration.
Exemptions from court costs
It is also worth mentioning that from January 1, regulations specifying court costs in employee matters will come into force. Regardless of the value of the subject matter of the dispute, if the claim concerns labour law, the employee will not have to pay a claim fee.
This exemption will apply to lawsuits and requests to initiate non-litigious proceedings. The changes include a thread: the employee will have to pay a court fee in the event of an appeal if the subject of the dispute is worth more than PLN 50,000.
Increase in the minimum wage and minimum hourly rate
The minimum wage will be increased from PLN 3,600 to PLN 4,242. The change will enter into force on January 1, 2024. In turn, from July 1, 2024, there will be a second increase and then the minimum wage will increase to PLN 4,300.
This second increase in a year will not be as spectacular as in 2023, but the salary increase is still not small. The increase in the minimum wage from July 1, 2024 to PLN 4,300 means an increase of PLN 700 compared to the amount from July 1, 2023 (PLN 3,600), i.e. by 19.4%.
In turn, the hourly rate for persons employed, e.g. on a civil law basis, will be the minimum from January 1, 2024, i.e. PLN 27.70, which means an increase of PLN 4.9 compared to the amount applicable from January 1, 2023, i.e. 21.5%. The increase in the minimum hourly rate from July 1, 2024 to PLN 28.10 means an increase of PLN 4.6 compared to the amount from July 1, 2023, i.e. by 19.5%.
The impact of minimum wage on the amount of allowances and other benefits
Due to the change in the amount of the minimum wage, its other components and benefits dependent on the amount of the minimum wage will also change.
Compensation for mobbing, discrimination or violation of the principles of equal treatment in employment. From January 2024 it will be PLN 4,242, and from July PLN 4,300.
Allowance for night work
- From January to April it will amount to PLN 5.05
- From May to June – PLN 5.30
- For July and October – PLN 4.67
- For August and September – PLN 5.12
- For November – PLN 5.66
- For December – PLN 5.38
Severance pay for collective redundancies – this cannot exceed 15 times the minimum wage, and from January 2024 it will amount to PLN 63,630, and from July it will amount to PLN 64,500.
Basis for calculating sickness benefit – it is calculated by subtracting the employee’s social security contributions from the minimum wage. This means that from January 1, 2024, it will amount to PLN 3,660.42, and from July – PLN 3,710.47.
The amounts fee from deductions in 2024
The amounts free from deductions are also related to the amount of the minimum wage. Therefore, from January 1 (for the entire first half of the year) they will be:
- For not alimony deductions – PLN 3,221.98
- For cash advances granted to an employee – PLN 2,416.49
- For fines – PLN 2,899.78.
Co-financing for contact lenses and changes in workplace equipment
Contact lenses, screen monitor, footrest, mouse, keyboard, chair – from November 17, 2023, there have been major changes for employers hiring employees from that date. For other employers, the time to implement the new regulations is extended, until May 17, 2024.
The amending regulations add the possibility of also providing employees with contact lenses, and not only corrective glasses as before. If employees use laptops for at least half of their daily working hours, their workstation will have to be equipped with a stationary monitor or a stand that will ensure that the screen is positioned in such a way that the upper edge of the monitor is at the employee’s eye level. This monitor will be the property of the employer, and the employee will also have the right to a mouse and an external keyboard.
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