Poland

Mandatory employee benefits in Poland include pension (PPK), social insurance, and occupational medicine (OM). Supplementary employee benefits in Poland include private medical, life, and business travel insurance. Employee perks include gym memberships and tuition subsidies for employees’ education.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Poland

Social Insurance

The Polish social insurance system includes old-age pension insurance, disability and survivors’ pension insurance, sickness insurance, and work accident insurance. In general, this system does not provide a minimum of resources for people who become disabled during their working lives.

With a disability that results in the inability to work, an employee receives a pension. It is minimal and insufficient to ensure a minimum standard of living.

Children of an employee who died could count on a pension after the death of a parent if the parent were insured in the Polish social security system. Such a pension is also minimal.

Maternity and paternity leave are covered by social insurance. Short-term disability is covered for up to 182 days in a calendar year by the state insurance, or 270 days if the inability to work is due to tuberculosis or falls during pregnancy.

Mandatory requirements

Occupational Medicine (OM)

Employers should provide their employees with obligatory occupational medicine examinations because they involve tests that determine an employee’s predisposition to work in a specific position under certain conditions. In this regard, any harmful and onerous factors in a work environment are considered.

Preliminary examination – the following persons are referred: (1) new employees before the commencement of work, (2) employees who have changed their position, (3) employees whose job profile has been changed, where new risks emerge.

Periodic examinations – the following persons are referred: persons already working in a given position before their previous certificate’s validity ends. Follow-up examinations – the following persons are referred: each employee on sick leave for more than 30 days. The employee should undergo the tests to obtain a medical certificate before returning to work.

Mandatory pension (Employee Capital Plan/ PPK)

• An Employee Capital Plan (PPK) is a method of accumulating assets for future pensions.
• It is a new (from 2019) and mandatory auto-enrollment plan
• The legal basis for a PPK is the Act of 4th of October 2018
• Each employer is obliged by law to set up a PPK in their company
• Should there be a delay in establishing PPK, the employer may be subject to a financial penalty of up to 1.5% of the corporate salary funds for the previous financial year
• The law strictly regulates the PPK setup
• The employer has approximately. 90 days to set up PPK as of the DOH of the first employee

Contributions to PPK

Employer contributions

• Basic – 1.5%
• Optional – up to 2.5%
• Total max basic and optional – 4%

Employee contributions

• Basic – 2 %
• Optional – up to 2 %
• Total max basic and optional – 4%

State subsidies

• Welcome subsidy – PLN 250
• Annual subsidy – PLN 240 PLN

Useful remarks

• Autoenrollment plan for employees between 18-55 years old
• The employer pays contributions only for PPK participants (if the employee decides to opt out, the employer cannot pay contributions for that employee)
• The average participation rate is approximately 51.16%
• Matching is not applicable in PPK
• The work council (employee representatives or trade unions) needs to be involved in the selection process of the PPK vendor
• Every 4 years, an auto-enrollment session will be held for all employees who have opted out. The first auto-enrollment session began in February or March 2023.

Occupational health and safety training (OHS)

Employers have many obligations relating to ensuring safe and healthy working conditions. These include:

• Holding regular OHS training courses for workers
• Familiarizing workers with occupational health and safety provisions and rules relating to their work
• Issuing detailed instructions and guidelines on occupational health and safety at work stations
• Providing workers with free personal protective equipment and instructing them how to use it
• If a new worker is employed, the employer must:
  • Provide OHS training to the worker before permitting them to work. The worker confirms completion of general training and on-the-job training in writing in an initial
    training sheet, which is included in that person’s file
  • Familiarize the worker with occupational risks and rules of protection against hazards
  • Employees should receive an occupational medicine certificate before starting work in a given position.

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Poland

Private Medical Insurance

Public healthcare is free of charge, but it is also inefficient due to the unavailability of specialists, medical personnel, and diagnostic tests needed. The ability to make appointments at a convenient time and in a convenient location is also viewed negatively. The waiting period for specialist consultations may take a few weeks or several months (depending on the type of specialist). The waiting period for the advanced diagnostic may take a few weeks or even several months (depending on the diagnostic).  That is why private medical care is the most common benefit in Poland. The majority (over 85%) of the employers in Poland offer such benefits to their employees. However, since 2022, private medical carriers have reported a significant increase in medical costs, which has affected the premium increase for new quotations and renewal offers.

Group Life Insurance

Group risk insurance is the second most popular employee benefit among Polish employees. There are two types of group life insurance:

• The compulsory scheme is one where the employer covers the insurance premium. The sums insured are either fixed or salary-based. The scope of the cover is limited to a few riders.
• The voluntary scheme is one where the employee fully covers the insurance premium and has it deducted from their salary. The sums insured are almost always fixed but relatively low. The scope of the cover is, however, extensive and includes family benefits, such as payments in the event of the death of the spouse, parents, or parents-in-law, the birth of a child, and the critical illness of dependents.

It is common for larger companies to have both compulsory and voluntary schemes in place simultaneously. Disability insurance (total and permanent disability for any reason and total partial disability due to accident) is part of the group life insurance plan as a supplemental agreement.

Business Travel Insurance

Although business travel insurance is not mandatory, most companies (95%) offer it. According to Polish law, employers who send employees abroad are required to cover the costs of medical treatment, including medication and transportation. The BTA cover is a cheaper solution.

Employee Perks

Employer-sponsored gym memberships are a prevalent benefit in Poland. Most companies (89%) subsidize or cover the costs of employees’ education, training, or language courses.

Flexible benefits are not expected in the Polish market. Only ¼ of all employers offer these benefits.

This information on mandatory and supplemental employee benefits in Poland is provided by Asinta’s Central and Eastern European Partner, the GrECo Group.

Nothing on this country page is intended to be legal, financial, or tax advice, and readers are advised to consult with their appropriate advisors regarding any legal, financial, or tax implications this information may address.