On April 17, 2020, the Polish Parliament amended certain provisions on providing aid to businesses in
Poland as contained in the Act on Special Solutions Related to the Prevention, Counteraction and
Eradication of COVID-19, referred to as the Anti-Crisis Shield 2.0. These provisions reduce some of
the requirements originally provided for obtaining financial aid, and also extend the scope of eligible
recipients.
Co-financing employee compensation from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund
- Funding can be granted for 3 calendar months, from the month in which the application is
submitted. (Previously, this period commenced from the date of submitting the application.)
This means that a whole calendar month can be covered by the grant, regardless of the date
of application submission in that month. - The reduction of working time has been made more flexible. Now, it may be up to a maximum
of 20%, but it may also be less. (Previously, the reduction had to be exactly 20%.) - The prohibition to terminate employment contracts for subsidised employees will apply only to
the period of receiving funding. The business will be able to delivery termination notices of
such employment contracts after the subsidy period ends. (Previously, the prohibition to
provide notice of termination for reasons not related to the employee continued for the time
following the subsidized period, for the length of that period.) - The above changes also apply to contracts for the payment of co-financing that have already
been concluded, which is particularly important for businesses which were the first to be
affected by a drop in turnover and have already applied for or received funding.
Co-financing of employee compensation by the district governor for most severely affected
businesses
- Funding can be granted for 3 calendar months, from the month in which the application is
submitted. (Previously, this period commenced from the date of submitting the application.)
This means that a whole calendar month can be covered by the grant, regardless of the date
of application submission in that month. - The obligation to continue to employ employees covered by employment contracts concluded
with the district labour office will relate only to the period for which the funding was granted,
and not, as previously, for an additional period equal to that period, after the end of the
subsidy period. - The amended rules also apply to funds already granted.
Declaration of bankruptcy
- The 30-day statutory time period for filing an application for bankruptcy does not run during
the period of an epidemic emergency or state of epidemic (which is currently in effect in
Poland) if the cause of insolvency is COVID-19. This means that an application for bankruptcy
can also be filed after the epidemic has ended. This provision is particularly important for
businesses in financial trouble and members of their governing bodies who otherwise would
be statutorily responsible for meeting this deadline; - If a business is in a state of insolvency that arose during the state of epidemic emergency or
the state of epidemic declared as a consequence of COVID-19, it is presumed to have arisen
due to COVID-19. Accordingly, it will not be required to prove this cause of insolvency. - The above provisions shall be effective from April 13, 2020.
Exemption from social security contributions for businesses employing 10-49 employees
- The exemption from social security contributions will be available to a wider group of
businesses, as it will also cover those which employ up to 49 employees. For companies with
10-49 employees, the exemption will amount to 50% of the total amount due for contributions
for a period of three months. (Under previously existing regulations, the exemption, without
the 50% limit, covers entities with up to 10 insured.) - One of the prerequisites for the exemption is being a registered payer of contributions before
April 1, 2020. (Previously, the company had be in operation before February 1, 2020.) - The amount of the contribution exemption will not constitute taxable income for CIT purposes.
- The exemption also covers contributions for March 2020 which were already paid, and these
contributions can be reimbursed.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Magdalena Pilarska
Attorney at Law
T: +48 58 7820050
E: pilarska@pl.millercanfield.com
Magdalena Olkiewicz – Borkowska
Attorney at Law
T: +48 58 7820050
E: olkiewicz@pl.millercanfield.com
Disclaimer: This publication has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Miller Canfield. It is intended to provide only a summary
of certain recent legal developments of selected areas of law. For this reason the information contained in this publication should not form the
basis of any decision as to a particular course of action; nor should it be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in
individual cases. The services of a competent professional adviser should be obtained in each instance so that the applicability of the relevant
legislation or other legal development to the particular facts can be verified.