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As of January 1st, 2024, the amount of the minimum wage is PLN 4242 gross, and as of July 1st, 2024, it will be PLN 4300 gross, which is PLN 700 more compared to the amount in effect in 2023. As for the hourly rate, on the other hand, from January 1st, 2024, the minimum hourly rate for work for certain contracts is PLN 27.70 gross, and from July 1st, 2024 PLN 28.10 gross. As a reminder, the increase in the minimum wage also results in an increase in other benefits related to the employment relationship, which are calculated on its basis (e.g., demurrage pay).
The Council of the European Union has decided to admit Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area. It was decided to abolish air and sea border controls from March 31st, 2024. This means that travelers by plane or ship will not have to show documents and will be able to freely cross the borders of these countries. The final date in terms of opening land borders is not yet known. The last country to join the Schengen Area on January 1st, 2023 was Croatia. In addition to most European Union countries, the Schengen Area also includes Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
According to announcements presented at the Labour Protection Board meeting, the State Labour Inspectorate plans to carry out a total of 60,000 inspections in 2024. State Labour Inspectorate intends to pay special attention to compliance with the new legal solutions introduced in the Labour Code, including, above all, the rights of employees related to parenthood and remote work. Invariably, the circumstances and causes of workplace accidents – fatal, serious and collective, or issues of delays and underpayment of employees – will also be verified. In addition, 2024 is the culmination of the State Labour Inspectorate 3-year work plan, which included strategies for inspecting preventive measures for the construction sector, hazards of chemical work environment factors and a strategy for increased supervision of workplaces.
And we will be back to you next week with a report on the Social Insurance Institution’s inspections.
The deadline for implementing the so-called “whistleblower directive” expired on December 17th, 2021. Poland is one of the last European Union countries that have not implemented the directive’s solutions into the national legal system. Despite this, the District Court in Toruń (case no. IV P 171/22) – as one of the first in Poland – recognized that in the state-individual relationship, the provisions of a formally unimplemented directive can be invoked directly (the so-called vertical effect of the EU directive), especially when the deadline for its implementation has passed. The case involved the payment of damages from the university for unjustified termination of an employment contract, one of the reasons for which was that an employee published information on social media about irregularities at the university. The judgment is not final. Time will show if this is the beginning of a line of jurisprudence.
For the first time, the National Tax Administration will help companies fill in their annual tax returns on the occasion of the 2023 settlements. The “Twój e-PIT” system will automatically display data held by the tax authorities – this includes e.g. personal data, advance payments or lump sums paid during the year, and social and health insurance contributions. The pre-filed returns are to include some deductions (e.g. for children) and the public benefit organization indicated in the previous year, to which 1.5% of the tax has been transferred. Companies, however, will have to fill in missing data, in particular on revenues and tax-deductible costs, as well as on most deductions. The pre-filed tax returns will not be submitted automatically – each person wishing to use this service will have to accept and submit the completed return on their own.
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