10 most important HR law changes in 2024

2023 has undoubtedly been a busy year for HR departments and has brought many long-awaited changes. A summary of them can be found here. All signs point to a slight slowdown in 2024. We have listed the most important HR law changes in 2024 below.

I. DOUBLE INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE

From 1 January 2024 the minimum salary will be 4242 PLN gross, and as of 1 July it will be increased to 4300 PLN gross. The minimum hourly rate for civil law contracts is now 27,70 PLN gross, and from 1 July it will be 28,10 PLN gross. Along with the increase in minimum wage, benefits such as additional pay for night work, remuneration for downtime, severance pay for collective redundancies, compensation for mobbing or unequal treatment have also increased.

II. WHISTLEBLOWERS’ LAW

Poland has been delaying the implementation of the directive on the protection of whistleblowers for over 2 years now. The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy announced that work on implementation is a priority for the parliamentary majority. We expect that the new year will bring a breakthrough on this issue. It is important to start work on preparing the internal notification procedure today, as the latest draft of the Whistleblower Protection act provides for a very short vacatio legis – entities employing at least 50 people will have only 14 days to implement an internal notification procedure.

III. ADAPTING WORKSTATIONS TO THE NEW HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS

This is a consequence of last year’s amendment to the regulations on workstations with screen monitors. On 16 May, the 6-month period for employers to adapt existing workstations to the new regulations will expire. Workstations of employees using laptops for at least half of their daily working time will have to be equipped with a monitor or a stand and an additional keyboard and mouse.

IV. REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONTACT LENSES

The amendment obliged employers to reimburse the cost of contact lenses. It has been in force since 17 November last year, but it is expected that it will become more and more important this year and that employees will use the new benefit widely.

V. ELIMINATING SICK PAY

Sick pay will likely undergo changes in the new year. The Social Insurance Institution will be providing sick pay to the employee from the first day of their sick leave. This is one of the flagship proposals of the new government for entrepreneurs. It is not yet clear whether the change will only cover micro-entrepreneurs or all entrepreneurs in general.

VI. ZUS HOLIDAYS AND PIT PAYABLE UPON PAYMENT RECEIPT

Another government’s proposals for entrepreneurs are ZUS holidays and PIT payable upon payment receipt. The obligation to settle income tax will be postponed until the entrepreneur receives payment from an invoice. ZUS Holidays will provide for exemption from paying contributions for one month a year. During this period, the entrepreneur will receive a holiday benefit in the amount of half of the minimum wage. This proposal will be targeted only at micro-entrepreneurs.

VII. GRANDMAS’ BENEFIT

During his expose, The Prime Minister announced introduction of a new benefit for mothers returning to work after maternity leave. The benefit will be paid by ZUS in the amount of 1500 PLN per month, provided that the applying mother’s income is at least equal to the minimum wage. The grandmothers’ benefit is intended to cover childcare costs and enable mothers to successfully return to the labour market.

VIII. NEW TAX-FREE AMOUNT AND CHANGES TO THE HEALTH CONTRIBUTION?

During the election campaign a new tax-free amount of 60 000 PLN was promised. However, it seems that this proposal has faded into the background for the time being. Instead, favourable rules for calculating the health contribution were included in the new government’s coalition agreement. We will find out in the coming months if this will mean a return to a flat-rate system of calculating health contributions or a completely new solution.

IX. NEW LAW ON COLLECTIVE DISPUTES

In the new year we also expect continuation of work on a new law on collective disputes. The previous draft caused a lot of controversy – changing the definition of a collective dispute, abandoning listing of the dispute subjects, defining dispute duration, or introducing preventive mediation are just some of the new ideas. Time will tell which of these will be included in the final version of the law. Undoubtedly, further work requires extensive public consultations.

X. PREPARING FOR ESG REPORTING FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2024

The reporting obligation for 2024 will only apply to major public interest entities (exceeding the average number of 500 employees on annual balance sheet date, including public companies) but in the following years the obligation will also apply to private companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (in 2025 and 2026). It is worth getting to know the new obligations and reporting methods now.