Month: March 2020

The Polish government has prohibited entry to Poland for non-Polish nationals effective from 15 March 2020. The rules were amended on 17 March 2020. There are a number of categories of exempted from the entry ban.

The entry ban does not apply to the following categories of non-Polish citizens:

(1) spouses of Polish citizens, children of Polish citizens, children remaining under childcare of Polish citizens;

(2) holders of a Pole’s Card (Karta Polaka);

(3) heads of diplomatic missions and members of the mission’s diplomatic and consular staff, i.e. persons possessing diplomatic rank and their family members;

(4) holders of permanent or temporary residence right

(5) holders of right to work in the territory of Poland, i.e. foreigners entitled to work on the same terms as Polish citizens, holders of work permits, holders of seasonal work permit and holders of short-term work permit (oświadczenie) provided that they

1. a) perform work in Poland

or

1. b) present documents confirming that performing work will be started shortly after crossing the border

(6) foreigners who run a means of transport for the transport of persons or goods, and their transit takes place as part of their professional activities consisting in the transport of goods or the transport of persons.

(7) other, particularly justified cases (subject to individual decision of the commander of Border Guard post after approval by the Chief Commander of the Polish Border Guard)

The list of exemptions does not include in particular the following categories of non-Polish citizens:

(1) EU citizens who are not working in Poland and do not fall under any other exempt category listed above – e.g. students, family members of foreigners working in Poland, EU citizens in transit to their home countries via Poland. It remains uncertain whether such EU citizens could argue they fall under exempt category (4) above.

(2) non-EU citizens who are not working in Poland, do not have a permanent or a temporary residence permit and do not fall under any other exempt category listed above – e.g. students staying in Poland on the basis of a visa, family members of a foreigner working in Poland who stay with the foreigner on the basis of a visa.

Each foreigner after crossing border should undergo a quarantine for 14 days at their place of residence in Poland. Only foreigners showing symptoms of coronavirus will be subject to hospital treatment. The same rules apply to returning Polish nationals.

The entry ban is introduced until further notice.

 

The Polish government has just decided to take the following measures to stop the spread of coronavirus:

1) the entry of non-Polish nationals will be suspended;

2) all international flights to Poland will be cancelled;

3) Poland re-introduces border controls with Schengen countries;

4) all Polish nationals returning to Poland from anywhere abroad must enter a 14-day home quarantine.

The measures are introduced for 10 days starting on this Sunday and might be extended.

Dear Sirs,

The government has just announced the closing of all educational establishments since Monday.

In this case, the new Act on coronavirus provides for the right to an additional 14 days of childcare allowance.

Below we answer the most important questions related to this burning issue. In addition, by clicking the link below you will find more information on the prevention of coronavirus spread.

1. When employee is entitled to the additional childcare allowance?

In order for an employee to be entitled to the additional childcare allowance, all the following conditions must be met:

• the employee must be subject to sickness insurance (also voluntary in the case of e.g. contractors);
• the child cannot be 8 years old or older;
• the facility was closed due to the coronavirus epidemic;
• there must be an objective need for the employee to personally take care of the child;
• other family members do not remain in the household and cannot take care of the child (except for children under 2 years of age).

2. Can both parents use the childcare allowance at the same time?

No. One of the prerequisites for using the additional childcare allowance is ‘the need to provide personal childcare’. It is impossible for both parents to have such a necessity at the same time.

3. Can an employee working remotely benefit from childcare allowance?

If the employee performs work remotely and receives remuneration for it, he is not entitled to care allowance.

4. Can the employee be refused the additional childcare allowance?

As a rule, an employer cannot refuse an employee the option of using care allowance. However, the employer may support the employee in providing childcare differently (e.g. enabling the employee to come to work with the child, subsidizing the babysitter, enabling work from home, etc.). In such cases, there will be no need for the employee to take care of the child personally, and hence – there will be no grounds for taking care allowance.

We remain at your disposal.