I want to claim employee wage support under the Anti-Crisis Shield. Whom should I contact and which forms should I complete?
The Anti-Crisis Shield provides for wage subsidies through two alternative forms of support specifically designed for that purpose.
Job protection support from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund
To obtain job protection support from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (FGŚP), submit an application to the voivodeship labour office. This can be done through praca.gov.pl or at the office responsible for the place where the business operates. Before applying, the business must agree with a trade union or employee representatives on reduced working hours and pay. The agreement must be attached to the application and sent to the district labour inspector. Application and attachment templates can be found on this government website.
Partial employment cost support from the district labour office
Micro, small and medium-sized businesses may obtain partial employment cost support from the district labour office (PUP). Applications go to the office responsible for the place where the business operates, on paper or using the form at praca.gov.pl. The necessary document templates are on this government website.
I have applied for a standstill benefit. Can I also seek partial employment cost support from the district labour office?
The Anti-Crisis Shield does not prevent receiving both forms of support. A business meeting the conditions may apply for both. Applications must be justified by the adverse economic effects suffered as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
I am exempt from social security contributions. Can I also obtain support for business costs under the Anti-Crisis Shield?
A business cannot receive support for costs already funded, or to be funded, from other public resources. If it qualifies and incurs other business costs besides social security contributions, it may obtain support.
An employer exempt from social security contributions may also receive wage support. Its application should cover only the portion excluding ZUS contributions.
I am behind on social security contributions. Can I apply for Anti-Crisis Shield support?
Some forms of assistance are conditional on having no arrears in public-law liabilities. A business with outstanding social security contributions cannot receive:
- job protection support from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund;
- partial employment cost support;
- partial business operating cost support;
- the ability to modify employees’ rest periods, working time arrangements and working conditions under the Anti-Crisis Shield.
The provisions governing district labour office loans, standstill benefits and ZUS contribution exemptions do not impose a requirement to have no public-law arrears.
On 5 May, ZUS published information at zus.pl for businesses with contribution arrears, indicating that exemption may be obtained despite those arrears.
A partner and I run a private nursery school registered in the Register of Schools and Educational Establishments. We employ staff, but the school is registered in neither CEIDG nor KRS. Can we obtain Anti-Crisis Shield support?
A person operating a nursery school for profit is an entrepreneur even without CEIDG registration. Anti-Crisis Shield assistance is not conditional on such registration, so a private nursery school operator may use the measures on the same basis as other businesses. A company with share capital operating a nursery school must, however, be registered in KRS. Partnerships cannot operate nursery schools.
I employ two apprentices and have applied for a three-month ZUS contribution exemption. My March revenue exceeded PLN 15,681.00. Will Shield 2.0 exempt me?
Under current law, insured employees who are minors are excluded when counting insured persons. This has removed eligibility for businesses employing only minors whose revenue exceeded 300% of the forecast average monthly gross wage in the national economy for 2020. No transitional provisions address businesses that applied before the change. As a rule, if the law changes before a final decision, the new provisions apply. Therefore, if ZUS did not decide the case before Shield 2.0 took effect, it will most likely refuse exemption.
I employ between one and nine people and have a ZUS contribution exemption. Can I claim a standstill benefit?
These forms of assistance are compatible. A business meeting the standstill benefit conditions may claim it.
I signed a contract of mandate after 1 February. Can I claim a standstill benefit for March?
Contractors who entered into agreements after 1 February but before 1 April 2020 may claim the benefit from the entry into force of Shield 2.0. The new provisions took effect in April, making that the first month in which an application and payment were possible. In our view, under the current wording of the Anti-Crisis Shield provisions, these persons cannot obtain the benefit for March.
I run a business and also work under an employment contract. I ‘closed’ the business because of the epidemic. Can I obtain a Labour Fund loan under the Anti-Crisis Shield?
A business formally closed or suspended cannot obtain a Labour Fund loan. If it has not formally closed or suspended operations and continues to incur business costs, it may obtain a district labour office loan.
I operate through a Polish civil-law partnership and have no employees. Am I entitled to a standstill benefit?
Subject to conditions, standstill benefits are available to entrepreneurs and contractors. A Polish civil-law partnership is neither an entrepreneur nor a separate subject of civil-law relations, but its partners are entrepreneurs. A partner meeting the relevant conditions may receive the benefit.
A civil-law partnership employs someone. Can it seek business cost support from the district labour office under the Anti-Crisis Shield?
Business cost support is available to sole traders without employees. A civil-law partnership is not an entrepreneur, but its partners are sole traders. A partner may apply if they are not an employer. Views differ on whether the employer is the partnership or its partners. Under the first view, a partner in a partnership with employees may apply; under the second, they may not. The second view currently appears to prevail in Supreme Court case law. A functional and purposive interpretation of the Anti-Crisis Shield suggests that neither the partnership nor its partners should receive support in this case.
A civil-law partnership has no employees. Can it apply for business cost support from the district labour office?
A civil-law partnership is not an entrepreneur. Each partner may apply for partial business cost support.
I operate through a civil-law partnership. Can I apply for a Labour Fund loan? Can the partnership apply?
A civil-law partnership is not an entrepreneur and is therefore ineligible for a Labour Fund loan. An entrepreneur operating through it may apply.
A civil-law partnership employs one person. What Anti-Crisis Shield assistance can it obtain?
If the partnership is the ZUS contribution payer, it may apply for exemption from social security contributions. The other forms of assistance are available to the entrepreneurs operating through it.
Each civil-law partnership partner earned revenue exceeding 300% of the forecast average monthly gross wage in the national economy for 2020 through the partnership. Can the partnership or its partners receive Anti-Crisis Shield assistance?
As a ZUS contribution payer, the civil-law partnership may apply for exemption from social security contributions.
Partners whose revenue exceeded 300% of the forecast average monthly gross wage in the national economy for 2020 may use other assistance measures, but not the ZUS exemption. Shield 3.0, awaiting the President’s signature, introduces an exception: a partner paying contributions independently and solely for themselves whose February income did not exceed PLN 7,000.00 will be able to obtain exemption for April and May.
I run a business and am insured under the agricultural social insurance scheme (KRUS). Can I use Anti-Crisis Shield assistance?
An entrepreneur running a non-agricultural business may obtain Anti-Crisis Shield assistance on the same terms as others, even if they chose to remain in agricultural social insurance when starting the business.
I employ three people, each working quarter-time. Am I considered self-employed under the Anti-Crisis Shield? Can I claim a standstill benefit or loan?
‘Self-employed’ is a colloquial term. In the Anti-Crisis Shield context, it currently matters for social security contribution exemptions and partial business cost support.
A self-employed person pays only their own ZUS contributions. Employers hiring part-time workers must register them for social insurance and are not self-employed in this sense. A business employing three people quarter-time may therefore obtain the contribution exemption regardless of revenue.
For partial business cost support too, a business employing part-time workers cannot be treated as self-employed. The COVID Act provides no exception for employers without full-time staff, so such a business cannot obtain this support.
Shield 2.0 does not make eligibility for a standstill benefit or Labour Fund loan depend on whether the business employs staff.
I employed someone for three weeks in March. Will I lose support available to the self-employed?
Employing staff matters principally for partial business cost support and ZUS contribution exemptions.
When deciding on support, the district head should consider the facts and law at the time of the decision. The provisions are imprecise, but employing someone for three weeks in March should presumably not prevent partial business cost support.
For ZUS exemption, however, this is too short a period to qualify under the rules for contribution payers registering between one and nine people for social insurance. The business is treated as self-employed for that purpose.
These answers do not constitute legal advice. Determining whether, to what extent and how a particular business can use Anti-Crisis Shield measures requires a detailed analysis of its legal position in every case..
We answered other questions in previous articles available here and here.
If further questions arise, we will endeavour to answer them in subsequent articles in the ANTI-CRISIS SHIELD: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS series.
We also invite you to download part two of our practical guide to the measures introduced by the legislation known as Anti-Crisis Shield 2.0, available here.
