Seniority is a thing of the past. The ministry wants to change the regulations

Przysypianie w pracy

The world is changing, which the Labor Code hardly notices. There are many solutions that do not fit today’s needs. Another sin of regulation is the omission of thousands of people who perform duties under civil contracts or as part of a business activity. This is the case with seniority, which determines certain privileges of employees, but which only applies to full-time employees. The Ministry wants to change this.

A few months ago, the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, announced that her ministry would fight against the “shaming” of employment and alleviate the effects of “pathologies that this market has faced for years.”

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk wants to fight against the denigrating of the Polish market

The purpose of the new regulations is, among others, fight against abuses related to the so-called junk contracts and B2B contracts. In many cases, such an agreement is concluded, although the person performing the duties de facto works like a full-time employee: he follows the orders of his superior, appears at the place indicated by him, works at specified hours… Very often, this suits the person performing the work, because as an entrepreneur he pays lower contributions than to pay when employed under an employment contract. Hence the popularity of B2B, i.e. sole proprietorships, among programmers, managers and consultants.

In addition, the government wants to introduce taxation to all civil contracts, so as to bring them as close as possible to employment contracts. This will translate into higher revenues for the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) budget, and it will give those working under contracts for specific work the opportunity to take sick leave and guarantee them health insurance (those working under contracts of mandate benefit from health insurance, they can also voluntarily pay a sickness contribution, which in the event of illness will give them the right to benefits. In this respect, their situation is similar to full-time employees).

Saving civil contracts will be difficult

Successive governments have promised to reduce the cost of contracts in recent years, but no one had any idea how to systemically solve the problem of the excessive prevalence of civil contracts. This time the impulse came from outside: milestone A71G of the KPO stipulates that all civil law contracts are to be subject to social security contributions (pension, disability, accident and sickness contributions). The exception will be contracts of mandate with high school students and students up to 26 years of age. Without meeting the conditions of the milestones, Poland will not receive money from the KPO.

The ministry has a hard time ahead of it, as it will not be without disputes. Some people working under civil contracts want the current state of affairs to remain because it is beneficial for them (they earn more on a net basis). Moreover, it is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, i.e. not to lead to a situation in which taking orders in situations where the mandate contract is justified will no longer be beneficial because the contributions will “eat” most of the remuneration. It is not the case that in every case, contracts for specific work and mandates are abused: for many people, they are an addition to the employment contract and are used correctly.

Work experience also for entrepreneurs

This is not the end of the statutory proposals that the Ministry of Family will present. A draft bill is to be submitted to the government soon, according to which the period of self-employment and work under a civil law contract will be included in the length of service.

– The situation is absurd that a man with several or ten years of experience, an expert, is now treated by the state as if he did nothing. He is treated as if he was just starting his professional career. This has consequences related to the length of time of counting the length of service, the amount of leave or including the length of service in jubilee awards. This is a pathology of the labor market – said Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk on RMF FM.

What is seniority?

Many employee rights, including those related to retirement, depend on the length of service.

Work experience is the total length of all previous periods of employment based on an employment contract, appointment, appointment, election. It also includes, for example, periods of study. As you can see, periods of work under civil contracts or running a business are not included.

Various types of employee rights depend on the length of service, such as:

  • the right to leave

  • the right to a longer notice period

  • the right to pre-retirement benefits

  • the right to a jubilee award

  • the right to severance pay.

Length of service and vacation leave

Pursuant to Article 155 of the Labor Code, the period of employment on which the amount of leave depends includes:

  • duration of education provided for in the curriculum, but not more than 3 years for completing a basic or other equivalent vocational school

  • the duration of education provided for in the curriculum, but no more than 5 years of completion of secondary vocational school

  • 5 years for completing secondary vocational school for graduates of basic (equivalent) vocational schools

  • 4 years for completing secondary general education

  • 6 years for completing post-secondary school

  • 8 years for completing higher education.

Since the period of work under civil contracts and running a JDG is not included in the length of service that determines the amount of leave, a person who, after years of work on such a basis, moves to a full-time position, has only 20 days of leave at his disposal (unless he makes an agreement with the employer). for more). Therefore, he is at the same level as someone just starting his professional activity. It’s hard to find honesty in this.

Length of service and retirement

There are two conditions for retirement: reaching retirement age (currently 60 for women and 65 for men) and paying pension contributions for at least one day. Length of service does not affect the acquisition of pension rights, but is a condition for ZUS to pay the lowest pension (in 2024, the minimum pension is PLN 1,780.96, which is increased every year).

From October 1, 2017, the required period of service to obtain the minimum pension is 20 years for women and 25 years for men (including both contributory and non-contributory periods).

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