In the coming months, the labour marketplace in Poland will face crucial changes. The draft law on minimum pay for work was consulted, and its provisions arise from the EU Directive 2022/2041 on adequate minimum salaries in the European Union. The fresh rules introduce crucial changes that may affect the structure of wages in Polish companies. What circumstantial changes await us and how to prepare for the coming regulations?
Minimum wage and basic salary
One of the key changes to the bill is the request that the minimum wage for work should relate only to the basic wage of the employee. To date, the catalogue of remuneration components that were not included in the minimum wage was closed. The fresh rules quit this approach, meaning that elements specified as bonuses, prizes, function allowances or peculiar allowances will not be included in the minimum wage.
This amendment aims to "ensure a more equitable and transparent form of minimum wage for work and reconstruct the incentive character of individual components of remuneration", as the Ministry of Labour emphasises in the justification of the project. The Ministry notes that allowances specified as a bonus or a reward which were to service as a gratification for professional achievements have now only become a supplement to the minimum wage. The fresh rules are intended to change this by restoring these additives to their first purpose.
Regular update of minimum wage
Although the rules of the yearly increase in minimum wage stay mostly unchanged (e.g. with the warrant of an increase in inflation rate), the bill introduces an additional update of the minimum wage. all 4 years, the minimum wage will be updated taking into account factors specified as purchasing power, overall level of remuneration in the country, the rate of increase in wages and the ratio of minimum to average wage.
These additional criteria are designed to set the minimum wage more balanced, taking into account the changing economical conditions in Poland. This is simply a step towards gathering the requirements of the EU Directive, which lays down the adequacy of minimum salaries in individual associate States.
Challenge to employers and impact on wage structure
However, the introduction of fresh regulations raises questions about how companies will cope with fresh requirements. The work to treat minimum remuneration only as a basic remuneration may require employers to rethink the structure of remuneration. To date, allowances that have frequently been complementary to a minimum wage will now should be awarded as real gratuities for work achievements or another merits.
This may mean that remuneration policies must be reviewed in companies, especially those which have so far relied on additives to supplement the minimum wage. Employers will besides gotta prepare for regular updates of minimum salaries, which could have an impact on wage budget planning for the following years.
Summary
The draft law on minimum wage for work introduces crucial changes that may affect the labour marketplace in Poland. Employers will gotta adapt their remuneration policies to the fresh rules which presume that the minimum wage will apply only to the basic salary. In addition, all 4 years, the minimum wage will be updated on the basis of additional economical criteria to guarantee its adequacy in changing economical conditions.
The fresh rules aim to make the minimum wage more equitable and transparent, but at the same time they challenge employers to adapt the structure of remuneration to fresh legal requirements.
Legislative phase: Consultation task
Daniel Głogowski
Expert in his field – Publicist, author and social activist. The first articles were published in 1999 for global publishers. For more than 30 years, he has gained his experience through cooperation with the largest editorial offices. In his articles, he seeks to address controversial topics and present first viewpoints that allowed for a deeper knowing of the issues discussed.
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