IDLE TIME PAY – the Anti-Crisis Package

Below, I present a concise summary of the issue of idle time pay.

Who is eligible for it?

1. A person running a non-agricultural business if:

a) they have started the non-agricultural business activity before 1 February 2020 and:

1) have not suspended their non-agricultural business activity;

2) the income from non-agricultural business activity obtained in the month preceding the month in which the application was submitted was at least 15% lower than the income obtained in the month preceding that month and was not higher than 300% of the average monthly remuneration from the previous quarter announced by the President of the Statistics Poland Office on the basis of the provisions on pensions and disability pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, in force as of the date of submission of the application (today it is about PLN 15,600);

3) are not subject to social security on other grounds, such as employment contracts;

4) when a business stoppage occurred following the occurrence of COVID-19;

b) they have suspended the non-agricultural business activity after 31 January 2020, and:

1) the income from non-agricultural business activity within the meaning of the provisions on personal income tax, obtained in the month preceding the month in which the application for idle time pay was submitted was not higher than 300% of the average monthly remuneration from the previous quarter announced by the President of the Statistics Poland Office on the basis of the provisions on pensions and disability pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, in force as of the date of submission of the application (today it is about PLN 15,600);

2) are not subject to social security on other grounds, such as employment contracts;

3) when business stoppage occurred following the occurrence of COVID-19;

c) to which the provisions on flat-rate income tax in the form of a lump sum taxation apply, and:

1) who benefited from the exemption of sales from value added tax pursuant to Article 113(1) and (9) of the Act of 11 March 2004 on the tax on the value added tax (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] of 2020, item 106);

2) are not subject to social security on other grounds, such as employment contracts;

3) when business stoppage occurred following the occurrence of COVID-19.

2. A person performing an agency contract, a contract of mandate, another contract for the provision of services, or a contract to perform a specified task or work, if:

a) the civil law contract was entered into before 1 February 2020;

b) the income from the civil law contract within the meaning of the provisions on personal income tax, obtained in the month preceding the month in which the application for idle time pay was submitted was not higher than 300% of the average monthly remuneration from the previous quarter announced by the President of the Statistics Poland Office on the basis of the provisions on pensions and disability pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, in force as of the date of submission of the application (today it is about PLN 15,600);

c) if they are not subject to social security on other grounds, such as employment contracts;

d) when, following the occurrence of COVID-19, the economic activity was stopped by the principal or the ordering party with whom a civil law contract has been entered into.

In what amount?

1. For the person referred to in item 1 a) and b) above – PLN 2080;
2. For the person referred to in item 1 c) above, 50% of the amount of the minimum remuneration for work determined on the basis of the provisions on the minimum remuneration for work, in force in 2020;
3. For the person referred to in item 2 above – PLN 2080, unless:

• the sum of revenues from civil law contracts within the meaning of the provisions on personal income tax obtained in the month preceding the month in which the application for an idle time pay was submitted is less than 50% of the amount of the minimum remuneration for work in force in 2020, then the idle time pay shall amount to the amount of sum of remuneration from these civil law contracts.

What do you have to do?

File an application to ZUS:

1. Entrepreneurs – on their own, RSP-D – application for idle time pay for persons running a business;
2. Persons performing a civil law contract – RSP-C – application for idle time pay for civil law contracts (to be completed by the principal or ordering party), through the principal or ordering party, who must submit a statement confirming the following:

a) failure or limitation of the performance of a civil law contract due to the stoppage of conducted economic activity;

b) date of conclusion and amount of remuneration for the civil law contract;

c) that the person performing civil law contract in the month preceding the month in which the application for idle time pay was submitted obtained revenue not higher than 300% of the average monthly remuneration from the previous quarter announced by the President of the Statistics Poland Office on the basis of the provisions on pensions and disability pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, in force as of the date of submission of the application (today it is about PLN 15,600);

d) they have received a statement from a person performing a civil law contract, that this person is not subject to social insurance on other grounds, together with the statement of income obtained from other civil law contracts;

e) copy of the civil law contracts.

What is the deadline for submitting the application?

Applications for idle time pay may be submitted to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) at the latest within 3 months as of the month in which the declared epidemic was lifted.

How many times can I get idle time pay?

Once. The Council of Ministers, by way of ordinance, may grant a new payment of the idle time pay but does not have to.

Beata Bieniek-Wiera, attorney-at-law