Subsidy to the salaries of employees from PFRON and benefits from FGŚP

An employer employing disabled people and benefiting from subsidies to the remuneration of those employees from the State Fund for Rehabilitation of the Disabled Persons (PFRON) may also apply for subsidies to the salaries of employees covered by economic stoppage or reduced working time, following the outbreak of COVID-19, from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (FGŚP), provided for in Article 15g of the Act on the so-called anti-crisis package. However, it is not possible to receive two subsidies simultaneously.

According to the Act on Occupational and Social Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, a monthly subsidy to the employee’s remuneration is not eligible for the part financed from public funds (Article 26b, section 7).

The above exclusion does not apply if the employer has financed the employee’s remuneration (Article 26b, section 8 of the Act):

• from public funds from the conducted activity referred to in Article 5(1)(5),
• from public revenues (revenues from the sale of products and services provided by entities from the public finance sector) referred to in Article 5(2(3) of the Act on Public Finance.

The funds paid from the FGŚP to subsidise the remuneration of employees constitute public funds. However, these are not public funds which are included in the list of permitted funds referred to in Article 26b(8) of the Rehabilitation Act (i.e. those which allow for a subsidy to remuneration from the PFRON to the part of the remuneration costs incurred from these public funds).

Therefore, an employer who has received subsidies from the FGŚP for the remuneration of employees with disabilities covered by economic stoppage or reduced working time should show the amount of support from the FGŚP under item 53 of the INF-D-P appendix.

After demonstrating support from the FGŚP, it will be possible to calculate the amount that will be paid out from PFRON. The value of the subsidy to the remuneration of the disabled employee from PFRON will be equal to the lowest of the following:

• amount of subsidy to the remuneration of the employee with disability from PFRON, established on the basis of Article 26a, section 1 and 1b of the Rehabilitation Act (item 51 of INF-D-P form);
• amount of remuneration costs less any aid already received for the same costs from the FGŚP (items 52–53 of INF-D-P form);
• limit of the remuneration costs of worker with disability (item 54 of INF-D-P form).

The important thing is that an employer who takes advantage of the possibility to reduce the working time of an employee is obliged to show in the form the actual – reduced working time. Reduction of the working time resulting from the agreement concluded by the employer with the employees on the basis of Article 15g, section 11 of the Act on the anti-crisis package also means a reduction of the base amount of the subsidy from PFRON, proportionally to the working time.

What is also important, the reduction of working time has an impact on the method of calculating the 6% employment rate of people with disabilities for the purpose of a subsidy from PFRON. According to article 26a section 1a of the Act on Rehabilitation: Monthly subsidy is not available to an employer who employs at least 25 full-time equivalent employees and does not achieve an employment rate of at least 6% of persons with disabilities.

Marta Strzecha-Bociąga, attorney-at-law