Confusion around contributions to the Company Social Benefit Fund
The Senate, at its meeting conducted between September 25-27, is considering the Act of 11th of September 2019 amending the Act on special solutions serving the implementation of the Budget Act for 2019, the Act on the Company Social Benefit Fund and the Act on the Large Family Card. One of the proposed changes assumes Article 2 of this Act, which amends Art. 5h of the Act on the Company Social Benefits Fund. You should be vigilant, as the date of entry into force of this Act determines the use of a specific basis for calculating write-offs and increases to the Fund for 2019.
The amended provision of art. 5h of the Act on the Company Social Benefits Fund introduces two grounds for calculating write-offs and increases in 2019, depending on the period in which they are made, pursuant to the following principles:
- from January 1 to July 31, 2019, it maintains the current rule, i.e. the average monthly salary in the national economy in the second half of 2013, i.e. PLN 3,278.14,
- from August 1 to December 31, 2019, requires the use of the average monthly salary in the national economy in the second half of 2014, i.e. PLN 3,389.90.
This change requires the conversion of write-offs and increases made for 2019, which will depend on the duration of the basis for determining them. It should be recalled that according to the current legal status, 75% of write-offs and increases to the fund are made by the end of May, while the remaining 25% should be credited to the fund’s account by 30 September 2019. In view of the amendment, practical doubts arise as to whether the amount remaining payments should be made by September 30 or October 31, as provided in the amended provision. If the Amending Act entered into force before September 30, 2019, the deadline of October 31, 2019 should be used instead of the current September deadline. However, even if the Senate adopts the bill without amendments at the current meeting and it is signed by the president, after the publication of the amendment in the Journal of Laws, the new provisions will enter into force after 14 days. Therefore, the fastest possible date for applying the new rules for making contributions to the Company Social Benefits Fund will be mid-October.
So what should an employer do?
In 2019, there will be a precedential situation in which payments for the Company Social Benefits Fund will be made three times:
- by May 31, 2019, 75% of write-offs and increases;
- by September 30, 2019, the remaining 25%
- by October 31, 2019 – when the difference should be paid between payments made and the value of write-offs and increases after their proportional conversion, taking into account the increased basis, for the period from August 1 – December 31, 2019, in accordance with the amended Art. 5h section 3 of the Act on the Company Social Benefits Fund, provided that the said change actually enters into force.
DKP Legal
