Legislative Act regarding employee capital plans signed into law by the president

On 19 November 2018, president Andrzej Duda signed the legislative Act regarding employee capital plans (hereinafter referred to as “the PPK Act”), thus concluding a legislative process of some 2 years’ duration. The objectives of this statute are to:

– Increase the saving rate among the Polish public and channel some of these savings to the capital markets, thus fostering growth of the latter (the Polish capital markets have recently been showing signs of stagnation, so this is a welcome development);

– Encourage Poles to save towards retirement and to support them in this endeavour.

The PPK Act poses something of a challenge for employers in that it imposes upon them numerous organizational duties. In particular, the new law obligates employers to:

– Execute a contract for employee capital plan management;

– Execute a contract for employee capital plan operation;

– Remit contributions towards the employee capital plans in the amounts, and within the deadlines, prescribed in the Act;

– Discharge information duties and maintain documentation relating to the employee capital plans.

Employers are advised to take note that failure to duly comply with these new duties may incur criminal liability.

The PPK Act as such comes into force on 1 January 2019. Depending on their employee headcounts, employers will be obligated to implement employee capital plans within the following deadlines:

– Employers employing at least 250 persons – starting 1 July 2019;

– Employers employing at least 50 persons – starting 1 January 2020;

– Employers employing at least 20 persons – starting 1 July 2020;

– All remaining employers and public finance sector entities – starting 1 January 2021.

At this point, the PPK Act requires only publication in the Journal of Laws. In the near future, GESSEL will take the liberty of inviting you to a series of training events devote to the new law, especially to the practical aspects of instituting employee capital plans in your business.

Contact:

Leszek Koziorowski
l.koziorowski@gessel.pl
Tel. + 48 22 318 69