European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
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Monitored dismissals
An outplacement programme must be proposed by the employer if at least 50 employees within a period of three months are planned to be dismissed ('monitored dismissal'). The programme should be provided by the employer in cooperation with the employment office or training institution within the monitored dismissals procedure and should include employment services, vocational guidance, training and assistance in active job search which is established case by case.
In monitored dismissals, employers offer a special programme of training upon the employee's request. In the framework of the programme, the employer can finance training that lasts up to 6 months after the dismissal date and the costs of which should be equivalent to the employee's monthly remuneration when on holiday leave, but should not exceed 200% of the national monthly minimum wage (2000 PLN/approximately €460 in 2018). During the training, the employee is entitled to advice from the relevant District Labour Office. The employee can also take part in a one time training organised by the Poviat Labour Office. Monitoring dismissal is based on the article 70 of Act on of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions. The provisions of this instrument can change because of proposal (2018) of new regulation - Labour Market Act.
Solidarity allowance
In connection with COVID-19 and the downturn caused by it on the labour market, on 19 June 2020, the temporary solution namely Act on solidarity allowance granted to counteract the negative effects of COVID-19 was adopted. Workers who lost their jobs due to the (post) pandemic recession were be entitled to benefit from such allowance for 3 months instead of unemploment benefit. The relevant application had to be submitted by 31 August 2020. The amount of the allowance is PLN 1,400 (€318) and is standard for anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. After the expiry of the 3 months receiving the solidarity allowance, the employee is entitled to regular unemployment benefit (provided that he/she meets the criteria). As of 13 August 2020, 185 000 such benefits were paid in the total amount of almost PLN 246, 000 000 (€55, 909 000).
The assumption behind this allowance is, among others, the fact that this period will be spent by those employees on self-improvement of existing skills or acquiring new ones, useful on the labour market, without the need to adapt to the rigid constraints applied to the unemployed registered at labour offices.
Holiday pay mentioned in the description is individual pay which employees get during their holiday. It is calculated on the basis of the previous three months' pay or if there are huge differences between monthly payments, it is calculated as an average of the last six months' pay. The redundancy pay is calculated in the same way by analogy.
There is no information available about effectiveness of this regulation.
Eurofound (2015), Poland: Employers obligation to support redundant employees, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/employers-obligation-to-support-redundant-employees/poland
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