The turn of the year is a busy time in the HR and payroll departments. In addition to preparing and filing 2023 tax returns, it is important to bear in mind the remaining reporting obligations for the past year and the HR and payroll changes applicable in 2024.
Outstanding leave
Every employee, according to the Labour Code, is entitled to 20 days or 26 days of annual leave per year, depending on the length of service. As a general rule, an employee is granted annual leave in the year in which the employee became entitled to it. However, leave not taken in a given year, must be granted to the employee no later than 30 September of the following calendar year.
If the leave due for 2023 is not taken by the end of September 2024, this does not result in its loss. Claims from the employment relationship, including a claim for outstanding leave, are time-barred 3 years after the date on which the claim became due.
PIT tax filings
By the end of January 2024, the employer is required to submit to the competent Tax Office:
- PIT-4R tax return for the previous tax year, containing a summary of the bases and amounts of tax and tax advances collected and paid by the payer
- PIT-8AR tax return on lump-sum personal income tax,
- PIT-11 tax return constituting basic information on income, earnings, costs and collected advance personal income tax payments. It should be provided to the employee by 29.02.2024.
In some cases, the employer may be required to prepare and submit the IFT-1/IFT-1R declaration, which is information on the amount of income received by individuals residing outside Poland. The employer should submit it to the Tax Office and the employee by 29.02.2024.
ZUS IWA
By 31 January, the employer is obliged to submit the ZUS IWA information for the previous year to the Social Insurance Institution. This document contains information about accidents at work and persons employed in hazardous conditions.
The obligation to submit the completed information on the ZUS IWA form for 2023 applies to payers who collectively meet the following conditions:
– were reported continuously as accident insurance payers from 1 January to 31 December 2023 and at least one day in January 2024
– reported an average of at least 10 persons per month for accident insurance in the past year
-31 December 2023 were entered in the REGON register.
PFRON
Employers employing at least 25 employees, including employees with disabilities, as well as employers who do not reach the relevant employment rate for such employees, have until 20 January 2023 to submit annual information in the form of an electronic document within the e-PFRON system.
ZFŚS
At the end of the year, employers creating the Company Social Benefits Fund are obliged to adjust the deductions made by the end of 2023.
Employers with at least 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees as of 1 January of a given year are required to create a Company Social Fund. Others may, but do not have to, create a Company Social Benefits Fund and may also pay holiday benefits. If you decide not to create the Company Social Benefits Fund and pay holiday benefits, you must inform your employees by the end of January.
Minimum salary in 2024
The minimum salary in 2024 is PLN 4,242 gross and from July PLN 4,300 gross. This is the minimum wage for a full-time employee. For those employed under a contract of mandate, from 1 January 2024 the minimum hourly rate is PLN 27.70 gross and until July PLN 28.10 gross for each hour worked.
New limit of 30 times Social Security in 2024
The amount of the limitation of the annual basis for the assessment of pension and disability insurance contributions in 2024 is PLN 234,720. The limitation applies to contributions financed by the employee and the employer.
Contributions for other insurances (sickness, accident, FGŚP and Labour Fund) are to be paid from the full base, without applying the above limitation. Exceeding this base also has no effect on the collection of contributions for Employee Capital Plans (PPK).
New health and safety regulations
On 17 November 2023, the amended regulation on health and safety at work at workplaces equipped with screen monitors came into force. From now on, employers have six months to implement the regulations in their organisations, which state, among other things:
- a new definition of the workplace
- an obligation to provide a desktop monitor or laptop stand for employees working at a computer
- subsidising corrective glasses or contact lenses if the results of an ophthalmological examination carried out as part of preventive healthcare indicate that the employee needs to wear them.
Changes in labour law
In 2023, changes to the Labour Code came into force. These include new information obligations for employment contracts, changes to the rules for probationary and fixed-term contracts, and greater protection for employees against dismissal. Provisions regulating the performance of remote work have also been introduced.
A law on so-called whistleblowers is expected to be enacted in 2024. This will be a belated implementation of the European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers in the European Union.
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