The deadline for the inclusion of entities in the public finance sector in the PPK Act (employee capital plans) is approaching rapidly. From the 1st of January 2021, such entities, i.e. courts, public kindergartens, schools and universities or clinics, regardless of the number of people employed, will be required to create employee capital plans. Covering the Act does not mean the obligation to establish a PPK at the beginning of the new year.

The employing entities will have a few more months to conclude a PPK management contract and a PPK management contract. The deadlines for concluding these contracts are March 26th, 2021 (deadline for concluding the PPK management contract) and April 10th, 2021 (the deadline for concluding the PPK management contract).

Establishing a PPK is undoubtedly a huge organizational challenge for the public sector. An appropriately early start of pre-implementation preparations is important because the procedure for establishing the PPK in this sector after the entry into force of Shield 4.0 and the consequent amendment of the PPK Act is characterized by certain differences.

In the case of organizational units of a given local government unit, Shield 4.0 expanded the competence to choose the financial institution managing the PPK. Consequently, they are entitled not only to the directors of these units, but also to mayors, city presidents, district boards and voivodship boards.

In addition, from January the 1st, 2021, in connection with the entry into force of the new Public Procurement Law, the rules for applying the tender procedure to PPK management contracts will change significantly. The public procurement law regime does not apply to PPK management contracts and PPK management contracts only when the contract value is lower than the EU thresholds.

In principle, the changes introduced by Shield 4.0 were aimed at streamlining the process of implementing the PPK program by units belonging to the public finance sector, including local government units. As a result, however, they significantly complicated it, raising in particular questions about how to determine the value of the contract for the provision of PPK-related services, and whether after January the 1st, 2021, it is acceptable
for these entities to conclude a PPK management contract for an indefinite period. PFR and PPO have already presented their positions on these issues.

In those employing entities with no trade unions, the key is to choose the representation of employees. It is worth emphasizing that it should be a special representation of employees. Such a role cannot be given to employee representation previously elected for matters related to labour law.

It is also worth assessing the time consumption of PPK from the organizational point of view. The number of employer's obligations is quite large, which, with a large number of employees, means a higher level of HR involvement in the service of PPK. Due to the high level of financial responsibility in the event of violations of obligations related to the conduct of PPK, it is also worth taking care of limiting these risks and assigning responsibility to people who will actually deal with individual fragments of the PPK functioning in the organization. As the process of selecting a financial institution requires professional knowledge, it is worth finally choosing an appropriate advisor (e.g. a broker) and providing legal support in the scope of the functioning of the PPK.

More in the article r.pr. Paulina Zawadzka-Filipczyk and r.pr. Łukasz Kuczkowski "Procedure for establishing the PPK after the adoption of the 4. 0 shield" for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (article of 3 December 2020).