The special act of law of 31 March 2020 introduced changes to the Social Security System Act (“SSSA”), which will come into force on 1 January 2021.

One of the most important changes is the duty to inform ZUS (Social Security Institution) about execution of a work product agreement imposed on the payer of contributions or the natural person commissioning the work product.

One should expect that the information sent to ZUS will translate into increased inspections of work product agreements. At the same time, breaching the duty to provide information about work product agreements will be subject to a fine pursuant to Article 98 of the SSSA for failure to report data required by law. 

In practice, if a work product agreement with gross remuneration of PLN 5,000 is reclassified as a mandate or similar agreement, the payer of contributions will have to pay contributions in the amount of PLN 2,000 with default interest. One should also take into account the risk of imposition of an additional charge by ZUS which may amount to as much as the equivalent of the overdue contributions. 

At the website of the Government Legislation Center, there is no bill of the relevant regulation defining the work product agreement notification form, but companies which cooperate with natural persons based on such agreements should get prepared for the introduction of the new obligations. 

In the first place, they should critically review the already signed agreements and agreement forms and verify whether their execution in individual cases is justified. Further steps should depend on the results of this verification and may include, among others, modifying the agreements, terminating them and replacing them with new ones.