Obligation to register contracts for a specific task

On 1 January 2021, the regulations imposing an obligation on entrepreneurs to register specific-task contracts in the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) within 7 days from the date of signing them will enter into force.

A contract for a specific task is a contract regulated by the provisions of the Civil Code, entered into between the entity commissioning the task and the party accepting the order to perform the task, in which the commissioning party undertakes to pay appropriate remuneration, leaving the option to pay contributions to the party performing the task.

A contract for a specific task should contain a precise definition of the subject of the contract (the development of a specific task according to a precise specification), and it should also allow for the control of the proper performance of the task. A specific-task contract cannot be made with regard to the performance of permanent, repetitive activities.

A contract for a specific task allows employers to reduce the formalities and costs related to employment to the necessary minimum. The contracts concluded so far have not had to be reported. This is how it has been so far, and how will it be after the 1st of January?

Contract for a specific task – changes in regulations

On 1 January 2021, the regulations obliging entrepreneurs to register each contract for a specific task in the Social Insurance Institution within 7 days from signing the contract will come into force. This obligation shall cover all contracts for specific tasks except for contracts between the parties under an employment relationship. Therefore, there will be a requirement to report even the contracts entered into by company’s own employees if the task is performed for the benefit of an entity other than the employer.

However, there will still be no compulsory contributions for contracts for a specific task (the person performing the task may pay the contributions for itself), but the change in the regulations will allow ZUS, thanks to the collection of information about contracts, to order controls in companies and, in consequence, to issue a decision on the necessity of reclassifying contracts for a specific task into contracts of mandate.

Registration of contracts will be made by means of forms, the template of which has not yet been published, and the purpose of registration according to the legislator is to improve the verification of applications submitted under the anti-crisis shields.

Sanctions and preventive measures

Entrepreneurs who after 1 January fail to comply with the new obligation may experience sanctions such as the need to pay unpaid contributions with interest or to pay an additional fee.

As a result of the change in legislation, entrepreneurs should therefore review the contracts already concluded and take appropriate preventive measures, for example, involving a change in the form of employment, if necessary and if there is any doubt as to whether this form of employment is suitable.

Learn more: Extended deadline for the payment of PIT for companies affected by the pandemic