TGC Corporate Lawyers Legal review – November 2024

Newsletter – changes in law regulations. November 2024

Employment of foreigners. Draft amendment

Will the regulations on the employment of foreigners in Poland change in 2025? It is possible, as there is already a draft bill in this regard. The latest version of the draft bill does not provide for the introduction of the obligation to conclude employment contracts with some foreigners. This is good news for employers, but experts still point out some inconsistencies in the draft regulations. How can you obtain a work permit for a foreigner in Poland today? What solutions are present in other EU countries?

Read the article by our expert, Katarzyna Zarzycka and learn more.

See also our service: Employment of foreigners

New EU Directive – salary transparency or more?

The EU Directive on pay transparency is a game-changer in the labour market. The new EU regulations not only introduce a number of obligations for employers, but also provoke many emotions and questions. What are the most important changes and how to implement them? What does pay transparency really mean?

A full discussion of the topic you will find in an article by our expert, Piotr Kryczek.

Want to know more? Join us for our free online webinar:

Pay Transparency – new obligations for employers
11 December 2024, 10.00 – 10.45

Granting of de minimis aid – Act published

On 8 November 2024, the Act of 18 October 2024 amending certain laws related to the provision of de minimis aid was published in the Journal of Laws. Its provisions entered into force on the day following the day of publication.

The Act aligns national legislation with EU law. The most important change concerns the value of de minimis aid that an entrepreneur can use. The aid has been increased from EUR 200 thousand to EUR 300 thousand and from EUR 500 thousand to EUR 750 thousand respectively. The limit for de minimis aid in the road freight transport sector has also been increased – from EUR 100 thousand to EUR 300 thousand.

You can read the full text of the Act here.

Draft changes in calculating health contribution for companies

The draft amendment to the Act on health care services financed from public funds has been included in the list of works of the Sejm and has been published on the Sejm website. It sets out changes to the basis for calculating and paying health contributions for entrepreneurs from 1 January 2026. In addition, the draft provisions concern the abolition of the possibility to settle paid health contributions in income tax.

On 21 November, the first reading of the draft took place, after which the Sejm referred it for further work in committees.

The planned adoption date for the project is Q4 2024.

The draft is available on the Sejm website.

Draft bill to amend the Act – Commercial Companies Code

One of the main objectives of the draft bill, prepared by the Ministry of Justice, is to strengthen the protection of shareholders and market participants by enhancing transparency and the availability of information about entities that maintain a shareholder register or register shares in a securities depository.

Among other things, the draft provides for amendments to Article 38 of the National Court Register Act to disclose information about the entity maintaining the shareholder register. Companies issuing shares will be required to submit an application to the registry court for an entry in the National Court Register of information on the entity that maintains the register of shareholders or registers shares in securities depositories, within 3 months of the entry into force of the Act.

The planned date for adoption of the draft by the Council of Ministers is the first quarter of 2025.

You can read more about the draft here.

New proposal to help entrepreneurs from flooded areas

The Ministry of Development and Technology has proposed to add a new aid instrument to the amended Flood Act. It concerns 5 months without social and health insurance contributions for entrepreneurs who have been directly, as well as indirectly, affected by the flood.

In order to receive the support, an entrepreneur will have to show a decrease in revenue of 40 per cent in the comparison period, e.g.: September 2024 to September 2023 or October 2023 to October 2023. Entrepreneurs who started operations in 2024 will be able to show a decrease in revenue by comparing September 2024 to August 2024.

You can learn more about the new solution here.

Read more about the special legislation in the article: Special Flood Act: aid for affected companies

Webinar: ESG in your company – last call!

We invite companies that are already subject to non-financial reporting obligations, as well as those that just need to start it because their clients, partners or financial institutions require it, and all companies that seriously think about investing in sustainable development to watch the recording of our ESG webinar.

Check also: ESG – sustainability advisory services