By October 25 of this year, the first group of employers was required to launch Employee Savings Plans (‘PPK’, see our previous update for more details.)
Another group of employers, those that employee at least 50 employees as at 30 June 2019, will be covered by the obligation to create a PPK from 1 January 2020. Will implementing PPK be less labour intensive for these employers? Nothing could be more wrong: after all, the obligations are identical. It is therefore worth not waiting until January 1 and taking preparatory action now. Below is a list of actions that are worth taking as early as 2019:
1. Choose employee representatives
For organisations where trade unions do not operate, it is worth developing regulations and conducting representation choices for employees. Employee representatives in conjunction with the employer select a financial institution to manage the funds collected in the PPK. Let us remember that the selection of a financial institution cannot take place before January 1, 2020. In addition, typical employee representation and employee councils do not have competence in PPK.
2. Communicate with employees
As employees’ interest in the subject of PPK will increase, it is worth preparing communication materials or sessions to inform them about the main principles of PPK.
3. Choose a broker
Comparing the varying offers of financial institutions requires professional knowledge. Therefore, it is worth organisations ensuring they have the support of a specialist in the form of a broker who will help with making decisions about which financial institution is best placed to manage the resources of PPK participants.
4. Legal support
The wording of the PPK Act is notoriously imprecise. This has been confirmed by our experience on a number of projects that we conducted for the largest employers: even financial institutions and Polish Development Fund often disagree. This is compounded by the tendency to transfer additional administrative obligations under PPK to employers. Appropriate legal support allows employers to ensure they are aware of all these issues and ensures their interests are represented during the whole PPK implementation process.
