2020 was dominated by the fight against the coronavirus and the negative effects of the pandemic. From the very beginning of the pandemic, the actions of the Government of Law and Justice have been directed to halt the spread of the virus. The introduction of a remote and strict health regime, the Spring lockdown of the economy, or subsequent restrictions, are measures taken to protect the lives and health of Poles as much as possible. This is an absolute priority.

The protection of jobs is also a priority. That is why the government of Mateusz Morawiecki launched the anti-crisis shield. The shield, largely designed in the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, provides companies with tools to combat the effects of a pandemic.

Anti-crisis shield

The resolution of the crisis shields (but also the Polish Fund financial shield) introduced a number of tools to support entrepreneurs in maintaining existing jobs.

That means, among others:

• to contribute to the part of the wage costs of employees and to the social security contributions payable by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the event of a fall in economic activity,
• to contribute to the part of the business costs of natural persons who are not employed in the event of a fall in economic activity,
• a low interest-bearing loan to micro-enterprises to cover current business costs,
• whether to finance the NGO or the entity referred to in article 3(3) of the law of 24 April 2003 on public benefit and voluntary activities, the part of the wage costs of employees and the social security contributions payable on these salaries.

No less important project was the protection of the incomes of Poles most affected by the crisis, i.e., the law on the introduction of a solidarity allowance for those who lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19. These provisions, introduced at the initiative of President Andrzej Duda, were created in the Ministry of Family and Social Policy (as well as the above-mentioned anti-crisis shield tools). The law, outside the time-limit, introduced a long-awaited increase in the amount of the basic unemployment benefit to gross PLN 1200 from September 2020.

Security during the crisis

“Support has enabled employers to maintain their existing jobs and thus protect workers from loss of employment and to provide material protection in times of crisis in the Polish and world economy,” says Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy.

It is worth noting that the pandemic-related set-up included work on:

• exemption from the payment of contributions for persons established, social security companies of less than 50 persons, social cooperatives and self-employed persons,
• the provision of parking services for persons who perform civil-law contracts; contract, agency and work contracts and conduct of business,
• the introduction of supplementary care allowance,
• reduction in premium payments without renewal fee
• waiver of interest for late payment
• Changes in the rules for determining the basis of sickness insurance benefits for persons who have been reduced in working time due to the provisions of the so-called "anti-crisis shield" or less favourable remuneration rules have been introduced.

In total, within the framework of all the targets - the crisis, the Polish Development Fund and the State holding Bank - the protection of jobs was allocated over PLN 165 billion. 6 million jobs have been saved.

These figures speak for themselves. We are talking about support on an unprecedented scale, support that has made it possible to stabilize the labour market. With government aid, we avoided massive growth in unemployment and companies were protected from a wave of bankruptcies, says Minister Marlena Maląg.

The anti-crisis shield and its effects

It is too early to say that we have gone through the crisis with a relatively "dry rate", but the solutions proposed in the target have significantly reduced the negative impact of the economic freeze.

The first worrying reactions of employers and the related announcements of redundancies have weakened. Unemployment has not increased to two-digit levels, as economists have predicted even at the beginning of the pandemic.

According to the latest estimates, the unemployment rate recorded at the end of November 2020 was 6.1%, which means that it has been at the same level for six months.

We are also well on the front of European economies. According to Eurostat data, in October 2020 Poland was still, after the Czech Republic, the second country in the European Union with the lowest unemployment rate, reaching a rate of 3.5 percent against 7.6 percent of the EU average.

Our efforts are also recognized by an international institution. The Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurría said that Poland could emerge from the COVID-19 crisis less damaged than other countries thanks to the strength of its economy. Gurría pointed out Poland's rapid reaction to the pandemic and the taking of measures to prevent the consequences of COVID.

Loss recovery

In fact, in 2019, the Polish economy was the fastest growing among large countries and one of the fastest growing among all EU countries – the real rate of GDP growth in Poland stood at 4.1 percent.

This was another year of the high economic Outlook observed in 2015-2019, which has translated into an improvement in the labour market: Wages have risen at a record high pace and unemployment has fallen to a historically low level, reaching 5.2% at the end of 2019.

In the following years we will be catching up on the losses that caused the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, we took up the challenge of protecting jobs and entrepreneurs received a rescue wheel in the form of an anti-crisis shield. 'We have done everything we can to keep families safe and have saved as many jobs as possible,' says Minister Marlena Maląg.