If I have the status of a student and a contract of mandate, can I apply for a demurrage allowance? My employer did not pay social security contributions, I only have health insurance from my parents.

Answer:

Issues related to the demurrage allowance are regulated in the Act of 2 March 2020 on Special Solutions Related to Preventing, Counteracting and Combating COVID-19, Other Infectious Diseases and Crisis Situations Caused by Them. (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 374, as amended)

In accordance with Article 15zq para. 1 point 2 of the above-mentioned of the Act, the demurrage allowance is granted to m.in. a person performing a contract of mandate, if he or she is not subject to social insurance on any other grounds.

Students up to the age of 26 are not covered by social security under mandate contracts. Being covered by health insurance is not an obstacle to obtaining a demurrage benefit.

Thus, the student until 26. of the age of majority, performing a contract of mandate and not subject to social insurance on any other grounds, the demurrage allowance will in principle be entitled, provided that the other statutory requirements are met, which are indicated below.

Persons residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland are entitled to the demurrage allowance if they are:

1) citizens of the Republic of Poland or

2) citizens of the European Union Member States, European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) member states – parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation who have the right of residence or the right of permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or

3) foreigners legally residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

In addition, the demurrage allowance is granted when, as a result of COVID-19, there has been a downtime in the conduct of business by the principal with whom a civil law contract (including a mandate contract) has been concluded. This means that you will be entitled to the demurrage allowance if you are unable to perform the civil law contract in whole or in part due to the principal’s downtime in conducting business.

Please also bear in mind that a person performing a civil law contract (including a contract of mandate) is entitled to a demurrage allowance if:

1) the civil law contract was concluded before 1 April 2020;

2) the income from a civil law contract within the meaning of the provisions on personal income tax obtained in the month preceding the month in which the application for the demurrage benefit was submitted, was not higher than 300% of the average monthly salary from the previous quarter announced by the President of the Central Statistical Office on the basis of the regulations on pensions and disability pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, in force on the date of submitting the application.

According to the submitted inquiry, the mandate contracts were concluded after 1 February 2020, so the demurrage allowance will be due if the other conditions set out above are met.