[Poland] Subsidies from ZUS for OHS. What are the conditions for subsidies?

According to the Central Statistical Office, the number of accidents at work is increasing. Between January and September 2023, there was an increase of 7.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. So, it is worth taking care of safety at work and apply for the company’s accident prevention programme – ZUS Subsidies 2024-2025. How to do it? We explain.

ZUS 2024 subsidies – how much can you get for health and safety improvements?

The ZUS subsidies 2024-2025 are an accident prevention programme. Applications for funding can be submitted between 26 February and 27 March 2024.

Under the programme, any entrepreneur can receive funding from ZUS to improve working conditions through the purchase of machinery and equipment designed, for example, to protect against falls from height, to soundproof workstations, to reduce strain, to protect dangerous areas of machinery and equipment or simply to improve current working conditions at workstations.

The total amount for project subsidies is PLN 120,000,000. The maximum amount of co-financing from ZUS for improving health and safety at work for individual projects is:

1) for investment activities – PLN 299,000,

2) for investment and advisory activities – PLN 300 000, including:

• PLN 299,000 for investment activities,
• PLN 1 000 for advisory activities.

The minimum amount of subsidy the applicant may apply for is PLN 10 000. The amounts of subsidy are gross amounts.

The percentage of ZUS subsidy is 80% of the project value. However, there are certain conditions that must be met by an entrepreneur applying for programme funding.

Subsidies from ZUS for health and safety – how to apply?

In order to receive Social Security subsidy for health and safety improvements, it is necessary to:

1. Check whether a company is eligible for the ‘ZUS subsidies’ programme
2. Specify the purpose for which the subsidy is to be used
3. Fill in the ZUS application in electronic form
4. Sign the agreement after the subsidy has been awarded

Step 1 is to verify the conditions. This step requires an entrepreneur to analyse the current health and safety situation and check whether the company is eligible for the programme (Competition Rules 2024.01). One can join if all the following conditions are met:

• no arrears in social security and health insurance contributions;
• no arrears in tax payments;
• the company is not in bankruptcy, receivership, liquidation, bankruptcy proceedings or arrangement with a creditor;
• the company does not apply for another subsidy within 3 years from the date of payment in full of the last subsidy by ZUS;
• the company does not apply for another subsidy within 3 years from the date of repayment of the subsidy to which it was obliged.

Step 2 is to specify the purpose of the subsidy. Before filling in the application form, the entrepreneur should specify the purpose for which the Social Security subsidy will be used. In addition, one should specify the effectiveness and reasonableness of the expenditure and the extent to which the expenditure will improve occupational health and safety.

Step 3 is the application. The application is submitted electronically to ZUS by 27 March 2024 by the payer applying for financing of a project on keeping the work capacity throughout the entire period of professional activity via the website prewencja.zus.pl using the “Send an application” tab.

The planned duration of the project, as set out in the application, cannot be shorter than 3 months and longer than 6 months.

The application shall be accompanied by the appropriate annexes. The type of annexes depends on the project planned and the type of activity the applicant is engaged in.

The applications submitted are subject to evaluation. Substantive evaluation of applications is carried out by CIOP experts. After receiving a positive formal and substantive assessment, selected applications will be placed on a ranking list. The ranking list will be published on www.zus.pl and the BIP website, no later than by the end of 2024.

Step 4 is to conclude the agreement. Once a company qualifies for the subsidy, the relevant documents must be provided and an agreement must be concluded with ZUS. The agreement will only be concluded electronically using qualified electronic signatures.

ZUS subsidies – for what can the funds be spent?

An OSH improvement project carried out with the ZUS subsidy shall address the reduction of the impact of at least one of the following parameters characterising working conditions:

• microclimate (hot or cold)
• chemical agents and dust
• biological agents
• mechanical factors
• electrical factors and static electricity
• noise
• general and local vibrations
• improper electric lighting
• ionising radiation
• optical radiation (infrared, visible, or ultraviolet);
• electromagnetic fields;
• physical, dynamic or static stress

OSH – the number of work accident sufferers is increasing

Measures to improve occupational safety are especially important. This is because, according to preliminary data from the CSO for January-September 2023, 45809 people were reported injured in accidents at work, 7.5% more than in January-September 2022.

The number of injured persons per 1,000 employees (accident rate) also increased, from 2.99 to 3.22. In addition, during the period in question, the number of injured persons in fatal accidents was 99 persons and in severe accidents 206 persons. The highest number of victims was in accidents at work with other effects, 45504 persons. Here, there was an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period of 2022.

OHS in Poland – see how we can help!