Social insurance contributions and health insurance contributions

elective courses
optional courses

Despite similarity of the names, the legal structure of social insurance contributions and health insurance contributions are based on different rules and assumptions. They imply many theoretical and practical problems. Legal rules and the system of collecting contributions is complicated and unclear. The duties related to the contributions calculating and paying are imposed on employers. Irregularities in fulfilling these duties are severely sanctioned.

The aim of the course is:

- to present the kinds and structure of the social insurance and health insurance contributions within employment; the determinants thereof (including the dependence on the insurance title); reciprocal relations, sources of financing and purpose;

- to learn characteristics of legal regulation in this field and the principles facilitating research for the legal acts appropriate for a given issue;

- to acquire skills of applying appropriate methods of interpreting legal acts, and

- to acquire skills helpful to recognise consequences of adopting a structure of remuneration components in labour law sources and in individual employment contracts from the point of view of social insurance contributions burdens.

That is why before the course, the student should:

- know the Polish constitutional frame of the system of public duties;

- know the methods of interpreting legal acts and the forms of activity of public administration;

- recognise employment forms used in practice and the reasons of their use resulting from the public duties.

Remote learning

The aim of the course is to present the social insurance and health insurance contributions, and in particular practical aspects of differentiating public duties with respect to the insurance title and of calculating remuneration paid to the employee pursuant to the remuneration structure. The description of rules regarding the basis of calculating the contributions shall take into consideration the important fact that this category is used for determining many public duties, and therefore it is under a special scrutiny of many public bodies responsible for those duties. That is why, together with the obligations related to payment of contributions, also the consequences of their non-fulfilment and the methods of facilitating the payment shall be discussed.

The social insurance and health insurance matters are strictly related to other areas of law, in particular to personal income tax, but they also have some peculiarities. Such relations and peculiarities result from specific detailed legal regulation. Misapplication of this regulation has severe consequences for the contributions payers and for the insured persons. It is possible to avoid the sanctions by referring to the opportunities granted by the legislator.

The aim of the course is to master this course which will cover the following issues.

In the field of social insurance:

1. The definition and legal nature of social insurance contribution.

2. The amount and financing of social insurance contributions, their relation to the employment title

3. The basis for calculating the contribution

a. Methods of determining the basis for calculating the contribution

b. Revenue and exceptions from the basis for calculating the contribution

c. The basis for calculating the contribution declared by the insured person

d. Limit of the annual basis for calculating the contribution

4. The contributions payer

a. The personal scope of contributions payers

b. Tasks: payment, documentation

c. Rights

d. Control exercised by the Social Insurance Institution and by the insured persons

5. Consequences of non-payment of contributions and measures of securing the payment

6. Facilitating the payment of contributions

7. Impact of payment of contributions on the right to benefits

In the field of health insurance contribution:

1. The definition and legal nature of health insurance contribution

2. The amount and financing of health insurance contribution

3. The basis for calculating the contribution

4. The contributions payer

5. Consequences of non-payment of contributions and measures of securing the payment

6. Impact of payment of contributions on the right to benefits

The most recent available edition of:

G. Uścińska, Prawo ubezpieczeń społecznych. Zasady, finansowanie, organizacja

Ustawa o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych. Komentarz, red. B. Gudowska, J. Strusińska-Żukowska

Ustawa o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych. Komentarz, red. J. Wantoch-Rekowski

J. Wantoch-Rekowski, Składki na ubezpieczenie emerytalne. Konstrukcja i charakter prawny

Ustawa o świadczeniach opieki zdrowotnej finansowanych ze środków publicznych. Komentarz, red. Agnieszka Pietraszewska-Macheta

and the reading matter indicated on a current basis.

After completing the course the student

- knows the legal acts regarding the social insurance and health insurance contributions and theoretical concepts of the contributions and the classification thereof;

- knows the principles of searching for the appropriate legal acts for solving individual practical problems.

The student correctly uses normative systems and selected norms in a correct way in order to solve individual cases related to the social insurance and health insurance contributions; the students is able to delimit forms of employment and knows consequences of choosing one of them for the duties and rights of the parties; the student observes the relation between rights, duties and responsibilities of contributions payers and insured persons.

The student can co-operate and work in groups assuming various roles (the employer or the employee) while being conscious of the social contributions consequences of the position assumed, financial consequences in particular.

The student is able to recognise the trends of development of social insurance and health insurance law in the sphere of financing the benefits, and to indicate axiological and practical dilemmas in applying the law from the point of view of the contributions payer, the insured person and the public administration, in particular those regarding the choices of the form of employment and influencing the scope of insurance coverage.

current assessment based on activity

written tests

-