Maximum 40 thousand PLN for full-time contract work? There is a proposal from the Ministry of Health
The meeting was attended by Minister of Health Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda and Deputy Minister Katarzyna Kęcka. As reported by the Ministry of Health, A package of changes to the minimum wage increase act is on the table in medical entities, as well as a proposal to determine the salary ceiling for persons performing contract work.
Unofficial findings indicate that the limit would be linked to the hourly rate expressed as a fraction of the minimum wage – 1/20 of the minimum gross wage, with the obligation to work at least half-time. In this approach, the maximum monthly amount per full-time position would be around PLN 40,000. zloty.
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The social side treats the proposal as an introduction to negotiations
The chairman of the National Trade Union of Physiotherapy Workers, Tomasz Dybek, emphasizes that the ministry has examined six demands previously submitted by employees and employers and that “talks are beginning.”
According to calculations presented during the meeting, one person on a contract could earn a total of PLN 38,000 to PLN 48,000. PLN per month. At the same time, the provision for the remuneration of contractors was discussed they couldn't be determined as a percentage of the value of the procedure performed. This is a response to the social side's objection that pay mechanisms after the introduction of the Minimum Wage Act generated very high rates for selected groups at the expense of full-time employees.
The package of topics also included a proposal to increase the indicators for groups 5 and 6 in the Act on Minimum Wage in Health Care from January 1, 2027. The next meeting of the Tripartite Team for Health Protection is scheduled for November 18, which is expected to open the way to more detailed arrangements between the ministry, employees and employers.
Check also: Huge differences in doctors' remuneration. “This is the founding sin of the National Health Fund”
The pay background shows the scale of the challenge
Data from the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tarification show that the median value of a specialist doctor's contract in September 2024 was PLN 24.6 thousand. PLN, and doctors often combine several contracts in different facilities. Top 1 percent contracts ranged from PLN 100,000 to PLN 300,000. PLN per month – in September 2024, 431 such contracts were recorded.
Disproportions of this type have become one of the main arguments for introducing a ceiling on remuneration in contracts.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health announces work on regulations on the minimum wage in health care. Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda argues that the current act has fulfilled its function because new medical workers have entered the system. They do appear though proposals to freeze the act for two years and to postpone the annual indexation date from July to Januarywhich the Ministry of Health wants to talk about with the social side and employers.
In the minister's opinion, it is also necessary to clarify the maximum rates for specialists paid from public funds in order to limit extreme remuneration stratification and organize the contract market.
At this stage, the proposals are consultative in nature and require further legislative arrangements.
