Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

As conclusion, one can say that the unemployment benefit constituted shortly after
introduction an incentive to take-up without searching for jobs, as the requirement of former
unemployment and ban on further earnings were introduced only later. It has however not
been used as a vehicle of early exit due to the low amount and short duration of payment.
The low level of the unemployment benefit re-directed the channel of benefit recipients to
disability pensions.
The anti-discrimination legislation has not shielded older workers with entitlements to
early retirement from being chosen from dismissals. The impact of the legislation on
recruitment chances has not been studied, but age limits in job advertisements are still
common (Tokarz 2007a: 14). Contrary to that fact, the exposure to ageism in the opinion of
men and women aged 50 years and more does not differ significantly between respondents
in Poland and Germany (European Foundation 2007: 39), although the different levels of
sensibility towards that issue may interfere here.
The protection against dismissals four years prior to retirement may be a barrier to reemployment
of older persons, even more as the law leaves it unclear whether the entry in
early or regular old-age pension is meant. However, it likewise shields older workers in preretirement
age from being dismissed. Plans of the current (as of 2008) PO/PSL government
to cut back the legislative protection endanger the chances of older workers for continued
employment.
3.3.3. Structural Changes in the Economy
In the last two decades, Poland has undergone radical changes not only with regard to
the social security system but first and foremost in the economic system as it turned from
planned to market economy. The impact of the transformation on the labour market was
tremendous, as many state companies collapsed and released a large stream of unemployed.
That situation has a direct effect on the topic of this study. On the one hand, the released
persons, among them older workers with outdated knowledge, have little chances for finding
a new job. On the other hand, the new challenges for the companies to be productive and
competitive move them to make frequent personnel adjustments to which older workers
often fall prey.
During centrally planned economy, the labour market in Poland suffered from an
unsatisfied demand for labour (Socha/Sztanderska 1991: 2). At the same time, the
overstaffing in companies amounted to 25-75 per cent (Góra et al. 1993: 137). The labour
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