Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

CATHERINE SPIESER
general conditions of eligibility and length
of unemployment benefit. First, a 12-month
limit was introduced, with the possibility of
extending the benefit to 18 months in total
for people with a long employment history.
The level of the benefit was linked to the
local unemployment situation. Both the lower
and upper limit of the benefit amount were
lowered drastically: it could be as low as 33%
of the average wage but not higher than the
average wage. Restrictions on the benefit for
unemployed graduates were also introduced
in parallel. The relationship between the
level of the benefit and one’s wage in the last
job was completely eliminated in 1992: the
unemployment benefit became a flat 36% of
the average wage in the national economy. As
a result, it was perceived as a measure of social
assistance, rather than an entitlement deriving
from one’s contributions paid to a social
insurance fund. In 1996, the mode of calculation
of the benefit level was reformed so that it
would allow for adjustment independently of
a set level of the average wage, which made
it possible for further lowering of the benefit
to wage ratio (Gardawski 2002c). In 2004 the
rules were amended again. Although the Polish
system is formally an unemployment insurance
with obligatory contributions calculated as
a percentage of salary, the benefit has, over
the years, become a flat amount that varies
only slightly according to work experience. 9
Generally speaking, the unemployment
benefit is granted for six months, but this can
be extended in districts (powiats) marked by
a level of unemployment higher for people
who have a long working career behind them.
In 2004, the Act on employment promotion and
labour market institutions also introduced tighter
conditions of eligibility for the unemployment
status. To qualify, one needed to be a Polish
or EU citizen between 18 and 60 (women)
or 65 (men) years of age, not employed, not
involved in training nor in any kind of paid
work, not entitled to an old-age or invalidity
pension, not owning more than two hectares
of land, but willing and available to start full
time work immediately, and registered with
the local employment office.
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