Poland: Government Seeks Incentives To Keep Older Workers Working

According to press reports, the Polish government has proposed incentives aimed at motivating 50+ year-olds to become more professionally active. These would include promoting professional retraining programs to match job market demand and tax relief for employers offering work to people over 50.

Currently, only 28$ of people over 50, while the other 72% are retired, claim disability or early retirement benefits.

"Deputy labour and social policy minister Czeslawa Ostrowska has said that businesses employing people over 50 would be exempted from obligatory contributions to the Labour Fund and would only have to pay for the first 14 days of medical leave compared with the obligatory 33 days under the current law."

Source: Nowe Media, Polskie Radio S.A "Government encourages older workers to work longer" (February 22, 2008)

Other Sources: Pravda "Poland's new premier: firms must employ older workers, too" (November 29, 2007)