The Family, Labor and Social Policy Ministry said on Thursday that the program will let companies trial a four-day week, shorter daily hours or longer leave while keeping salaries unchanged.
Participants include a philharmonic, clothing manufacturers and water utilities.
Applications were open Aug. 14–Sept. 15. The ministry received 1,994 submissions from public and private employers of all sizes, as well as foundations and non-profits—“significantly more than assumed” at the outset, it said.
Labor Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk approved the beneficiary list on Oct. 15.
“The pilot is another civilizational step—just as we once secured the eight-hour day and free Saturdays. Faced with demographic change and technological progress, shortening working time is becoming a necessity,” she said.
The pilot has three stages: a preparatory phase through end-2025, a full-year test phase in 2026, and a wrap-up phase with conclusions due by May 15, 2027.
Average public support per participant will be PLN 500,000 (EUR 118,000). Total funding is PLN 50 million (EUR 12 million) for 2025–2027, including PLN 10 million (EUR 2.4 million) in 2025, financed from the Labor Fund. The maximum grant per project is PLN 1 million (EUR 235,000), capped at PLN 20,000 (EUR 4,700) per employee.
Employers could apply if they had operated for at least 12 months, employed a majority of staff on regular contracts, covered at least half of their workforce in the pilot, and maintained staffing at no less than 90% of the starting level.
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Source: PAP