The bill, prepared by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, will see the state top up social insurance and health contributions for artists earning below a set income threshold – roughly PLN 68,000 (EUR 16,055) a year gross.
Those covered will gain access to public healthcare, sick pay and maternity leave.
The government said around one in ten professional artists in Poland currently has no insurance of any kind.
The new status of "professional artist" will be granted for five years, renewable to eight, to those who can demonstrate a documented creative track record.
A new body – the Centre for Artistic Education and Work – will handle applications.
Top-up payments will be administered automatically through the national social insurance agency ZUS, reviewed annually and withdrawn once an artist's income rises above the qualifying threshold.
The culture minister, Marta Cienkowska, said the law fills "one of the biggest gaps" in Poland's social insurance system, noting that the project nature of artistic work – seasonal, irregular and often contract-based – had long left many creators outside standard protections.
Poland's artistic community numbers an estimated 60,000 to 64,000 people.
Around 69 percent earn below the national average wage, and roughly 15 percent work without any formal contract.
The legislation is expected to take effect nine months after it is signed into law.
(ał)
Source: PAP