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On June 13th, 2019 Polish parliament passed a law introducing a new type of company – a ‘simple joint-stock company’.
It is supposed to be a response to the needs of the market. In particular, the new type of the company was planned as the optimal solution for start-ups.

According to our preliminary opinion, it will also be an interesting solution for foreigners starting a business in Poland.

A simple joint stock company will be the third capital company in the Polish legal system – apart from a limited liability company and a joint-stock company.

The minimum share capital of this type of company is only PLN 1,00 (!).
The formalities related to its establishment have been minimized.

The provisions provide for the possibility of using the electronic model of the company’s agreement, as well as concluding it in a traditional way.

Although the new law is to come into force only on March 1st 2020, we will present some interesting possibilities provided by the regulation in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned!

Sometimes it is said that loans tend to be more durable than marriages. In the case of divorce or separation, the question arises how to settle joint financial obligations, and in particular who (and how!) should pay the loan after divorce.

Taking over a house by one spouse does not mean that only he/she will be automatically obliged to repay the indebtedness to the bank.
Most often, the parties to a loan agreement are both spouses who are jointly and severally liable towards the bank. The agreement regarding the method of repayment of the loan, concluded only between the spouses, will not be effective against the bank.

One of the solutions may be taking over the entire debt by one of the former partners. However, this involves the need to obtain the bank’s consent.

From a legal point of view, it is also possible to join a contract by a family member or a new partner.

Nevertheless, it should be remembered that each of the solutions indicated is most often associated with the re-running of the loan granting procedure and the examination of creditworthiness.

According to recent press reports, the government abandoned the idea of ​​introducing the so-called “Entrepreneur Test”, the aim of which was to limit the number of natural persons who settle according to the flat tax of 19%.
New regulations could be particularly important for the IT industry and creative industries, where self-employment is often used by highly qualified specialists.
Our team is patiently waiting for the situation to unfold.

However, regardless of the above mentioned regulation, self-employed persons already have (based on provisions of labour law) the right to claim establishment of an employment relationship before the court of law.
As stipulated in art. 22 § 1² of the Labour Code ,,Employment contracts cannot be replaced with a civil law contract where the conditions of the performance of work (…) remain intact”.

This means that a formally self-employed person may, in the course of a lawsuit, lead to the court deciding that in the eyes of the law, he/she had possessed (or possesses) the status of an employee.
Such a verdict may be beneficial – in particular regarding the possibility of determining excess payment of social security contributions or obtaining remuneration for overtime work.