Employers with more than 50 full-time employees and budgetary establishments, regardless of the number of employees, are obliged to set up an undertaking social security fund from which social benefits are paid. Although this is not directly apparent from the legislation, in practice a social committee is most often set up which has an impact on to whom and to what amount to grant benefits, such as benefits, holiday subsidies or holiday benefits.

There are no specific provisions that generally define the principles of appointment, composition or competence of the social committee in the workplace. The Law on the Occupational Social Security Fund states in Article 8(1)that:

’The terms and conditions for the use of services and services financed by the Fund, … and the rules for allocating the Fund’s resources to specific social purposes and activities shall be laid down by the employer in the regulations to be determined in accordance with Article 27(1) or Article 30(6) of the Trade Union Act of 23 May 1991. An employer with whom a trade union organisation does not operate shall agree the rules with the employee chosen by the crew to represent its interests.’

On the other hand, Article 27(1) of the Trade Union Act states that:

’The establishment of rules for the use of the occupational social security fund, including the allocation of funds from that fund to specific purposes and activities, shall be determined by the employer in rules agreed with the trade union organisation.’

It is therefore apparent from those provisions that the rules for the use of the occupational social security fund must be laid down in the rules drawn up jointly by the employer and the trade union organisation (or several organisations if there are more than one) or by a representative or crew members if there are no trade unions in the establishment.

In the context of the abovementioned provisions of law, the social committee is established on the basis of the rules of the occupational social security fund. On the other hand, the rules of procedure of the Social Committee determine its composition, the way in which the benefits of the Fund are to be provided to employees. Its establishment facilitates the implementation of the standard of Article 27(2) of the Trade Union Act, which requires the granting of a benefit to be agreed with a trade union organisation, while there is no statutory obligation, as mentioned above, to set up such a committee.

Most often, the workplace organizes elections for members of the social committee, and they are selected from among the candidates submitted by employees. The members of the social committee may also be indicated by the employer in agreement with the trade unions.

The role and powers of the social works committee may vary depending on its composition and the procedure of appointment. The procedure of establishment, the powers, scope and manner of operation of the social committee are generally laid down in the rules of procedure of the Social Committee.

The company’s social committee does not usually have the power to decide how social policies are implemented in the workplace. This means that the Social Committee does not normally have the power to decide in a binding manner the provisions in the rules of the occupational social security fund, the way in which the fund’s resources are distributed or its budget is set. It therefore performs only an advisory, support, opinion and administrative function.

Technically, its role is to:

• collection of applications for benefits and other required documents;
• preliminary examination of applications;
• recommendations for the granting of the benefit.

In certain circumstances, the Social Committee has special powers, such as:

• the possibility of modifying the provisions in the regulations of the occupational social security fund;
• determining how the fund’s funds are distributed and disbursed;
• the granting or non-granting of a benefit;
• implementation of the social policy of the workplace.

The social committee may have the right to grant social benefits and to implement the social policy of the establishment or to make changes to the provisions of the Fund’s rules of procedure if the following conditions are met:

• Whereas the rules of procedure of the occupational social security fund determine the powers of the committee to grant benefits from the Fund;
• committee, which is usually determined by the rules of procedure of the social committee,are composed of representatives of the employer and representatives of trade unions operating in the workplace

The most important administrative tasks of the social works committee are:

• recording incoming claims for benefits;
• verifying the formal correctness of applications submitted;
• preparing the minutes of committee meetings;
• informing employees of decisions on their applications;
• supervising the payment of benefits;
• the storage of documentation related to the implementation of social policy in the company.

Source: https://poradnikprzedsiebiorcy.pl/-komisja-socjalna-czym-jest-i-jakie-ma-uprawnienia-w-zakladzie-pracy

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