EY: 80% of Polish firms want to pay their workers more

Consulting firm EY published a report on the growth of businesses and wages in Poland; it contained a study which revealed that 80 percent of interviewed firms expressed a desire to pay their workers higher wages, but that the main barrier in doing so are excessive fiscal burdens. "In Poland, the tax wedge (the difference between the full cost of employing a worker and the actual amount of disposable income he receives) is significant. As a result, both parties end up being dissatisfied - the worker, because in his mind he earns too little, and the employer, because the costs of employment are high." said EY's Marek Janocki. The second main barrier to wage growth which the report discerned, is relatively low productivity. "Firms worry that an rise in wages without a corresponding rise in productivity will cause the competitiveness of the business to fall." Michal Grzybowski, EY partner in tax advising, adds, "If we compare Polish-capital-based business with foreign-capital ones, we see that the pay structures differ quite strongly. In Polish firms basic salaries are usually lower. Furthermore, the amount of employees' pay that can fluctuate as a proportion of their overall salary is lower than in Western European firms." The study was carried out in September 2015; 100 firms were examined, all of which employed at least 50 people and had revenues of at least 10 million PLN.