The Ministry of National Defense has announced plans to send up to 200,000 reservists to participate in military exercises in 2023. Persons called to participate in them must apply to the employer for unpaid leave. In exchange for participating in the exercise, they will receive financial compensation for lost income.
A draft resolution has been published in the List of Legislative Works of the Council of Ministers, which specifies the number of persons who can be called up for active military service in 2023. This applies both to the expected maximum number of compulsory military service calls, as well as to professional military service and voluntary basic military service.
200 thousand reservists will take part in military exercises
In 2023, the ministry wants to appoint:
● up to 200,000 reserve soldiers for exercises
● up to 17,128 people for active military service as professional soldiers
● up to 10,000 active duty reserve soldiers in the reserve
● up to 28,580 people for voluntary military service
● up to 38,000 people for territorial military service.
All persons of the passive reserve, that is, persons who have passed military qualifications and received the category of fitness for service, can be called up for military exercises. In addition, these persons cannot be over 55 years of age or perform any other military service.
The Central Military Recruiting Center reported that in the coming months, appointments for military exercises will mainly concern persons seconded on mobilization assignments. First of all, these are people who have already undergone military training in the past and have taken the military oath. People who just appeared at the military commission, received a military category and went into the reserve without military training, most often do not have any mobilization assignment and will not be drafted into the VChR in 2023.
How long do military exercises last?
Military exercises can have different duration. In the case of people in the passive reserve, the following exercises are distinguished:
● one-day
● short-term - up to 30 days
● long-term - up to 90 days
● rotational – up to 30 days in total and conducted intermittently during the given calendar year.
Call with exercises. How about salary?
Training for reservists can take place on any day of the week, including weekdays. The summoned person must apply to his employer for unpaid leave for this period, and the employer does not have the right to refuse leave.
Since the leave is unpaid, it is not related to the remuneration of the employer. In return, the reservist receives a base salary from the army for each day of training. This salary is calculated on the basis of the minimum wage of a professional soldier - in 2022 it was PLN 4,560 gross. This means that a person designated as a private will receive 2.85 percent for each day of training. this amount, that is PLN 129.96 gross.
If the basic salary paid during the exercise is less than the remuneration for the employment relationship lost as a result of unpaid leave, the person who took part in the exercise may apply for compensation within 3 months after its completion. Today, such requests are addressed to the head of the commune, the mayor or the president of the city, but from 2023 there should be a change, and requests should be accepted by the commanders of the military units where the exercises took place.
The amount of compensation is calculated as 1/21 of the monthly salary in the month preceding the appointment, for each day of military exercises. This benefit is then reduced by the amount of the reward previously received from the army. In addition, the amount of the daily amount of compensation cannot be more than 1/21 of two and a half of the average monthly wage in the industry that operated in the period preceding the date of the exercise.
Compensation for entrepreneurs
In addition, self-employed individuals may qualify for financial compensation for their time in sports.
The amount of compensation paid to persons engaged in economic activity is calculated by the head of the tax inspectorate based on the amount of income received by this person from economic activity in the last tax year preceding the date of the exercise. This amount is divided by 252 and then multiplied by the number of days of the exercise.
The amount of the daily remuneration calculated in this way may not exceed 1/21 of two and a half average monthly salaries for the labor economy in force in the period preceding the date of the military exercises.
Source: Wprost
