In connection with the death of an employee, his or her family is entitled to the death benefit specified in Art. 93 k.p. There is also the issue of the remuneration due to the employee for work. Clients of our PRWT accounting office also encounter practical problems in this context.

In today’s entry, we will look at a situation in which the family of a deceased employee does not want to provide the employer with the bank account number for payment of the death benefit due to the employee’s debts and the intention to reject his inheritance.

What should an employer do in such a situation?

Can he withhold benefits?

What if the family obtains documents confirming the renunciation of inheritance?

Death benefit specified in Art. 93 of the Polish Labor Code is not part of the estate. The employee’s family members are entitled to it regardless of the waiver of inheritance.

When it comes to remuneration due to employees, the situation is a bit more complicated. The employer should determine who retains the right to receive it, first of all, in accordance with Art. 63 (1) of the Polish Labor Code, i.e. the deceased’s spouse and other persons who meet the conditions required to obtain a survivor’s pension in accordance with the provisions on retirement and pensions from the Social Insurance Fund. These people have the right to receive an employee’s remuneration regardless of whether they renounce the inheritance of the deceased, whether inheritance has been confirmed or whether they have been disinherited.

If there are no such persons (persons indicated in Article 63 (1) of the Polish Labor Code), then the remuneration becomes part of the estate and is subject to the provisions of the Civil Code on inheritance. If the employee’s children (who do not meet the requirements of Article 63(1) of the Labor Code) renounce their inheritance, a further group of persons entitled to inheritance should be established. In such a case, the payment of remuneration should be withheld until the authorized persons are identified during the inheritance proceedings. Family members of the deceased should present an appropriate document confirming the right to acquire the inheritance (notarial deed of inheritance certification/final court decision on the acquisition of inheritance).

If it is still not possible to determine the persons entitled to inherit from the deceased employee, the amount of remuneration due to the employee may be placed in a court deposit.

In each case, it is worth ensuring that all contact with members of the deceased’s family is recorded in some way (e.g. by e-mail or letter), so that the employer can demonstrate that it has taken steps to identify persons entitled to receive benefits that were due to the deceased employee.