10 percent more salary. You only get one job, and now they want more

• According to the regulations, teachers employed in a village/town with up to 5,000 inhabitants are entitled to a separate salary supplement.
• This is the so-called rural supplement, which amounts to 10 percent of the teacher's basic salary.
• There was even an idea to follow the example of the rural allowance for teachers and also pay a rural allowance for other professional groups, but also those working in the countryside - reported Infor.pl

Infor.pl cites that pursuant to art. 54 sec. 5 of the Act of 26 January 1982, the Teacher's Charter, "a teacher with qualifications to hold the position of a teacher, employed in a village or in a town with up to 5,000 inhabitants, is entitled to a separate supplement to the basic salary". In other words, this is the so-called rural supplement.

Moreover, the mentioned rural allowance is awarded to a teacher who:

• has a higher education degree with appropriate pedagogical training or has graduated from a teacher training institution,
• took up a job in a position for which he/she has sufficient qualifications,
• adheres to basic moral principles,
• meets the health conditions necessary to perform the profession.

Infor.pl referred to, among other things, the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court - Lublin Branch from 2002. It indicated that the rural allowance is a mandatory component of a teacher's salary. Therefore, the school management body cannot make its granting dependent on having the appropriate funds.

The rural allowance is calculated at 10% of the basic salary – explains Infor.pl. If a teacher earns PLN 6,600 gross, then the rural allowance is PLN 660 gross.

In addition – as the portal points out – the school governing body may increase the allowance for a teacher employed in a rural area where there is a staff shortage. Given that the rural allowance is dependent on the teacher's basic salary, a change in the basic salary automatically results in a change in the allowance.

The increase in teachers’ salaries shall take place no later than 3 months after the announcement of the budget act, with equalisation from 1 January of the given year.

The supplement for teachers in question became the subject of a discussion on the possible introduction of a similar benefit for other groups as well. Infor.pl indicated that there was even an idea to model the rural supplement for teachers on the rural supplement for other professional groups, but also working in the countryside.

The positive opinions on this matter include firefighters from the Volunteer Fire Departments in the countryside, farmers, working widows living in the countryside, village mayors, local government employees in small communes and activists of the Rural Housewives' Associations. In their opinion, life is much harder for rural residents, and the cost of living is not lower than in large cities in Poland - emphasizes Infor.pl.

It is worth emphasizing that the rural allowance is a social allowance , which is of great importance in the context of the possible regulation of the rural allowance for the work of representatives of various professional groups in rural areas.

Infor.pl as a summary indicates that "with the good will of employers who employ workers in villages or small towns of up to 5,000 inhabitants, there is a chance of receiving a social allowance, e.g. within the framework of the Company Social Benefits Fund run by the employer". The portal also notes that in the case of a petition or legislative initiative, there is a possibility of introducing a regulation concerning the allowance for work in the countryside.

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