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Occupation codes - comprehensive study

Occupation codes are not a new idea of ZUS. The first attempts to classify professions and specialties on the Polish labor market took place as early as 1965. The occupation codes were valid until the end of 2008, while from January 1, 2009 to May 15, 2021, they were not included in ZUS declarations. As of May 16, 2021, this obligation has been reactivated and it is necessary to submit a profession code for each insured person. In this article, we explain how to do this and what to pay attention to!

What is the classification of professions and specialties?

Classification of professions and specializations is a systematic set of professions and specialties occurring on the labor market. It is a "nature inventory" of occupations identified on the labor market. The classification is based on the International Standard for Classification of Occupations ISCO-08. The classification is updated every 2-3 years by amending the regulation on the classification of professions and specializations for the needs of the labor market and the scope of their application.

The classification of professions is already several dozen years old. When it comes to the historical outline, the most important dates can be distinguished:

1965 - the first attempts to classify professions and specialties on the Polish labor market. It was then that the "Nomenclature of professions and specialties" was created;
1981 - the classification of professions and specialties was developed, the document was not published in the Journal of Laws. The 1981 classification was published in book form;
1995 - the first Polish classification is created, which is based on the International Standard for Classification of Occupations ISCO.

Currently, the code of the profession given in the documents of ZUS ZUA and ZUS ZZA should be consistent with the classification of professions. It is defined by the provisions of the Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of 7 August 2014 on the classification of professions and specialties for the needs of the labor market and the scope of its application (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 227).

Purpose and division of classification

The main purpose of job classification and codes is statistical purposes. In addition, the data that is transferred to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) are to be used for the purposes of analyzes, research and forecasting. Based on the codes of the profession, studies on the labor market are created.

Pursuant to the regulation, professional codes have been divided into:

representatives of public authorities, senior officials and managers;
specialists;
technicians and other associate professionals;
office workers;
service workers and vendors;
farmers, gardeners, foresters and fishermen;
industrial workers and artisans;
operators and assemblers of machines and devices;
employees performing simple work;
representatives of the Armed Forces.

Reporting the profession code to ZUS

As already mentioned, from May 16, 2021, information about the profession performed by the insured should be provided to ZUS ZUA and ZZA. In the form:

ZUS ZUA will be used for this purpose in field 01 "Code of profession" in block X;
ZUS ZZA in block V "Insurance title code and profession code"; this information will be entered in field 02 - "Code of profession".

This obligation applies to all active professional groups, i.e. employees, contractors and the self-employed, i.e. persons running their own, sole proprietorship. The profession code must be completed in the case of applications, corrections and changes to these declarations sent after May 16, 2021.

To select the code of the professions, you can use the job description search engine available at: Job description search engine.

Choosing a profession - how to do it?

If the classification does not include the position in which the employee works, then the job description should be selected the description of which is as close as possible to the tasks performed on it. As for the contractor, the code of the profession is selected on the basis of the description of the profession and indicates the one that best suits the activities carried out by the contractor. For entrepreneurs and collaborators, choose the profession code based on the description that most closely describes their activities. If the classification code does not include the profession code that interests you, you can apply for its introduction

Applicants for introducing new professions / specializations to the classification may be:

ministries or central offices,
associations, trade unions, employers' organizations and other institutions substantively competent for a given profession / specialization.

In order for the application to be correct, it should have appropriate data, such as a detailed description of the profession, required education, professional tasks and justification of the purposefulness of introducing the profession to the classification. Interestingly, you can also submit an application for removal from the classification of the profession or change of the name of the profession, along with the justification of its purposefulness. The application should be sent to the following address: Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, Department of Labor Market, ul. Nowogrodzka 11, 00–513 Warsaw.

The most common problems when reporting to ZUS

Although the obligation to report the code of the profession has existed for several months, employers and the self-employed sometimes have doubts about how to enter the code of the profession. Unclear situations arise if, for example, a given position covers two professions. In case of serious doubts, it is recommended to consult the ZUS directly.

No profession code

In a situation where the profession of interest is not included in the classification, the professions or specialties that cannot be assigned to a specific heading should be classified under the heading "xx90… not classified elsewhere". These codes are found in most of the subgroups of occupation codes. It is also possible to apply for entering the profession into the classification at the same time; such a conclusion must be properly described and substantiated.

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Tasks typical of several professions

There are situations when an employee has two jobs in his employment contract, e.g. a salesman-warehouse worker or a welder-painter. A question then arises which profession code to enter. According to the explanations to the classification of professions and specialties, "if the tasks of a given employee are typical for several professions, the employee should be classified in the profession with the predominant set of activities", and the code of the profession determined in this way should be indicated on the insurance application. Therefore, the multi-professional position should be analyzed in terms of the predominant activity. In other words, you have to take into account how much time an employee spends on performing certain activities and which tasks are of greater importance. In the case of multi-job positions, it is considered that the most important occupation should be classified. The employee's tasks must be analyzed by the employer and determined which are dominant.

Example 1.

The employee is employed as a salesman-warehouseman. It performs tasks such as selling goods, accepting payments, presenting goods, as well as accepts deliveries, unloads them and puts them in the warehouse, delivers goods from the warehouse to the sales stand. However, the employee is mainly responsible for the warehouse, employed in this area is controlled and his bonus depends on the results. The employee is not controlled in terms of sales, his salary does not depend on it. In this situation, the employee with the warehouse keeper code should be reported.

An entrepreneur is a manager or a specialist?

Self-employed self-employed sometimes have a problem with determining whether the code of the profession should be classified at the level of manager / manager or just an ordinary specialist. Is just running a business enough for a self-employed person to choose the code of the profession of a managerial profession? Well, not really. In the case of self-employed persons, they should be "classified according to whether their tasks and duties are essentially similar to a manager (manager) or to an employee carrying out work related to the core business of the enterprise".

So if a self-employed person conducts business, for example, as a seller or baker and does not manage people or perform managerial duties in his company, then he should appear in the classification as a seller and baker. Whether or not the 'working owner' employs staff should not be relevant in assessing whether a management code is necessary. However, if the same self-employed person performs managerial tasks and they are predominant in the activity, then the positions in question should be classified in the group of the so-called great, that is, as a manager / manager.

Example 2.

Mr. Jan is self-employed and conducts marketing activities, manages the project team, is responsible for employees, arranges work, supervises the activities of the sales and marketing department. Its main task is to develop, implement and control marketing activities and manage product sales. In this situation, Mr. Jan should be nominated as marketing manager.

Occupation codes - summary

From May 16, 2021, profession codes must be mandatory in reporting to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). Classification is an important tool as it enables statistical research, analysis and forecasting. If, during the application, we cannot find the appropriate code of the profession, then the need to create a new code must be reported to the appropriate institution.