If you are planning to open your own business, make sure that you are interested in a subsidy to start a company from the Buffat Labor Office. The first (and sometimes the only) call for proposals in a given year usually begins in the second half of January or February. By participating in it, you get the opportunity to inject really big cash that you can spend on, for example, a laptop, a car, specialized equipment or other things needed to run a business.

The Jobcentre Benefit is actually a one-time, non-refundable money to start a business. You receive it in full with one transfer and you do not have to return it, unless you break the terms of the contract with the office (don’t worry, it’s not excessive). Furthermore, money from PUPs flows into your account relatively quickly, and “up front,” that is, before you start buying businesses.

Co-funding offers from individual PUPs may differ in terms of, for example, application call deadlines, rules for spending money, or certain requirements for potential beneficiaries. The information in the article will be useful to you no matter where you live, but for details, you should contact the office responsible for your permanent or temporary residence.

Who provides support from PUP ? Basic conditions that you must meet

Labor office co-financing is granted to natural persons who wish to start a business in the form of a sole proprietorship. This means, for example, that future LLCs or civil partnerships will not benefit from it. If you plan to act this way and lack the funds to start a business, you can look for subsidies from the European Union or perhaps an attractive corporate loan.

To be able to apply for funding to start a company with PUP, you must meet certain criteria. There are quite a few of them, but they are practically accessible to a wide range of future entrepreneurs. The detailed list depends on the specific employment office, but most often you have the opportunity to get additional money, provided:

• you have unemployed status (usually you can register as unemployed and apply for funding the same day);
• You have not run a business in the last 12 months or have not currently suspended it (it can be seen that in recruitment in 2022, offices have resigned from this requirement, but the profile of the open company must be different from the profile of the company of previous months);
• You have not applied for a subsidy to start a business in another PUP;
• You have settled the obligations to the allocated funds and are not covered by the bailiffs;
• Within two years prior to submitting an employment office co-financing application, you have not been penalized for an offense against economy turnover;
• In a specific period of time, say last year, you have not turned down any training or job offer offered by the PUP.

In some offices, your chances of getting a scholarship may be tampered with by other factors. This would be the case, for example, when you were fired from a job last year because of your fault, or if you wanted to apply for funding for an activity you already did two or three years ago.

It should be noted that only the unemployed may apply for a benefit from the Employment Office. This possibility is also available to caregivers of people with disabilities or graduates of CIS (Center for Social Integration) or KIS (Club of Social Integration) who meet certain requirements.

What activities to open with support? You have a huge range of possibilities, but feel free to place your order!

If you meet the criteria set by your employment office, you are already well on your way to obtaining funding to start your business. If you also apply shortly after the start of employment, and at the same time prepare a solid business plan, you have a good chance of making a favorable decision from the office. This is because orders are often not viewed as competition, but on a first come first serve basis. By applying for a grant at the end of an agreed-upon deadline – even though you have a good business idea – you have little chance of getting it.

If you are interested in receiving a scholarship, be sure to follow the letters that appear on your office website. The first recruitment usually begins in the first months and – in the absence of additional resources in the labor fund – may move to the last appointment in a given calendar year.

What business you want to open with a grant makes almost no sense in terms of your chances of receiving funding. As long as it is not a farming or other activity from the shortlist that has been excluded by a particular office, you can count on a positive consideration for the application. The office will be happy to help you start a beauty salon, hairdresser or online store, but also freelance activities related to article writing, programming or interior design.

Why and how much can you get co-financing from the Labor Office?

The maximum benefit amount for starting a business corresponds to 6 times the average salary, which means that in 2022 it amounted to almost 36 thousand. zloty. In some offices it may be a little less, but these amounts are still worth applying for for sure. Let’s add that with their help you can finance many things and services related to starting or running a business.

Below is an example of a list of expenses that will be incurred as part of a grant that has been approved by an employment office. For the sake of order, let us mention that they were reported by the person who opened a company related to the activity of advertising agencies (PKD 73.11.Z).

As you can see, you do not have to apply for the full amount of the benefit from the Employment Office – any amount can be within the permissible limit. However, the truth is that since the support is non-returnable, you can afford to be somewhat pricey. You just need to remember that if a certain item is lost before the end of the contract with the office (concluded for a period of one year), it will be necessary to purchase a new one (if possible, exactly the same) .

Keep in mind that the office will not fully finance the purchase of an expensive smartphone or electronic device, but this does not mean that you have to give it up. If you want to buy a laptop for example for 7 thousand. zlotys, you can only partially pay for it from your own pocket. It is worth adding that some categories of expenses (including a company car) usually have a predetermined limit (for example up to 50% of the total subsidy), but in most cases officials individually set the upper limit of financing for a particular item.

Remember that in order for an expense to be accepted for funding from the support, you must justify it in the place indicated in the application. In the case of obvious purchases, one short sentence in which you explain why the item or service is important to your business is sufficient.

Before you apply for co-funding, you can come in person to your PUP and ask if there is an opportunity for the expenses to be approved by him. A lot depends on the specific office and type of business, as well as your justification, so don’t just rely on general information on the web in this regard.

Easily available support for opening a business – the business office doesn’t expect much, but your commitment is required

It’s time to take a closer look at how to apply for an unemployment grant and what the Employment Office actually expects from you. Practically speaking, this issue is dealt with by a single application of a dozen or so pages. On the other hand, it may take up to two to three days to complete it and attach the necessary documents.

Before you start the call for applications, you should visit the website of your office and check the specific information and documents that you will have to prepare. It is unlikely that some of them will be organized right away, so it is better to give yourself a few days to prepare the necessary documents. What, for example, might the office ask for?

• Submit a copy of your lien or permits (if you already have one, and if the business you are doing is required);
• Submit documents confirming the possession of benefits, permits or possible documented qualifications (if they are required for the activity you intend to undertake and if you did not provide them during registration as unemployed);
• copies of references from customers and promises of cooperation, for example with suppliers or subcontractors (in practice, they are not necessary, but if you already have them, then it is worth adding to your order);
• Provide information on the minimum amount of assistance received in recent years – if the topic applies to you, you must enter the amount received in PLN and EUR in one of the attachments to the application.

In addition, you should think about what will be the support guarantee from the labor office: a pledge of rights or things, a third-party guarantee, a promissory note, a bank guarantee, or perhaps a prohibition of money on an account or a notarized deed to be subject to execution by the debtor? The latter option is very popular because, unlike other options, it does not require a large amount of cash, valuable assets or a reliable guarantor. It is not very problematic and available to practically everyone, but if you want and can use a different form of security, you have the right to do so.

The good news is that when applying for a scholarship, a special contribution is usually not required. Therefore, there is nothing to prevent the office from fully financing all the purchases you have planned. However, the truth is that it is worth declaring in the application that you have some capital to get started. This is an indication that the company will have a financial security cushion.

Fill out and apply for co-financing from the Labor Office and wait for the decision

At the same time, the Employment Office may organize separate calls for applications, intended for different groups of potential recipients. These can be, for example, two groups: unemployed young people up to 29 years of age and unemployed people over 30 years old. Regardless of which category you belong to, all the procedures and how to complete the application will be practically the same.

When completing the application for funding from the Employment Office, please provide, among others: personal and contact details, marital status or educational level. It is also necessary to indicate the personal account to which the office will transfer funds from the support, as well as basic information about the business that was carried out. The next part of the form has a practical dimension and requires the submission of a business plan in addition to the above specification for the costs to be incurred under the grant. The latter should usually indicate the method of securing the support and attach any additional documents and acknowledgments requested by the office (eg regarding previous activity, minimum assistance received, etc.).

It takes some time to prepare a business plan, but the naming of the fields in the application and the small amount of blank space underneath makes the process much easier. The entire form takes just over two pages of the form, and the office only expects you to submit it briefly:

• projected income and costs of running a business (these are only estimates that do not have to be true in the future),
• Description of the business being opened,
• Motives for starting a business,
• information about the products or services offered,
• potential recipients of the products or services sold,
• promotion and advertising method,
• competition analysis,
• Potential risks at work and suggested ways to deal with them.

You can usually submit the completed application with attachments in person at your employment office or online via the website praca.gov.pl. The office has 30 days to consider the matter, and reports its decision over the phone (in addition, it usually sends a registered letter with a letter). You will also be immediately invited to visit the PUP in order to sign the contract, which is likely to take place in a few days or dozens of days.

You should make sure of this immediately upon entering into the grant agreement

After signing the start-up grant contract, you have to complete some important procedures in a relatively short time which are necessary to receive the funds. The administrator will explain everything to you exactly at the time of signing the documents, but it is mainly about registering your business with CEIDG, as well as creating and submitting a grant security confirmation.

If you have chosen security in the form of a notarized deed to submit to execution, be sure to choose a notary. Although such a document has a strictly defined structure, the fees for its preparation can be very different and range from about PLN 200 to PLN 800.

Also note that when registering your business with CEIDG, you must create a bank account for your company. The differences between the individual offers are really big, so check the company’s account rankings and make sure you choose the best option for you. Let’s add that in this regard, banking promotions for entrepreneurs are really attractive – bonuses for opening an account and meeting several reasonable conditions often range from several hundred to more than 1,000 PLN.

I received unemployment benefit – what next?

The subsidy for setting up a business will be paid to you a few days or tens of days after the conclusion of the contract and the completion of the above-mentioned procedures. You will have about two months to spend all the money and settle the grant (you will need all the invoices, invoices, confirm payments and fill out the settlement application) you will have about two months from the moment the company is established. After the next 10 months, that is, as soon as the contract with the office ends, you will be able to do whatever you want with the equipment you purchased – after this time, you will not be required to continue your work.

Keep in mind that the office will carefully analyze your expenses paid from support, and in case of any irregularities, you will be asked to provide a written explanation. In extreme cases, for example, when you use the support inconsistently with the intended use or sell the equipment before the end of the contract, it may terminate cooperation with you and request a refund of the support. With the security that you provide (such as a guarantee, promissory note or notarial deed when applying to execution), he will be able to easily implement it.

If you did not find an answer to your questions or if any of the problems are not clear to you – let me know in the comment.

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