Abstract:

Contemporary socio-economic changes, in particular mobility of employees and the demographic crisis, make it necessary for social security systems to adapt to them. Education in specific areas also has a number of consequences for social security systems, i.a. it impacts the possibilities of finding a job, remuneration, or ways of establishing an employment relationship, which, on the other hand, determines young people’s interest in the performance of specific professions. Economic reasons and legal provisions allow for establishing the so-called "non-employee employment relationships", which include civil law contracts, i.e. contracts for specific work, contracts of mandate, and agency agreements. Non-employee type employment often also includes management contracts and self-employment. Non-employee labour relationships often generate some current savings, but they entail a number of negative phenomena such as, i.e.: lack or limitation of insurance premiums, or depriving an employee of the right to paid holidays.

This article aims at showing the problems of a specific professional group represented by graduates of higher schools of art Poland from the perspective of the social security system, as well as indicating recommendations in this area. Artists and creators in Poland have been struggling with numerous problems in this area. Irregular work, often provided on the basis of a civil law contract, and in particular contracts for specific work, consequently leads to non-payment of social security premiums, and thus the lack of pension and annuity, accident, sickness, and health benefits or not having the right to a leave. In the long-term perspective, this obviously means that receiving allowances, and above all retirement benefits is not possible.

The paper has been prepared on the basis of studies conducted between 2016 and 2018 in 15 (out of the 19 existing) higher schools of art in Poland. We used mixed research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. We have conducted the following:
• Individual interviews with the three groups of stakeholders of higher schools of art: graduates (28 in-depth interviews conducted in 2016); managers of higher schools of art (10 in-depth interviews conducted in 2016) and employers who employed graduates of art schools of art (28 in-depth interviews with representatives of public organisations, NGOs, and companies);
• Focus interviews with the management staff (rectors, chancellors) of art schools in Poland, conducted in 2016 and 2017;
• CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) surveys, conducted every year between 2016 and 2018 with graduates of higher schools of art (surveys of ca. 2500 graduates from the years 2012-2017 were analysed).

Keywords:

Education, graduate, higher school of art, social security, non-employee employment relationship.