Base salary of an employee is increasingly not the only element of remuneration. Often, employers decide to additionally awards and regulatory bonuses (see more) or other non-financial benefits, such as private medical care, a sports card or tickets for cultural events.
Category: Labour law
By entering into an employment relationship, the employee agrees to perform a specific type of work under the direction and for the benefit of the employer, while the employer agrees to pay remuneration. Remuneration is thus a key element of the employment relationship, meaning that its determination and payment are obligations of the employer.
This often raises the question of what factors should be taken into account when determining an employee’s remuneration. Can it be determined solely by the will of the parties? What changes can be expected in the area of remuneration?
Polish labor law is not only a set of obligations for employees but also an important tool for employers to help manage human resources effectively and minimize legal risks.
When carrying out the recruitment process, the employer wants to obtain as much information as possible about the candidates in order to make the right decision about hiring. Verification of candidate data is therefore an integral part of recruitment, but how far can this process be taken?
The long-awaited Polish Whistleblower Act will enter into force on 25 September 2024. This means that employers should now prepare the relevant procedures, or at least update the existing ones, in order to comply with the new regulations. According to the provisions of the Act, a violation of the law is an act or omission that is unlawful or intended to circumvent the law, including the protection of personal data. Therefore, in addition to implementing new whistleblower procedures, we recommend reviewing procedures and documentation related to data protection.
Recently, there has been increasing talk of a four-day work week, which could also become a reality in Poland. Despite the growing interest in the topic and numerous studies pointing to the benefits of such a solution, the June 20, 2024 response from the polish Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy is disappointing. The Labor Law Department has, for the moment, given a negative response to the petition for legislative changes aimed at reducing working hours and increasing the number of vacation days.
Implementing a whistleblower protection system in Poland, especially in the context of “daughter” companies of foreign corporations, is a challenging process. The Polish law on the protection of whistleblowers, imposes a number of specific obligations that can be difficult to implement within international capital groups. For “daughter” companies, a particular challenge is balancing local requirements with the expectations of foreign owners. When conducting implementations, we often encounter a case in which a Polish company is already the last one in an international group where whistleblower protection must be implemented. In such a situation, it seems rational to adapt solutions already implemented in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands or other countries and adjust them to Polish realities. However, direct transfer of foreign solutions “1:1” is rarely effective. In the same way, it may turn out to be a bad idea to “invent gunpowder anew” and create internal solutions only for the needs of a Polish company. So how to find” the golden mean”?
Improving the professional qualifications of employees seems to be crucial to maintain the competitiveness of a company. On the other hand, employers are obliged to facilitate the acquisition of new skills and knowledge by employees, which is clearly stipulated in Article 17 of the Polish Labour Code Act of 26 June 1974 (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1465; hereinafter: ,,Labour Code”). When deciding to support an employee in the development of his or her competences, it should be borne in mind that this should be done in a thoughtful and fair manner, taking into account the principles of anti-discrimination.
The employment contract is usually the first document signed by a newly recruited employee. It can make either a positive or negative impression on the employee. What should an employment contract contain? What form should it take? Does its volume matter?
In recent years, protection against discrimination in the recruitment process has become one of the key topics in employment law. An important step in this area was the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 19 April 2012 in the case C-415/10, Galina Meister vs. Speech Design Carrier Systems GmbH. This ruling set new standards in the fight against gender and age discrimination, with important implications for employers and candidates in the labour market. However, the upcoming Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10.05.2023 on reinforcing the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (hereinafter the pay transparency directive), introduces new regulations that aim to increase access to information and promote equality.