In April 2024, a year passed since the supplementation of the work-life balance directive to the Polish Labour Code Act of 26 June 1974 (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1465; hereinafter: ,,Labour Code”). One of the key elements of the changes to the labour legislation was the introduction of carer’s leave and force majeure leave. It is therefore worth summarising how these regulations function in practice and what are the most common doubts of employers related to their application.
Category: Labour law
The Polish labour code provides special rights for pregnant women. For many employers, understanding their obligations towards pregnant employees is crucial as it ensures legal security on one hand, and strengthens the positive image and culture of their organization on the other.
After more than 20 years, we lived to see changes in the minimum requirements for occupational safety and health and ergonomics of workstations equipped with screen monitors. We are talking about the pol. Decree of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of December 1, 1998 on occupational safety and health at workplaces equipped with screen monitors, as amended by the pol. Decree of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of October 18, 2023 (hereinafter: the decree).
Dress code is a subject that can cause much controversy and doubt among both employers and employees. The desire to maintain professionalism and an appropriate corporate image certainly requires an understanding of the legal framework and doctrinally accepted principles regarding dress code in the workplace.
Employers, when considering parting ways with an employee, often ponder on the mode to terminate the employment contract. A common reason for these considerations is the possibility of qualifying the employee’s behaviour as a serious breach of basic employment obligations, which allows for termination of the contract in disciplinary proceedings.
The right to rest is one of the fundamental rights of Employees. The calculation of the days off due to an Employee and the proper calculation of overtime worked by an Employee can sometimes cause difficulties in situations that differ from the standard – i.e. in the case of young Employees and Employees who work part-time.
Terminating an employment contract without observing the notice period is an option available not only to employers but also to employees. This immediate termination of the employment relationship can be used, for example, in cases where the employer commits a serious breach of fundamental obligations towards the employee. It’s important to note that in such situations, the employee is entitled to compensation.
The saga under the title of ‘whistleblowers’ in Poland continues. Work is currently underway on yet another draft of the whistleblowers act. The history of attempts to implement the Act on whistleblowers into the Polish legal system dates back to 2021, by which time the deadline for implementing the provisions of the EU Directive had passed, and we are currently one of the last EU member states without implemented legislation in this area. In the context of today’s post on periodic employee evaluations, the provisions regulating criminal liability for retaliation against a whistleblower, which appeared in the draft law, will be relevant for us.
Work Regulations are a key document that establishes the organisation and order of the work process and the related rules applicable to the employer and Employees. According to the Polish Labour Code, the mandatory obligation to introduce Work Regulations depends on the number of Employees. An employer with at least 50 Employees is obliged to introduce Work Regulations, but we strongly encourage you to use this solution in smaller workplaces as well, even though it is not required by law.
There is no single, concrete definition of the employer’s organisational culture, but it is understood as a set of internal rules and values that employees should adhere to on a daily basis. It is also believed to be reflected in the employer’s internal procedures and instructions, as well as in the benefits provided to employees.