2023 is the year of changes to the Labour Code. The most important of these are the provisions on home office and sobriety control introduced into the Polish legal order by the amendment of 13 January 2023, signed by the President of the Republic of Poland on 27 January 2023. The amendment on sobriety control will enter into force two weeks after its publication in the Journal of Laws, while the amendment on home office will enter into force two months after its publication in the Journal of Laws. There will be a lot of changes to be made, so it is worth preparing in advance.
Category: Labour law
Labour law provides for several types of leave for working parents: maternity leave, parental leave and unpaid extended post-maternity leave. In addition, employee-fathers can take so-called paternity leave of two weeks. Statistics show, however, that while paternity leave is used more and more, parental leave is only used by 1% of men. Perhaps, the work-life balance directive will change this.
On 1st January 2019, the Act on Employee Capital Plans (PL-PPK) came into force, introducing a voluntary, private long-term savings system, part of the so-called third pillar of the Polish pension system. PPK is a system created jointly by the employee, the employer and the state, supervised by the Financial Supervision Commission (PL-KNF). Who can use PPK and under what conditions? How to implement it in a company? And why is it worth it when thinking about it in the context of building the employer’s image – recruiting and retaining employees.
The Law of April 28, 2022 on the Principles of Implementation of Tasks Financed from European Funds in the Financial Perspective 2021-2027 (Journal of Laws 2022, item 1079, as amended) introduced numerous modifications to the Law on Employee Capital Plans (poln. PPK) (Journal of Laws 2020, item 1342, as amended) and the Law on the State Labor Inspectorate (poln. PIP) (Journal of Laws 2019, item 1251, as amended). The modifications, effective June 4, 2022, include, among others, changes to the deadline for enrollment of a new employee in the PPK, transfer of funds, definition of the employing entity, payments to the PPK, and new rights of the State Labor Inspectorate (poln. PIP).
It is the duty of every employer, regardless of the number of employees, to prevent mobbing. The duty to refrain from mobbing practices does not only refer to the employer’s own behavior, but also to enforcing ethical behavior from other members of the organization that does not violate the dignity of other co-workers. One of the solutions that can be introduced in a company, as an element of preventive measures, is an anti-mobbing committee. However, it should be remembered that its establishment does not release the employer from responsibility.
The year 2022 will be marked by changes in labour law. In the near future, we will be faced with, among other changes, the implementation of European directives on care leave and the justification of termination of fixed-term employment contracts, as well as the regulation of remote working and preventative sobriety checks for employees. Employers face the need to adapt existing regulations, but also to introduce completely new ones.
More and more important topic in organizations is taking action on the prevention of discrimination and mobbing. The topics of mobbing, discrimination and whistleblowers were discussed during a webinar that we had the pleasure to host on November 25, 2021. However, it is worth reiterating the importance of effectively implementing appropriate procedures and raising awareness, both among decision-makers and other employees in this area. This may contribute to reducing undesirable situations in the company.
On 19 August 2021, the President signed an amendment to the Act on Social Security System and some other acts. With a number of exceptions, the new provisions came into force 14 days after the date of publication. The amendment introduces numerous changes in the current social insurance system, mainly concerning sick leave and sick pay, which are to come into force on 1 January 2022. Although the goal is to ensure proportionality between revenues and costs of the Social Insurance Fund, in the opinion of some experts such thorough changes should be postponed until the epidemiological situation normalizes.
Among the draft amendments to the Labour Code, which in recent weeks have been submitted to the Government Legislative Centre, there is also a draft act amending the Labour Code act and the act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism. The impulse to introduce changes in the area of alcohol testing of employees is the current legal regulation, which de facto makes it impossible to perform such tests, as well as the demands of employers themselves, pointing to the annual increase in the number of accidents at work caused by the intoxication of employees.
After lengthy consultations on the introduction of changes to the Labour Code, a draft act amending the Act – Labour Code, the Act on Vocational and Social Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities and the Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions was submitted to the Government Legislative Centre. Although the draft was submitted to the Government Legislative Centre in May, and its content was significantly modified in July, the draft is currently at the opinion stage. The bill is primarily a response to the recently widespread form of home office work and the need for increased health protection for workers in relation to COVID-19.