Recently, we have been very keen on #TaxAndLawTelegram to cover topics related to the 2023 amendments in labour law. We also expand the news and present aspects of the phenomena of discrimination and mobbing in the workplace, as these phenomena adversely affect the atmosphere among employees and can contribute to increased inefficiency at work, which can cause unjustified losses to the employer. We will devote today’s post to discussing the phenomenon of staffing and what consequences it can have for employees and employers.
What is staffing?
Neither in the Labour Code nor in any other legal act in force on the territory of Poland will we find a legal definition of staffing, however, this phenomenon can be described as a variant of mobbing, which in turn is defined in the above-mentioned Labour Code law in Article 943 §2 and means:
- actions or behaviour concerning an employee or directed against an employee;
- consisting of persistent and prolonged harassment or intimidation of an employee;
- causing the employee to have a low opinion of his professional suitability;
- causing or intended to humiliate or ridicule the employee, isolate him or eliminate him from the team of co-workers.
If we were to try to explain the essence of the phenomenon of staffing, it should be said that it consists of actions or inactions by an employee or a group of employees that target their supervisor. These behaviours are intended to lead to the termination of the agreement of a person holding a managerial position or to his resignation from such a position.
What does staffing consist of?
Thus, it can be said that staffing is a reversal of the “typical” mobbing relationship, which is the first thing that comes to mind when hearing about mobbing. In staffing, the roles are reversed and it is the employees occupying lower positions in the workplace who take actions against the superior to discourage him or the employer from continuing further cooperation. Such behaviour may include, in certain situations:
- disregarding the supervisor’s instructions in a continuous and persistent manner;
- undermining the competence of the supervisor among other employees or among the management of the workplace;
- shifting employee responsibility to the supervisor in a situation of glaring employee error;
- gossiping about the supervisor.
The above enumeration is only exemplary, and each behaviour of employees in the event of suspicion of mobbing the person in charge of their work in this way must be subject to detailed analysis and consideration.
What is the threat to the employee for staffing?
Since staffing is a manifestation of mobbing, a number of solutions provided by the Labour Code for mobbing actions can be applied against an irresponsible employee, which include:
- application to the employee by the employer of an order penalty in the form of a warning or reprimand;
- termination of the employment agreement with notice due to unacceptable behaviour of the employee;
- termination of the employment agreement without notice due to gross misconduct of the employee.
In addition, a supervisor staffed by an employee may bring a civil action against the employee for violation of personal rights, against which the employee may be obliged, among other things, to pay compensation to his supervisor.
Summary
An extremely important phenomenon that we try to emphasize in the articles we publish is the strengthening of the legal awareness of both employees and employers, so that both parties to the employment relationship can together co-create a workplace that is friendly to all persons acting together in the course of professional activity. The phenomenon of staffing, although not yet as well-known as mobbing, is another threat to the work environment that employers must watch out for. Employees, too, must not forget that staffing behaviour cannot remain without consequences and can cause them – in extreme cases – to lose their jobs overnight. It is therefore worthwhile to ensure that the parties to the employment relationship have adequate legal awareness to prevent such behaviour.
Author:
Mateusz Turowski, Trainee attorney-at-law (PL)
