E80Group

LABOUR LAW
Basic issues
Agenda
1. Types of work contracts: 6. Ways of ending a working
- for an indefinite period, relationship:
- for a fixed-term, - mutual agreement of the
- for a trial period. parties,
- the termination of the contract,
2. Salary. - expiration of the contract.
3. Holiday entitlement. 7. Material liability.
4. Temporary assigning of another 8. Penalties.
job to an employee.
9. Changes in the Labour Code –
5. Change of the term of an August 2022.
employment contract.
Types of work contracts
• for an indefinite period – if previously the parties have twice concluded a fixed-term
employment contract for fixed-term periods, provided that the interval between the
termination of the previous contract and the conclusion of another employment contract did
not exceed 1 month,
• for a fixed-term (including replacement - if it is necessary to replace an employee during his
justified absence from work, the employer may hire another employee for this purpose on
the basis of a fixed-term employment contract, covering the duration of the absence),
• for a trial period – cannot exceed 3 months.
Types of work contracts
According to the new regulations, an employer may conclude with an employee no more than
3 fixed-term contracts, and the total period of employment under such contracts may not
exceed 33 months. If the period of employment based on a fixed-term employment contract is
longer than 33 months or the number of concluded contracts exceeds 3, it will be considered
that the employee, respectively, from the day following the expiry of the above-mentioned
period or from the day of concluding a 4th fixed-term contract, is employed based on an
employment contract for an indefinite period.
Salary
- basic salary,
- holiday pay,
- sick pay,
- remuneration for overtime work,
- night work allowance,
- severance pay for dismissed for economic reasons,
- posthumous severance pay.
Salary
- compensation for a shortened notice period,
- an equivalent for unused annual leave,
- an equivalent for the use of own work clothes and footwear*,
- an equivalent for washing and maintenance of work clothes and footwear,
- benefits resulting from a business trip.

* Pursuant to Art. 2377 §1 of the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to provide the employee with
work clothing and footwear free of charge only if the employee's own clothing may be damaged or
significantly soiled or due to technological, sanitary, and health and safety requirements.
Salary
Payday:

- at least one time a month,

- fixed and predetermined date,
- no later than the 10th of the following month.
Leave
• Leisure
• Free
• Training
• Additional
• Occasional
Leave
• Holiday entitlement:
- the right to leave in the calendar year of starting work - after 1 month, 1/12 of leave after a year,
- the right to subsequent leaves - in each subsequent calendar year.
• Vacation entitlement:
- 20 days – less than 10 years of work,
- 26 days – after 10 years of work.
• The working period that determines vacation entitlement also includes
time spent in education:
- basic vocational school – 3 years,
- secondary vocational school– 5 years,
- high school– 4 years,
- post-secondary school – 6 years,
- higher education, including a bachelor's degree – 8 years.
Leave
-working days:
- in the case of performing work permitted on Sundays or public holidays, the leave may be granted on any day, i.e., on:
* Sunday or public holiday,
* a day off from work resulting from the five-day working week.
- leave is granted only on the employee's working days in the number of hours, i.e., the employee has the right, for
example, to 208 hours of leave (26 times 8 hours),
- leave is accounted for in hours, assuming that one day of leave corresponds to 8 working hours.
At least one part of the leave should give the employee a rest period of no less than 14 consecutive calendar days.
Any illness of the employee during the leave interrupts the leave. The unused part of the leave is used by the employee
at a later date (according to his request and the consent of the employer).
Leave
• Vacation request:

- 4 days of leave from the base pool in a given calendar year,

- leave is requested at the latest before the start of the working day,
- 4 days in total or in parts,
- information about the leave is written on the employment certificate.
Leave
• Unpaid leave:

- the employee must request such leave,

- it is not included in the period of work on which employee rights depend,
- information about taking the leave is included in the employment certificate.
Leave
• Special event leave:

- 2 days – employee's wedding, the birth of an employee's child, death: of a spouse,

father, mother, stepfather or stepmother,

- 1 day – wedding of the employee's child, death of: sister, brother, mother-in-law,
father-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, as well as another person dependent on the
employee or under his direct care.
Leave
• Maternity leave:

- 18 weeks for a first birth,

- 20 weeks with each subsequent birth,
- 28 weeks in the case of multiple pregnancy.
Leave
• People looking after children up to 4 years of age:

- prohibition of working overtime, at night, systems exceeding 8 hours,

- prohibition of delegation outside the permanent place of work.
Leave
• Parental leave:
- at least 6 months of work entitles to a 3-year leave, no longer than until the child turns 4,
- leave may be used in no more than 4 parts,
- the child's parents may take 3 months of leave at the same time.
• Childcare leave:
- 2 paid days off when a child is up to 14 years,
- to be used in the calendar year in question,
- is used by the child's father or mother, according to the declarations in the personal files.
Temporary assigning of
another job to an employee
It does not require termination of work and pay conditions if:
• is justified by the employer's needs,
• does not exceed a period of 3 months in a calendar year,
• does not reduce the remuneration,
• corresponds to the employee's qualifications.

In this case, there is no change in the content of the contract concluded between the employer and the employee. The change is only in the
actual temporary performance of another job by the employee.
Unjustified refusal by an employee may be treated as a violation of basic employee duties.
Change of the term of an
employment contract
• when both parties agree to change the terms and conditions, whether or not they are favourable to the employee, they can do so by means
of an amending agreement,
• the agreement is concluded between the employer and the employee. Both parties agree that the new terms will apply from a given day,
• in the event that the employee does not consent, the employer may use an amendment notice,
• by making an amending notice, it is not allowed to change the type of employment contract from an employment contract concluded for an
indefinite period to an employment contract concluded for a definite period,
• in the event of a refusal by the employee to accept the proposed working or pay conditions, the employment contract is terminated upon
the expiry of the notice period,
• in the case of an employee hired for an indefinite period, the termination must be justified.
Change of the term of an
employment contract
• It is not possible to terminate the terms of employment and remuneration of employees whose
employment relationship is protected against termination, and therefore in particular:
- employees absent from work for justified reasons (e.g., on vacation, unpaid leave, sick leave, employees
who have not more than 4 years to acquire the right to a retirement pension, pregnant employees and
employees during maternity leave, social labour inspector).
The termination of the contract
• by mutual agreement of the parties,
• by a declaration of one of the parties with a notice period,
• by a declaration of one of the parties without a notice period,
• with the expiration of the period for which it was concluded,
• on the day of completion of the work for which it was concluded.
Mutual agreement
• the least conflicting way of terminating an employment contract,
• requires a unanimous declaration of intent by both parties. It can be applied at any time, excluding applicable terms and notice
periods,
• by mutual agreement of the parties, it is possible to terminate an employment contract with an employee on L4, on vacation, a
pregnant employee,
• either party may come forward with the initiative to terminate the contract,
• the other party's refusal to accept the offer is not tantamount to the termination of the employment contract unless it has been
clearly stated that in the event of non-acceptance, it will be converted into a notice of termination;
• in the event of termination of the employment contract by mutual agreement of the parties, the employee is not entitled to
paid leave for job search,
• this form of termination of the employment contract may not entail any negative consequences for the employee, e.g. depriving
the employee of the equivalent for unused leave.
The termination of the
contract
• Period of notice about the termination of the contract for a trial period is:

1) 3 working days, if the trial period does not exceed 2 weeks,

2) 1 week, if the trial period is longer than 2 weeks,
3) 2 weeks, if the trial period is 3 months.

EXCEPTION: a contract for a trial period of more than 1 month, which would be terminated after the third month of
pregnancy, is extended until the day of delivery.
The termination of the contract
• Termination of a fixed-term contract:

1) if the contract is concluded for a period longer than 6 months, the notice period is 2 weeks, but the
general rule is that fixed-term contracts last until the end of the period for which they were concluded,
2) does not need to be justified,
3) can be submitted at any time.
The termination of the
contract
• Termination of the contract for an indefinite period:

1) 2 weeks, if the employee has been employed for less than 6 months,
2) 1 month, if the employee has been employed for at least 6 months
3) 3 months, if the employee has been employed for at least 3 years.
The termination of the contract
• IMPORTANT!

Failure to comply with the written form of termination by the employee is not subject to any sanctions and it is assumed
that the termination notice has been submitted.
The termination should be considered made if it is delivered to the addressee in such a way that he can become familiar
with its content.
The termination notice does not have to be given in person (it can be sent by post).
In the case of employees working in a position related to material liability for the entrusted property, the parties may agree
to a longer period of notice in the employment contract.
The termination of the
contract
• Ways of calculating the notice period:

Notice period:
1) weekly or bi-weekly ends on Saturday,
2) the monthly period (or its multiple) ends on the last day of the month.

The day on which the employee receives the notice of termination is not included in the notice period.
The termination of the contract
• Right during the notice period:

1) the employee is entitled to leave to search for work. For the duration of the dismissal, the employee retains the right to remuneration, but only if the
employer terminated the contract and the notice period is at least 2 weeks,

2) the amount of paid leave is:

- 3 working days, if the employee is entitled to a 3-month notice period;
- 2 working days, if the employee is entitled to a 2-week and one-month notice period,

3) if the employee does not use the leave to look for work, he is not entitled to an equivalent for it,
4) during the notice period, the employee is obliged to take vacation leave, if the employer grants it to him/her,

5) during the notice period, the employer may release the employee from the obligation to perform work. This can only be done with the employee's
consent. The employee is entitled to remuneration for the period of exemption from the obligation to perform work.
The termination of the contract
• Termination of the employment contract without the notice period:

1) the employer may terminate the employment contract without notice due to the fault of the employee in the event of:

- a serious breach of basic employee duties by an employee,

- an employee committing a crime during the term of the employment contract which prevents him/her from being employed in the position
he/she holds, if the crime is obvious or has been confirmed by a final judgment,

- loss of entitlements necessary for the performance of work in the position held by an employee culpably.
The termination of the contract
2) the employer has the option to terminate the employment contract with the employee without observing the notice
period due to the employee's prolonged, justified absence from work.

In particular, the employee's illness is excused absence. In this situation, the employee is protected, but only for a certain
period of time:
* in the case of an employee employed for less than 6 months - 3 months,
* in the case of an employee employed for more than 6 months, the total period of receiving remuneration
and allowance on this account, as well as receiving a rehabilitation benefit for the first 3 months is assumed.
The termination of the contract
• The prohibition on dismissal without notice of a sick employee without his / her fault will cover a
maximum of 272 days, that is:

- 182 days of the basic benefit period,

- 3 months of receiving the rehabilitation benefit.

The termination of the contract
• The employment contract cannot be terminated after the employee shows up for work after the cause
of the absence ceases to exist.

• The employee must present a medical certificate confirming the ability to work in the current position,
issued by an occupational medicine doctor.
The termination of the contract
3) The employer can terminate the employment contract without the employee's fault also for reasons other than illness if
the absence lasts longer than 1 month.
 The termination of the contract
4) An employee may terminate an employment contract without notice if:

- a medical certificate stating the harmful effect of the work performed on the employee's health will be issued, and the employer
will not transfer the employee within the time specified in the medical certificate to another job, appropriate due to his health
condition and professional qualifications,

- the employer has committed a serious breach of basic obligations towards the employee.
The employee's declaration should be presented to the employer in writing and contain a justification for the termination of the
contract.
The employee may not terminate the contract if a period longer than one month has elapsed since he learned about the reasons
justifying the termination of the employment relationship.
Termination of an employment contract in this mode results in the consequences of labour law provisions related to the
termination of the contract by the employer with notice.
The termination of the contract
• When an employee terminates an employment contract without notice due to a serious breach by the
employer of basic obligations towards the employee, the employee is entitled to compensation in the
amount of remuneration for the period of notice, and if the employment contract was concluded for a
specified period or for the period of performance of a specific job - in the amount of remuneration for
the period of 2 weeks.
Expiration of the contract
• Happens mostly in case of:

- the death of the employee,

- the death of the employer,
- the 3-month absence of the employee due to temporary arrest,
- failure by the employee to report his/her return to work within 7 days from the termination of the
employment contract by choice with another employer.
Material liability
• damage due to unintentional fault - compensation from an employee may not exceed the amount of 3 months' salary,
• damage due to willful misconduct - the employee is fully liable.

The employer cannot deduct the compensation from the remuneration for work without written employee's consent.
Penalties
• Admonitions,
• Reprimands,
• Fines.
Penalties
• For failure to comply with::

- work order,
- work organization,
- OHS and fire safety regulations,
- the accepted method of confirming arrival at the workplace and justifying absences from work.
Penalties
• Admonitions:

A written reminder of the employee may take place up to two weeks from the moment the
employer learned about the breach of work rules and not later than 3 months from the entire
incident. The entry in the files itself disappears only after one year of impeccable work by the
employee.
Penalties
• Terms of punishment:

Admonition for a vulgar employee - what exactly can you punish a subordinate for? The
employee is most often reprimanded for being late to work or due to unexcused absence. Labor
law provisions do not clearly define what actions should be considered vulgar behaviour of an
employee.
Penalties
• Reprimands:

The penalty can not be applied after the lapse of 2 weeks from becoming aware of the breach
of the employee obligation and after the lapse of 3 months from committing this breach.
Moreover, the penalty may only be applied after the employee has been first heard
Penalties
• Terms of punishment:

A reprimand may be imposed on an employee for non-compliance with the established organization and
order in the work process, occupational health and safety regulations, fire regulations, as well as the
adopted method of confirming arrival and presence at work and justifying absenteeism.
Penalties
• Fines:

- non-compliance with health and safety or fire protection regulations,

- leaving work without justification,
- showing up for work while drunk or drinking alcohol while working.
Penalties
• Terms of punishment:

- the employee cannot be punished after 2 weeks from the breach of the employee obligation and after 3
months from the breach,
- prior is necessary to hear the employee.

After one year of impeccable work, a copy of the punishment letter should be removed from the personal
files.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 1. A new care leave
A completely new leave in the labour code will appear soon. It will be 5 additional days off in the calendar year. It aims to
provide personal care or support to someone who is either a relative (son, daughter, mother, father or spouse) or in a joint
household of someone who requires significant care or support for serious medical reasons. The new leave is to be unpaid,
and the employee will not receive remuneration for the time spent at home. Days off are included in the period of
employment on which depend the employee’s rights.
The leave will be granted at the employee's request, submitted in paper or electronic form, no later than 1 day before
taking the leave.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 2. Exemption from work due to force majeure
Exemption from work due to force majeure in urgent family matters caused by illness or accident will be
introduced into the Labor Code. This exemption will have a duration of 2 days or 16 hours in a calendar
year. The employee will be able to use this exemption in the event of his necessary immediate presence
elsewhere.
For the period of leave from work due to force majeure, he/she will be entitled to 50% of the remuneration
calculated as the salary for the holiday leave.
Changes in labor law - 2023
• 3. Parental leave will be extended
According to the planned changes, the parental leave is to be longer. It is currently 32 weeks for one child
and 34 weeks for multiple pregnancies. After the changes, it will be 41 and 43 weeks, respectively.
Each parent will also be guaranteed 9 weeks of leave, which cannot be transferred to the other parent.
Moreover, after the changes, the right to parental leave is to be an individual right for each parent. It will not
be dependent on the use of maternity leave by the child's mother.
Additionally, the new regulations will introduce a 12-month period for taking paternity leave. Currently,
fathers have the right to take paternity leave within 24 months from the date of the birth of the child.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 4. Higher maternity allowance
Another change is increasing the amount of maternity allowance for the entire period of parental leave and
setting it at 70% of the allowance calculation basis.
Currently, the maternity allowance is paid in 100% of the allowance base for the first 6 weeks of parental
leave and in 60% of the allowance base for the remainder of that leave - this means that currently, the
maternity allowance for the period of parental leave amounts to an average of 67.5% of the allowance
calculation basis.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 5. Broader protection of the employment relationship
The scope of protection of the employment relationship will be extended. According to the proposed
changes, there will a prohibition to conduct preparations regarding the intention to terminate the
employment relationship with pregnant employees, employees who have applied for a part of maternity
leave, paternity leave or its part, parental leave or its part, and with employees who submitted to an
employer an application for flexible work organization from the date of submission of the application.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 6. Facilitations for parents of children up to 8 years
The project involves the introduction of flexible work, among others for parents of children up to 8 years old. The employer
will have to inform the employee in writing about the reasons for the refusal, for example grantingremote work or consent
to individual working time. Today, there is no such obligation. After the change in regulations, employers will not be able to
order - without the consent of the employee - night work, delegation or overtime work to employees caring for a child
under 8 years of age. Today, this limit is 4 years.
As indicated by the authors of the project, all these changes are intended to encourage parents to share their caring
responsibilities more equally.
Pursuant to the draft regulations, the period until the end of which the employer may order the employee - only with his
consent - to work overtime and at night, to work in an interrupted working time system and to delegate outside the
permanent place of the work will be extended from 4 to 8 years of the child’s age.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 7. Employee sobriety control and remote work
According to the Government draft act amending the Labour Code and some other acts, which was sent for the first reading
on June 8, 2022, the employer, if it is necessary to ensure the protection of the life and health of employees or other
persons or property protection, will be able to introduce sobriety control of employees. The sobriety control will not
violate the dignity and other personal rights of the employee, and it will be possible to conduct it using methods that do
not require a laboratory test using a device with a valid document confirming its calibration.
The draft also regulates the issues related to remote work, which will be able to be performed entirely or partially in the
place indicated by the employee and agreed with the employer each time, including at the employee's place of residence,
in particular with the use of means of direct remote communication (remote work).
Changes in labour law - 2023
• Remote work may be performed at the request of the employer during the period of the state of
emergency, epidemic threat or epidemic and within 3 months after their cancellation. It can also be
performed in the period when the employer's provision of safe and hygienic working conditions in the
employee's current workplace is not temporarily possible due to force majeure – if directly before issuing
the order, the employee submits a paper or electronic statement showing that he/she as local and
technical conditions to perform remote work. Remote work may be performed occasionally, at the
employee's request submitted in paper or electronic form, for a period not exceeding 24 days in a
calendar year.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 8. Flexible work organization
An employee raising a child up to the age of 8, will be able to submit to the employer an application in paper
or electronic form for flexible work organization, which is understood as teleworking; work in the
interrupted working time system; work in the shortened working week system; work in the system of
weekend work; work in the system of flexible working time and individual working time as well as work in a
reduced working time. The application will be submitted to the employer at least 21 days before the
planned start of using a flexible work organization.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 9. Breaks at work
The amendment introduces new breaks during work, which will be included in the working time. If,
therefore, the employee's daily working time:
- is at least 6 hours - the employee has the right to a break at work lasting at least 15 minutes,
- is longer than 9 hours - the employee has the right to an additional break at work lasting at least 15
minutes,
- is longer than 16 hours - the employee has the right to another break in work lasting at least 15 minutes.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 10. Obligation to justify the termination of employment contracts by the employer
Pursuant to the new rules, the employer's statement on the termination of a fixed-term employment
contract or an employment contract for an indefinite period, or on the termination of an employment
contract without notice, should indicate the reason justifying the termination or end of the contract.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 11. An employee's application for a change of the form of work
An employee employed by a given employer for at least 6 months will be able to apply to the
employer with an application submitted in paper or electronic form, to change the type of work,
change the type of employment contract to a contract for an indefinite period or full-time
employment. An employee will be able to apply for a transfer to other forms of employment once
during the calendar year. The draft provides an exception - the new entitlement will not apply to
employees employed under an employment contract for a trial period.
The employer will be obliged, if possible, to take into account the employee's request and, taking into
account the needs of the employer and the employee, not later than 1 month from the date of
receipt of the application, inform the employee about his position and justify it in the event of a
refusal.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 12. Right to concurrent employment
The employer will be obliged to safeguard the employee's rights to concurrent employment by respecting
the prohibition of prohibiting the employee to simultaneously remain in an employment relationship with
another employer and by respecting the prohibition of subjecting the employee to unfavourable treatment
on this account. From January 1, 2023, the employer cannot prohibit an employee from being
simultaneously in an employment relationship with another employer or in a legal relationship which is the
basis for performing work other than the employment relationship. The above prohibition will not apply if
the employer concludes a non-competition agreement with the employee, and also if separate provisions
provide otherwise.
Changes in labour law - 2023
• 13. Contract for a trial period
Significant changes have been made to the contracts for a trial period, in which:
-the parties will be able to agree that the employment contract for a trial period is extended by
the duration of the vacation, as well as by the time of other justified absence of the employee
at work, if such absences occur;
-the parties will be able to one time extend the period of employment in the employment
contract for a trial period, but not for more than 1 month, if it is justified by the type of work;
-the employer will be able to re-conclude an employment contract for a trial period with the
same employee if the employee is employed for a different type of work.
Moreover, the introduced changes make the maximum duration of the trial period conditional
on the intended duration of the next concluded contract.
Changes in labour law – August 2023
You can follow the progress of the project work here:
https://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12356556/katalog/12855413#12855413