1. Temporary employment
As of 1 June 2017 new rules govern the employment of temporary
employees. These changes were introduced to raise the standards for
temporary employees (conditions of employment, and legal safety of
employers using services of temporary employment agencies).
The most important changes from the employer's point of view
include the following aspects of temporary employment:
1.1. Period of employment
A temporary employee may be employed by the same employer-user (ie
employer using the work of a temporary employee, assigning tasks to
such employee and controlling its performance):
- for a maximum period of 18 months in the period of 36
consecutive calendar months,
- both on the basis of a contract of employment and a civil law
contract,
- even if the employment takes place through various temporary employment agencies.
1.2. Type of work
The employer-user cannot employ a temporary employee to perform
work which for the three preceding months was performed by a direct
employee of the employer-user who was dismissed for reasons not
attributed to the employee.
The above restriction is territorial, which means, that such
employment could not occur in any of the employer-user's units
located in the same municipality as the unit in which the
previously dismissed employee was employed.
1.3. Remuneration policy
The employer-user has the additional obligation to submit internal
regulations on remuneration of employees at the request of the
temporary work agency, ie remuneration rules or company collective
agreements and to notify the agency about any changes to the
applicable remuneration policy.
The purpose of introducing this obligation is to provide similar
working conditions and salaries for those who are directly employed
by the employer and those who are employed by the temporary work
agency.
1.4. Records of temporary employees
The employer-user is obliged to keep records of temporary
employees who perform their work on the basis of a contract of
employment and a civil law contract containing information about
the starting date of employment and the date of termination of such
work for a period of 36 consecutive months. The obligation to keep
such records extends for a period of 3 years following the
termination of employment by the temporary employee. The records
must be kept in paper or electronic form.
Legal basis: The Act of Law of 7 April 2017 amending the Act on
the Employment of Temporary Employees and some other acts (Journal
of Laws of the Republic of Poland of 2017, item 962).
2. New list of arduous, dangerous or harmful types of work for pregnant and breastfeeding women
As of 1 May 2017 there is a new list of jobs that cannot be
performed by pregnant or breastfeeding women. This regulation
applies to arduous, dangerous or harmful types of work. It must be
stressed that this list includes work, which is forbidden to be
performed by pregnant and breastfeeding women, and not by women in
general.
A significant change related to pregnant women working in
positions using computer monitors. Pregnant women may work for no
more than 8 hours a day, but the time spent in operating the
computer monitors should not last more than 50 minutes at a time,
followed by at least a 10-minute break, which is included in
working time. It does not have to be a break from work, but only
from working with computer monitors.
In accordance with the provisions of the Polish Labour Code,
internal labour regulations should specify the list of work
prohibited for women. The current list of work should be included
in the internal labour regulations and this requires changes
introduced in accordance with the procedure for internal labour
regulations' adoption.
Legal basis: Regulation of the Council
of Ministers of 3 April 2017 on the list of arduous, dangerous or
harmful work for pregnant and breastfeeding women (Journal of Laws
of the Republic of Poland of 2017, item
796).
3. Principles of issuing certificates of employment
Issuing a certificate of employment is one of the
responsibilities of the employer. On 1 June 2017 rules for issuing
certificates of employment changed.
The deadlines for issuing or correcting a certificate of
employment in certain situations have been extended. Under these
new regulations the employer is obliged to carry out the following
activities within 7 days:
- issue a new certificate of employment after the court's
ruling on the correction of the certificate of employment;
- supplement the text of the issued certificate of employment
with the information about the court's decision to
reinstate a dismissed employee or to award him compensation for unlawful termination of an employment contract or termination without notice; and
- issue a new certificate of employment, if the employer and employee have concluded a settlement resulting in the issuance of a new certificate of employment.
On the other hand, the employee has 7 days to submit his/her
certificate of employment to the employer in order to supplement
its content with information about the court's ruling regarding
the legal action taken by the employer for compensation for
unjustified termination of the employment contract without notice
by the employee.
Temporary work agencies were obligated to include information on
each certificate of employment of temporary employees about each
employer-user, to whom the temporary employee has worked on the
basis of an employment contract and the periods during which such
work was performed.
Legal basis: Regulation of the
Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 24 May 2017
amending the Regulation concerning Certification of Employment
(Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland of 2017, item
1044).
4. Reduction of the statutory retirement age
On 1 October 2017 the legislation that restored the retirement
age of 60 years for women and 65 years for men entered into
force.
As a rule, an employee who has no more than 4 years to reach the
retirement age is covered by a special protection against
termination of employment. However, the reduction of retirement age
affected the extension of the protection period prior to
termination of employment contracts for certain groups of
employees.
Employees, who as of 1 October 2017 are already covered by
protection of employment relationships, benefit from such
protection until they reach the retirement age provided in the
provisions that were currently in force (i.e. reaching an increased
retirement age). This means that the protection period for such
employees will not be shortened due to reaching the retirement age
of 60 years for women and 65 years for men.
On the other hand, employees who are not covered by protection yet
and who reach the retirement age within 4 years from the date of
entry into force of this act of law, are protected for a period of
4 years calculated from 1 October 2017, even when the period
expires after reaching retirement age. Thus they will be entitled
to such protection until the end of September 2021.
It is therefore recommended that employers conduct a thorough
analysis of the situation of such employee prior to giving notice
of termination of the employment contract. If the termination of an
employment contract during a pre-retirement protection is found to
be unlawful, it can be very expensive for the employer. In case of
reinstatement, such employee will be entitled to remuneration for
the entire period of unemployment, this means from termination of
employment until his / her reinstatement. Due to the relatively
long court proceedings, the effects for the employer can be
painful.
Legal basis: Act of Law of 16 November
2016 on the amendment of the Law on Pensions from the Social
Insurance Fund and some other acts (Journal of Laws of the Republic
of Poland of 2017, item 38)
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.