5 changes in labor law for 2023

The changes affect many important areas, such as the ability to test employees for sobriety and the regulation of remote work, very popular topics that nonetheless raised controversy and were not clearly regulated.

What challenges do employers face?

What will employees gain from this?

Which ones have already been introduced, and which will we still have to wait for?

Higher minimum wage As of January 1 this year, the minimum wage was raised to PLN 3,490 gross.

This is not the end of the increases, however, as another will take place on July 1, when the minimum wage will rise to PLN 3,600 gross.

That is more than originally anticipated.

This means that in the second half of the year an employee will receive over PLN 2,700 “in hand” (remember, however, that the net amount always depends on the employee's personal situation!).

The level of the minimum wage also translates into the minimum hourly rate, which is PLN 22.80 gross, and in July it will be PLN 23.50 gross.

Employee sobriety testing The previous legal framework did not give employers a clear and safe basis for independently testing employees for sobriety or checking whether they are under the influence of intoxicants.

The new regulations now provide such an option (though not an obligation), namely in cases where such testing is necessary to protect the life and health of employees, other persons, or to protect property.

Testing may cover not only employees but also persons cooperating with the employer under another civil law contract (e.g. contractors, B2B contractors)!

The rules for testing will have to be set out in the work regulations (or in a notice, if the employer is not required to establish work regulations), and it will be permitted, among other conditions, only when it does not violate the dignity or other personal rights of employees.

It will have to be carried out using a method that does not require laboratory analysis, with a device that has a valid calibration or verification.

The regulations also provide the legal basis for processing personal data (such as the date, hour and minute of the test and its result indicating a state after alcohol consumption) as well as retention periods (as a rule, one year from the collection of the data).

The provisions on sobriety testing will come into force on February 21, 2023.

Remote work The new regulations on remote work will entirely replace the previously existing concept of “teleworking.”

The new rules are a hybrid of the previous “COVID” provisions on remote work and teleworking, but they also include many solutions not seen before.

A switch to remote work may occur as a result of a unilateral instruction from the employer, mutual arrangements between the employer and the employee when concluding the employment contract or during employment, as well as when the employee makes use of so-called occasional remote work.

Because the place of remote work must be agreed between the employer and the employee, neither party will be able to impose the place of performing remote work on the other party.

Meanwhile, the employer's ability to issue an instruction to work remotely will depend on the employee submitting a declaration that they have the housing and technical means to perform it.

The new regulations describe situations in which the employer will be required to grant an employee's request for remote work, for example when such a request is submitted by a pregnant employee or an employee raising a child up to 4 years of age).

The employer will be able to refuse the employee if performing remote work is not possible due to the organization or type of work performed.

Something new is the introduction of so-called “occasional remote work,” which means the employee's entitlement to remote work for no more than 24 days in a calendar year.

This type of work is intended to meet the employee's incidental needs.

Only the employee will be able to take the initiative to perform occasional remote work, and due to its nature the employer will not have to regulate it in internal documents or in the contract.

The employer will also not be obliged to bear additional costs (e.g. in the form of providing the employee with the materials and tools necessary to perform remote work).

The introduction of remote work will naturally be accompanied by employer obligations, the most important of which are: setting the rules of remote work in the regulations, an individually issued instruction or an individual agreement, covering, among other things, the rules for monitoring the performance of work, the rules for health and safety oversight, and the rules for the employer to cover costs related to performing remote work; providing the employee with the necessary materials and tools, as well as their maintenance and servicing; providing training and technical support; defining personal data protection procedures; conducting an occupational risk assessment by the employer, which should take into account the impact of the work on eyesight, the musculoskeletal system, and psychosocial factors; and developing the rules and methods for properly organizing the remote workstation.

The new regulations on remote work will come into force on April 7, 2023.

Implementation of the work-life balance directive The directive on work-life balance for parents and carers, commonly known as the work-life balance directive, has been awaiting implementation into the Polish legal system for some time.

The government's draft legislation has already appeared in the Sejm.

It will primarily affect the expansion of leave entitlements.

Both mothers and fathers will be guaranteed parental leave time.

In most cases it will amount to 41 weeks, with the non-transferable portion of this leave available for up to 9 weeks for each parent.

Employees will also receive additional days off as part of carer's leave (5 unpaid days).

Member states, including Poland, are also required to ensure that every employee has the right to time off work due to force majeure in urgent family matters (caused by illness or accident), amounting to 2 days.

When an employee makes use of this entitlement, they will retain the right to half of their remuneration.

Work-life balance also includes other aspects; employers will have to, among other things, enable employees who care for a child up to 8 years of age or for relatives/persons living in the same household to make wider use of flexible work arrangements (remote work, reduced working hours, flexible hours).

Implementation of the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions The second EU legal act awaiting implementation into national law is the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions.

In this area too, the draft legislation has already reached the Sejm.

The proposed regulations will require employers, among other things, to state the reason for terminating a fixed-term employment contract and to inform employees about promotion opportunities and vacant positions.

Employees will also need to be given the option to change their employment terms once a year, and in addition they will gain the right to request from the employer a form of employment with more predictable or more secure working conditions.

The new regulations will also unambiguously sanction the situation in which an employee works for more than one employer.

The fact of additional employment will not be able to constitute grounds for terminating the employment contract, nor will it be possible to prohibit the employee from doing so.

In the case of employees subject to special protection, even taking steps to prepare to terminate the contract will be prohibited.

Summary As you can see, 2023 will be full of changes of major significance for both employees and employers.

There are many of them and they are not simple, so it is impossible to describe them all in a single article.

In addition, not all of them have yet come into force.

Stay with us; we will keep you informed about each of them on an ongoing basis, along with the details, so that you know what currently matters in the labor market from a legal perspective.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch!

We will gladly clear up any doubts you may have.

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