Five Changes in Polish Labor Law for 2023

The changes concern a number of important areas, such as

the previously unavailable option to test employees for alcohol consumption, or the introduction of comprehensive regulations on remote work.

What challenges will employers in Poland have to face?

Will the changes benefit employees? 1.

Higher minimum wage As of January 1

of this year, the minimum wage was raised to PLN 3,490 (gross).

But the increase does not stop there: the next one will already take place on July 1,

when the minimum wage is set to rise to PLN 3,600.

That is more than originally expected.

This means that a minimum wage earner will receive more than PLN 2,700 transferred to their bank account (the net amount, however, always depends on the personal and individual situation of each employee!).

The level of the minimum wage also carries over to the level of the minimum hourly wage, which amounts to PLN 22.80 (gross) and will be raised in July to PLN 23.50 per hour. 2.

Sobriety checks The previous legislation did not provide a clear and secure legal basis for employers to carry out sobriety checks on employees or to verify whether they are under the influence of intoxicating substances.

Now employers are granted this option, provided that such checks are necessary to ensure the protection of the life and health of employees or the protection of property. By the way: you can test not only your employees, but also other workers who collaborate with you on the basis of other civil law agreements (e.g.

contractors, B2B contract partners)!

The conditions for sobriety checks must be set out in workplace regulations (or in an official notice, if the employer is not required to introduce workplace regulations).

Sobriety checks may only be carried out if they do not violate the dignity and other personal rights of employees.

Employers must use a method that does not require a laboratory test, e.g.

the use of a device that has a valid calibration.

The new provisions also set out a legal basis for the processing of personal data (e.g.

the date and exact time of the inspection and its result) as well as retention periods (in principle one year after the data was collected).

The provisions came into force on February 21.

They entered into force in February. 3.

Remote Work The new provisions regulating remote work will completely replace the previously functioning concept of "teleworking," which was actually never very widespread.

The new provisions represent a mix of the sparse rules introduced during the pandemic and the earlier teleworking regulations.

They completely revolutionize the legal status quo.

Under the new law, the transition to remote work will be possible either through a unilateral order by the employer or through a mutual agreement between the employer and the employee.

The latter can take place either when the employment contract is concluded or later in the course of the employment relationship.

In addition, employees will have the option of making use of spontaneous, "occasional" remote work.

Since both the employer and the employee must agree on the location of the remote work, neither party can impose it on the other.

That aside, the employer can only order remote work if the employee declares that they have access to facilities (premises) and technical capabilities that enable this way of working.

The new provisions describe situations in which the employer is obliged to allow their employees to work remotely, e.g.

at the request of a pregnant employee or an employee raising a child up to the age of four.

A refusal is only possible if remote work is objectively not feasible due to the nature of the tasks to be performed.

In addition, a previously unknown concept of "occasional remote work" is introduced, under which an employee is entitled to work remotely a maximum of 24 days per calendar year.

This type of work is intended to cover the occasional needs of the employee.

Only the employee can take the initiative to make use of this form of remote work.

Since this is a spontaneous form of work, the employer does not have to regulate it in internal rules or in the employment contract.

In addition, the employer is not obliged to bear additional costs to enable this occasional remote work.

At the same time, the new legal provisions bring new obligations for employers, such as: the need to implement remote work principles (in the workplace regulations, in an individual instruction from the employer, or in an individual contract), which include principles for performance monitoring, health and safety, and covering the costs associated with remote work; the provision of the necessary materials and tools for the employee as well as their maintenance; the granting of training and technical support to the employee; the drafting or updating of data protection policies; the carrying out of a workplace risk assessment; the drafting of rules for the proper organization of the remote workplace.

The new provisions on remote work enter into force on April 7.

They come into force in April. 4.

Implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive The directive on work-life balance for parents and carers (Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council) has long been awaiting implementation in the Polish legal system.

The bill has already been signed by the President and will soon enter into force.

It aims primarily to expand leave entitlements.

Both mothers and fathers are guaranteed parental leave, in most cases 41 weeks, with a non-transferable portion of this leave of up to nine weeks provided for each parent.

In addition, employees receive extra days off as part of their carers' leave (5 unpaid days).

Member States, including Poland, are also obliged to ensure that every employee is entitled to time off work on grounds of force majeure for urgent family reasons (e.g.

in the event of illness or accident), to the extent of 2 days.

If an employee makes use of this, they remain entitled to half of their wages.

Work-life balance has further aspects: among other things, employers must enable employees who care for a child up to the age of 8, or for relatives/persons living in the same household, to make greater use of flexible working arrangements (remote work, reduced working hours, flexible working hours). 5.

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 (Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council).

Here too, the bill has already been signed by the President and will soon enter into force.

The bill will require employers, among other things, to state the reasons for terminating fixed-term employment contracts and to inform employees about promotion opportunities and internal job vacancies.

Employees must also be given the opportunity to change their employment conditions once a year, and they will acquire the right to request that the employer transition them from their current form of employment to a predictable form or to one with more secure working conditions.

The new provisions also explicitly regulate the case of multiple employment.

The fact of additional employment cannot constitute grounds for terminating the employment contract, and employees may not be disadvantaged because of it.

For employees under special protection, even the mere attempt to prepare a dismissal is also prohibited. 6.

Summary As you can see, the year 2023 will bring many important changes for both employees and employers.

Not all of them have yet entered into force, and we will have to wait and see how they develop in practice.

Since they are not simple, it is impossible to describe them all in detail in a single article.

But stay tuned!

We will keep you up to date.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at any time for further information!

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