employment | In Principle

The President of Poland signed a law establishing 12 November 2018 a public holiday. It has only a few articles and deals with an individual case, and yet it gives rise to a discussion as whether 12 November 2018 is covered by trade restrictions. Despite an opposite position of the National Labour Inspectorate and the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, it seems that shops may be opened if retail staff is employed on the basis of civil law contracts, works in shifts or there are other exceptions to the work ban on non-working days as specified in Art. 151[10] of the Labour Code.

On 3 October 2018 Poland filed a complaint with the Court of Justice against the amended Posted Workers Directive (2018/957/EU).

Intensive developments in modern technologies and increasing globalisation are affecting all areas of life, including that of work. This is work meant in broad terms, not only in terms of its performance, but also recruitment and the mutual relations of employers and employees. Where is this all leading us?

Both employers employing staff in Poland at Polish branches, representative offices or affiliated companies and employers employing staff in Poland without any legal presence here may become a party to employment-related litigation, namely a lawsuit brought by an employee or ex-employee before a Polish court.

An accident on the job generates a range of legal consequences. One of the most serious is the potential for the individual at the employer responsible for occupational health and safety to be held criminally liable.

Hiring employees according to a task-based working system when there are no grounds for applying a system of that kind, and where the level of tasks required of an employee is not properly selected, could prove costly for an employer in the event of a dispute.

Today (24 May 2018) is the last day for adjusting business operations to comply with the new requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party takes the view that under the GDPR, practically all employers must maintain a record of processing activities with respect to their employees’ data.

Employers must deal with the consequences of group layoffs long after carrying them out. Their freedom to hire new workers in the future is limited, as they must first rehire staff terminated in the group layoff.

Once the Unfair Competition Act is amended, will a nondisclosure obligation have to be provided for explicitly in an employment contract when an employee leaves?

Protection of confidential information is not absolute and is subject to limitations, for instance where there is a public interest. Subject to certain conditions, a person who has a nondisclosure obligation may lawfully use the entrusted information despite the confidentiality obligation. At the moment there is no all-embracing regulation on this issue, but this may change soon.

Following the July 2016 amendment to the Public Procurement Law, contracting authorities must indicate which activities during performance of a public contract fall within the definition of an employment relationship under Labour Code Art. 22 §1. They must also require contractors to hire persons performing those activities on the basis of an employment contract and verify that the contractors are in compliance with this obligation.

There is no legal regulation guaranteeing even minimal compensation for refraining from competitive activity after working under a non-employment contract, but such a ban may be found to be contrary to public policy.