Remote work and sobriety checks in the Labor Code

The government on Tuesday, 24 May, adopted a draft law amending the Labour Code and certain other acts, submitted by the Minister of Family and Social Policy. The government intends to permanently introduce the possibility of remote work into the Labour Code. This is to represent a more flexible form of working compared to the currently existing telework provisions within the Code. The aim of the solution is to improve employment opportunities for people in particularly challenging situations in the labour market, including parents of young children and single parents. Furthermore, the draft provides employers with the right to introduce sobriety checks or tests for substances acting similarly to alcohol, where necessary to ensure the protection of the life and health of employees or others, or to safeguard property.

“Remote work, which has today been adopted by the Council of Ministers and will be incorporated into the Labour Code, primarily means organising the regulations. It will be possible to reach an agreement between the employer and the employee. This agreement may be concluded at the outset, when entering into the employment contract, but also at any later stage,” stated Marlena Małąg, Minister of Family and Social Policy, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.

Main provisions regarding remote work:

• The Labour Code will introduce a definition of remote work, understood as performing work wholly or partly at a place indicated by the employee and agreed with the employer each time, including the employee’s home address, particularly utilising means of direct remote communication.
• The introduction of remote work is expected to improve employment opportunities for people in particularly challenging situations on the labour market, including parents of young children and single parents. This solution is intended to facilitate balancing family and professional responsibilities, as well as securing stable employment for working parents belonging to groups with lower labour market activity rates.
• Employers will be obliged to consider requests for remote work submitted by pregnant employees and employees caring for a child up to the age of 4 (unless this is impossible due to work organisation or the type of work performed, e.g. uniformed services). This also applies to:
  • employees caring for another close family member or other person living in the same household, who hold a disability certificate or a certificate of significant disability,
  • employees who are parents of a child with a certificate of severe and irreversible impairment or an incurable life-threatening illness, arising in the prenatal development period or at birth,
  • employees who are parents of a child with a disability certificate or a certificate of moderate or significant disability,
  • employees who are parents of a child with an opinion on special educational needs.

Main provisions regarding sobriety and substance testing of employees:

• Employers will be permitted to introduce sobriety checks or tests for substances acting similarly to alcohol.
• Such checks will be allowed when necessary to ensure the protection of the life and health of employees or others, or to protect property.
• Employers will be obliged to prevent employees from working if the presence of alcohol or substances acting similarly to alcohol is detected in their system. This also applies when there is a justified suspicion that an employee reported for work intoxicated, under the influence of alcohol or similar substances, or consumed these substances during work hours.
• The sobriety and substance presence tests may also be conducted by the police.

The authors of the draft expect that the new provisions will reduce the number of cases where employees perform assigned duties under the influence of substances or agents adversely affecting their psychophysical fitness. This is intended to positively impact the safety of employees, others, and the protection of property.