Labour law 2022/2023 – new duties and prohibitions concerning posted workers

Amendment to the Labour Code

The recent months and the beginning of next year mark a period of intensive amendments to key labour law provisions, including those concerning posted workers. The changes are linked to the implementation process of Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union (OJ L No 186, 11.07.2019, p. 105) into the Polish legal system. The Directive’s overall aim is to promote safer and more predictable employment, while also ensuring labour market adaptability and improving living and working conditions within the European Union.

Posted Workers Regulations 2022/2023

Amendments to the Labour Code from August 2022 introduced significant changes regarding posted workers. These mainly relate to new information obligations and protective provisions concerning the posting of employees who are parents of minor children.
According to the provision set out in Article 29 (1) § 2 of the Labour Code, effective from 1 August 2022, before an employee departs to work or perform a business task in a country that is a member of the European Union or a country outside the European Union for a period exceeding four consecutive weeks, the employer is obliged to provide the employee, in addition to previously mentioned information, with information in paper or electronic form regarding:

1. the country or countries in which the work or business task abroad will be carried out;
2. the anticipated duration of such work or business task;
3. the currency in which the employee’s remuneration will be paid during the period of performing the work or business task abroad;
4. any monetary or in-kind benefits connected with performing the work or business task abroad, where such benefits are provided by labour law provisions, regulations, statutes, collective labour agreements, or other collective arrangements, unless otherwise specified in the employment contract;
5. whether the employee’s return to the home country is guaranteed or not;
6. the conditions of the employee’s return to the home country – in the event that such return is guaranteed.

Notifying the employee about the currency in which remuneration will be paid during work or the business task abroad, as well as any changes to this condition, may be done by referring in paper or electronic form to the relevant labour law provisions, pursuant to Article 29(1) § 3 of the Labour Code.

Amendment to the Labour Code Concerning Parents of Children up to 8 Years Old

Under the August amendment to the Labour Code, the age of the child (previously 4 years) has been extended to 8 years, thus lengthening the period during which an employer may not, without the employee’s consent, require the employee to work overtime, during night hours, in a split-shift system, or post them outside their usual workplace. It is worth noting that parents of children up to 8 years old have been entitled to this right from the date the amendment entered into force (i.e., from 1 August). This provision stems from Article 178 § 2 of the Labour Code.
 

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The lawyers at ATL Law provide employers with comprehensive legal assistance in all areas related to human resource management and labour law. We also advise businesses on matters related to the international mobility of employees, including tax and social security issues. We support companies in completing formalities connected with posting employees abroad, both to EU countries and outside the European Union, relocations, as well as work performed by posted employees within Poland. We invite you to explore our service offerings both in the area of labour law and specifically employee mobility.