Employers are not obliged to take every conceivable protection measure against coronavirus. Adequate safeguards for health care facilities, production plants and offices will inevitably vary.
Karolina Kanclerz comments for Rzeczpospolita.
Article: here.
Starting from October 28, 2020 direct flights to Poland remain banned in case of 32 countries.
Poland has decided to not include any EU or EEA country in the ban list regardless of pandemic situation in these countries. Similar exemption was made for Ukraine and Russia.
Full list of the 32 banned countries is presented below:
Charter flights from the banned countries that were chartered by travel companies before October 28, 2020, will still be able to make direct flights to Poland.
Any country from the ban list will be able to resume flights to Poland as long as it officially notifies Poland that it guarantees to only allow passengers with a negative result of a COVID test to board the plane. To the moment only United Arab Emirates and Qatar have submitted such official notification and were removed from ban list.
Passengers of direct flights to Poland remain exempt from obligatory post-entry quarantine in Poland (except travelers of direct flights from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine – post-entry quarantine obligation applies for these countries).
Restrictions on categories of foreigners eligible to enter Poland remain applicable in case of incoming travels from outside of the European Union (subject to numerous exceptions).
The list of countries banned from direct flights to Poland is planned to remain in force until November 10, 2020. We expect that a new list will be published on the same date.
Polish government has also modified safety measures that may impact persons relocating to Poland. The below changes are effective from October 24, 2020:
Strike. Despite its name, Wednesday’s protest action is not a strike. A strike consists in employees collectively refraining from performing the work in order to resolve a dispute with an employer concerning working conditions, wages or social benefits and trade union rights and freedoms. Wednesday’s protest is civic in nature and concerns constitutional rights and freedoms. For these reasons, participants in the protest do not exercise their right to abstain from work.
Holiday leave. The purpose of holiday leave is, ex definitione, to rest from work and regenerate. Participation in a protest does not meet these requirements. When deciding to take leave in order to avoid negative consequences, it is worth telling the employer about the purpose of taking leave – an employer who, knowing the context, agrees to grant leave, will lose the opportunity to question its use. This also applies to leave on demand. It is worth remembering that in the latter case, it is not enough to apply for it – it is necessary to make sure that the employer will grant it (he has an obligation, but knowing that the purpose is incompatible with its purpose, he may refuse).
Unpaid leave. This restriction does not apply to unpaid leave. If your employer agrees to grant it upon request, you do not have to consider whether or not to inform your employer about the purpose of the request.
Release from the duty to work in order to handle personal matters. You can apply release from the duty to work for the purpose of personal matters. The nature of the protests that have been commented on suggests the appropriateness of using this very mechanism. Such release can cover a whole day or several hours. It must be worked over.
Exemption from the obligation to work. An employer can agree to dismiss an employee from performing their duties, both with and without the right to remuneration.
Sick leave. You may be tempted to take sick leave. This is all the more so because, due to the prevailing pandemic, sick leave is granted by telephone. We do not comment on resorting to them. We advise against it.
Conclusion. The most appropriate to the situation are exemptions from the obligation to work, release for personal matters or granting of unpaid leave or holiday leave when the purpose of its use is known to the employer. It is always important to observe the regulations.
Employees unfairly dismissed just before the effective date of employment termination by agreement are not entitled to the full flat-rate compensation if only a daily rate of pay was lost. – Łukasz Chruściel, comments for Rzeczpospolita.
Article here.
Employers who conceal information about a confirmed COVID-19 case in the workplace and fail to undertake additional protective measures may face not only civil but also criminal liability. – Karolina Kanclerz, comments for Rzeczpospolita.
Article here.
The market offers more and more tools to indetify infected people faster. However, before we make decision, it is worth considering whether their use is acceptable. – Paweł Sych comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Article here.
Are employers liable if employees become infected at work? What consequences are in store for employees who led their employer to believe they are in quarantine or isolation? – Karolina Kanclerz, attorney at law, comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Article: here.
The situation in the job market is deteriorating, with the so-called covid job losses on the rise. Can employers dismiss employees by SMS or e-mail? Can employees refuse to accept a notice of termination? – Karolina Kanclerz makes a guest expert appearance on the ‘Pytanie na Śniadanie’ show.
Link: here.
Employers are increasingly focusing on building and developing value-based businesses.
It shows that they are aware of the fact that being socially conscious not only has a significant impact on their company image but also gives economic benefits. The values upheld by a company may, in particular, be related to its activity profile – for example companies offering environmental solutions or products that will actively promote the idea of caring for the environment in the marketplace and among their employees. Also their universal values and attitudes should be evident. For example, international corporations build their image based on the development of a work environment that embraces multiculturalism and employee diversity in terms of their gender, religion or sexual orientation.
Promoting certain values in an effective and genuine manner requires commitment and understanding on the employees part, as well as consistency and accountability in everyday decision-making by these employees. Companies should not just pay lip-service but live and breathe their values every day. – Bartosz Wszeborowski and Michał Bodziony for Contact Online issued by the British Polish Chamber of Commerce (BPCC).
Article here.
There is a cause for immediate termination of employees sending business correspondence to a private Mailbox. There is no uniform position regarding the use of these e-mails in the litigation. – Sławomir Paruch and Bartosz Wszeborowski comment for Rzeczpospolita.
Articel: here.