Month: June 2022

Children of foreigners who are minors can work in Poland. However, when employing them, the company must fulfil requirements related to legal employment of foreigners (resulting from immigration regulations), and comply with rules of employment of minors, which are provided in the Labor Code – Marcin Snarski comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Article: here. 

We invite you to read the article about PCS | Littler, published in the ranking issue of Rzeczpospolita.

Article is available: here. 

 

PCS | Littler – first choice HR law firm

In 2 years, a company described as first choice HR law firm was created.

The numbers are really impressive – a team of over 110 people (lawyers, global mobility & immigration team, administration), 6 offices in Poland, a 3-fold growth in 2 years. Increase of employment in the last year of approx. 65%. Part of the world’s largest labor law firm, Littler.

But the statistics are not what’s most important.

Partners of PCS | Littler created the largest community of HR and immigration law enthusiasts in Poland. The company’s LinkedIn profile is followed by over 8,000. industry experts. The profile of the managing partner Sławomir Paruch, attorney-at law, attracts the attention of 30,000 people, and Łukasz Chruściel, attorney-at law, has over 20,000 followers. Sławomir Paruch is the most followed lawyer in the Polish media community, not only in the HR law industry. He sets trends on the market.

The group of senior partners and partners of PCS | Littler is growing. In 2022, Robert Stępień, attorney-at law, head of the Relationships with Trade Unions Team and head of Krakow Office became one of the senior name partners. Karolina Kanclerz, attorney-at law, head of the Wrocław office joined the group of senior partners. Miłosz Awedyk, attorney-at law, Tomasz Rogala, attorney-at law, and Paweł Sych, attorney-at law all became partners. There is an opinion among lawyers on the market that PCS | Littler is a springboard to success and understanding of the legal market.

PCS | Littler is appreciated for pro bono initiatives in Poland and worldwide

PCS | Littler’s motto from the beginning of its existence is: Human Matters. Nowadays, above all, it obliges to help those in need.

Since its foundation, PCS | Littler has shared experience freely. The firm was awarded for the website devoted to legal advice during the pandemic and for the newsletter on the pandemic. Almost every day, PCS | Littler organized online meetings, which gathered several dozen to several hundred people looking for help in the field of HR management. Last year, there were almost 150 meetings.

For the last few months the firm is focused on pro bono work for refugees from Ukraine as part of the initiative “How to help Ukraine”. PCS | Littler Team under the supervision of advocate Karolina Schiffter provides free legal advice. They have helped over 700 people, published many articles and alerts, and organized several free online meetings. Many members of the office’s immigration team are involved in pro bono assistance for refugees from Ukraine.

With the message of helping Ukraine, Karolina Schiffter and Sławomir Paruch reached the USA, where in May this year they gave a speech at the Executive Employer Conference 2022 in front of nearly a thousand esteemed guests – lawyers and managers of the largest American companies. The speech was widely echoed in Poland and the USA and brought substantial help to those in need.

What are the plans for the next year and what’s next with the development strategy of PCS | Littler?

The partners primarily want to strengthen the position of PCS | Littler as a first choice law firm and show clients that cooperation with PCS | Littler is an investment. An investment that translates directly into financial results, which are related to competitive advantage due to constructive legal advice.

This week, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have reached agreement on the Directive aimed to reduce the gender imbalance in corporate boards. It has finally come to fruition 10 years after it was proposed by the European Commission. The legislation is expected to come into force in 2026.

Here are the key points of the proposed Directive:

1. Only listed companies (public companies) in the European Union will have to implement the solutions set out in the Directive.
2. The Directive establishes sets out 40% quota for the underrepresented gender among non-executive directors (non-executive boards, which in Polish companies would be supervisory boards) or 33% quota for all board director roles. Each Member State can decide on one of these option.
3. Companies must ensure that the procedures for appointing board members are clear and transparent and that candidates are assessed objectively based on their individual achievements and regardless of gender.
4. Those companies that fail to reach the quota will have to prioritise the underrepresented gender in the recruitment process if two candidates of different genders have the same qualifications.
5. Companies will have to disclose their selection criteria if requested by a rejected candidate.
6. Moreover, companies will be required to prove that the principles of gender balance have not been breached if alleged that the rejected candidate of the underrepresented gender had the same qualifications.
7. Sanctions imposed by Member States on companies that fail to comply with these obligations must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. They may include fines and the annulment of the appointment or removal of the challenged director.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Although this is not explicitly stated in the legislation, such a conclusion may be drawn from an analogous provision concerning a board member. Similar applies to a works council. – Łukasz Chruściel, attorney at law, comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Article: here. 

I employ citizens of Ukraine under the provisions of the Act on help for Ukraine due to the armed conflict on its territory. I have sent the appropriate notifications to the labor office. Am I allowed to delegate them to work abroad, for example for a few weeks on an order from a client in Portugal? – Kinga Polewka-Włoch and Zofia Pawelec comment for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Article: here. 

In order to meet the needs of employees, companies often allow them to work remotely from abroad. However, before agreeing to this form of work, employers should remember to adequately protect their interests and minimize potential risks. Otherwise, they may be facing fines ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of euros. – King Polewka-Włoch and Kinga Ciosk comment for IT-Leaders.

Article: here.

Trade union protection cannot serve solely to prevent the employer from justifiably terminating the employment contract when such justifiability concerns the employee’s actions, without any connection to the performance of trade union tasks. The purpose of protecting an activist’s employment relationship is, above all, to guarantee the activist’s independence in carrying out their functions. – Kinga Polewka-Włoch comments for Rzeczpospolita.

Article available here.

In Poland, still only a small percentage of people with disabilities is occupationally active. Although employing them may appear challenging, it is worth remembering that it is associated with many objective and measurable advantages – not only financial ones. – Kinga Polewka-Włoch and Kinga Krzysztofik comment for HR Business Partner magazine.

Article: here.