Month: August 2023

The possibility of traveling to Poland from Belarus or Russia may soon be limited or even completely suspended, according to the joint statement of the Ministers of the Interior of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia published after the consultation meeting on August 28, 2023 (the full text of the joint statement is available in Polish on the website of the Ministry of Interior and Administration: here). The same applies to the possibility of traveling from Belarus or Russia to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The ministers of the respective countries have declared their readiness to completely close their border crossings with Belarus and Russia if Belarus and Russia continue to pursue actions described as intentional attempts to destabilize the situation in the region.

The legal instrument that will likely be used to close the Polish borders with Belarus and Russia is the regulation of March 13, 2020 on temporary suspension or limitation of border traffic at certain border crossing points, which remains in force as of today and originally served to limit border traffic in connection with the pandemic covid-19. As regards travels of Russian citizens to Poland, the regulation already imposes certain restrictions as of today.

If the borders are closed, then most likely both land and air border crossings with Poland will be affected. It may be that specific categories of travelers will be exempt from the ban. However, it is unlikely that any measures will be adopted that would prevent travelers from Belarus or Russia from traveling to Poland via another Schengen country.

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In practice, the discussed changes are disadvantageous for the employees. Firstly, they will face higher claims, and, secondly, in case of an unfavourable verdict, they will have to consider whether filing the appeal will be worth paying the court fee. Employers who pursue their claims in labour law cases in the first instance will be exempt from fees as well. But lawsuits against employees, especially for higher sums, are very scarce. – Paweł Sych comments for Business Insider Polska.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

On 22 September 2023, amended provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure will come into force. Protected workers will be guaranteed a more extensive protection against dismissals. This change could act like a tsunami. The information about the possibility of protection will spread quickly and those who will be covered by the new rules will take advantage of them, union activists in particular. We do have arguments on how to stop the automatic application of these provisions and we believe that the courts may agree with them. – Paweł Sych comments for Business Insider Polska.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

Employer’s public statements that question the employee’s ability to perform their job, which objectively do not harm the employee’s dignity do not constitute a violation of employee’s rights if it is the employee who takes the conflict outside the workplace. – Karolina Kanclerz and Łukasz Marzec comment for Rzeczpospolita.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

The Supreme Court draws attention to an important aspect of assessing legitimacy of the amending termination notice, namely, the need to take into account the interests of the employer. Evaluating the change termination notice only through the perspective of employee’s interests in almost every case would deem it unjustified. Omitting this element would result in restricting the employer’s possibility to use solutions that shape the conditions or structure of employment. – Patryk Kozieł comments for Rzeczpospolita.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

Companies are complaining about ambiguities in calculating deadlines for notifications of assignment of work. The system allows them to be registered only up to 14 days back and does not take into account that a holiday may be in this period. The 14-day deadline Is not judicial in nature and in view of this, it expired on August 15, the regulation of Article 57(4) of the Code of Administrative Procedure does not apply in this case. – Karolina Schiffter comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

Although the summer temperatures in Poland are still at least a few degrees short of the records in southern Europe, whenever they exceed 30 degrees, there is a recurring discussion about rearranging working hours, so that employees do not have to work during the hottest time of the day. But is this even possible? Surprisingly, Polish labour regulations do not require any changes, but they are even better suited for the implementation of siesta that in the southern countries. – Slawomir Paruch and Kamil Nazimek comment for Rzeczpospolita.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

Looking after the welfare of the workplace is one of the fundamental duties of an employee. This can be the basis for contacting the employee under specific circumstances if it is necessary for the interest of the company and the lack of communication may cause harm or other adverse consequences. – Robert Stępień comments for Business Insider Polska.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

Employers should properly adjust and individualize the amount of contractual penalties in contracts with their employees. If the court finds that the penalty is excessive, it may be reduced accordingly. However in practice, reduction of contractual penalties in labour cases is rare. It is difficult to prove that a given penalty is excessive (leaving aside extreme situations). – Bartosz Tomanek and Maja Konopa comment for Rzeczpospolita.

The article in Polish is avialible here.

The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Lviv – the only Polish consulate currently providing visa services in Ukraine – allows visa applications to be submitted by post.

However, from Friday, August 18, 2023 according to the announcement published on the consulate’s website (here), only citizens of Ukraine present in the territory of this country may apply for visas by post. Previously, it was possible to send a visa application even from the territory of Poland.

For Ukrainian citizens residing in Poland, this means limiting the possibilities of extending their legal stay in Poland without going abroad. Extending legal stay without leaving territory of Poland remains possible, but in some cases (e.g. citizens of Ukraine with UKR status, but with a purpose of stay other than work or economic activity) it is associated with additional difficulties.