Karolina Schiffter earns recognition in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders Global Elite 2024 for her expertise in Corporate Immigration!
This prestigious award honours the world’s most outstanding legal practitioners, not only for their vast knowledge and experience in tackling complex legal issues but also for their innovative approach to client service.
More information: here.
Many entrepreneurs are facing unexpected demands to return the financial support they received during the pandemic. This situation stems from misinterpretations of the regulations by labour offices and their failure to acknowledge existing court rulings. This adds to a growing pattern of officials undermining trust in public administration and disregarding the rule of law. As a consequence, entrepreneurs who made significant effort to preserve jobs during the pandemic, now face a renewed struggle to avoid financial losses. – Paweł Sych and Patryk Koziel comment for Rzeczpospolita.
Full article in Polish avialible: here.
A recent court case shed light on an alternative approach to seeking compensation for unequal treatment in the workplace. The plaintiff sought compensation for discrimination but also presented an alternative claim based on the violation of the equal treatment in employment principle (Article 11[2] of the Labour Code) concerning equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.
The court of first instance sided partially with the plaintiff, awarding compensation for the breach of the equal treatment principle. This court decision clarifies an important point for employee rights. Employees can now seek compensation for unequal treatment under Article 18[3d] of the Labour Code. This provision permits claiming compensation not only for financial losses but also for non-material damages, exceeding what is typically owed under the employment contract. – Mariusz Maksis comments for Rzeczpospolita.
Full article in Polish avialible: here.
In recent years, EU authorities have been highly active in regulating further employment law issues. The fate of the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the Council on improving working conditions through online platforms (Platform Directive) is currently being discussed in Brussels. The proposal for a directive primarily aims to clarify the statute of platform workers and introduce provisions on the use of algorithmic systems in the workplace. Currently, the majority of platform workers have self-employed status. It is estimated that by 2025, around 43 million people will be working via digital platforms in the EU. According to the project authors, a large group of these people may qualify as employees and the current regulations are not sufficient. – Bartosz Wszeborowski and Krzysztof Iwaniuk comment for Contact Online magazine.
Article here.
The pandemic highlighted an important issue – lack of regulations governing all aspects of this form of work performance. Both the telework regulations in force at the time and the regulations contained in the Special Covid Law were unable to meet the needs and expectations of the parties to the employment relationship. The regulations on telework turned out to be too rigid and outdated – they did not reflect reality.Due to the continuing epidemic situation and the increasingly louder demands of employers and employees, the legislator decided to abandon the existing regulations regarding telework and adopt new regulations enabling remote work. Although at first glance it might seem that the new remote work regulation is comprehensive, reality has verified it over the past year. In this case too, employers should carefully consider the decision to work remotely before agreeing to it. – Bartosz Wszeborowski, Michalina Lewandowska-Alama and Aleksandra Bruchajzer comment for Contact Online magazine.
Article here.
On March 6, 2024, a new draft act on whistleblowers’ protection appeared (Polish version is available here). The draft introduces significant changes compared to previous versions. What has changed?
1. Who must implement the new regulations?
The procedure will be mandatory for all entrepreneurs employing at least 50 people as of January 1 or July 1 of a given year.
This number includes regular employees (as FTEs), as well as persons providing work for remuneration on a basis other than an employment relationship (i.e., e.g. contract for the provision of services, contract of mandate, contract for a specific work), if they do not employ subcontractors.
2. Changes in the catalog of violations
The categories of violations of law indicated so far have been expanded to include actions or omissions regarding also:
a) labor law;
b) human and citizen freedoms and rights;
c) human trafficking;
d) corruption.
This will have a significant impact on other internal regulations applicable at a given entrepreneur, e.g. anti-mobbing or anti-corruption procedures.
3. Statutory minimum amount of compensation for a whistleblower
A whistleblower against whom retaliatory actions have been committed will be entitled to a statutory compensation in an amount not lower than 12-times the average monthly salary in the national economy in the previous year. In 2024 it will be nearly PLN 86,000 (approx. EUR 20,000 / USD 22,000).
In addition to this compensation, the whistleblower will also be able to apply for payment for damages (uncapped).
4. Changing the name of the Act and those reporting violations of the law
Previous statutory term for whistleblowers “those reporting violations of the law” has been changed to “whistleblowers”. Therefore, the title of the act that is to implement the directive on the protection of persons reporting violations of EU law has been changed – from the Act on the protection of persons reporting violations of law to the Act on the protection of whistleblowers.
5. When will the regulations come into force?
The period until entry into force of the Act has been extended from 1 month to 3 months from the date of announcement, with the exception of external notifications (i.e. notifications to the Ombudsman), which will enter into force after 6 months from the date of announcement.
The draft act will be proceed urgently, i.e. without public consultations. This means that the law can be implemented very quickly. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Today, we often work in complex global organisational structures, where the boundaries between traditional employer-employee relations are blurred. Labour law is not keeping up with these dynamic changes, often resulting in conflicts between common practice and the regulations. Matrix employment structures are an example of an issue that should be recognised and incorporated into the legislation to minimise risks arising from the new three-party employment relations. – Sławomir Paruch and Michał Włodarczyk comment for Rzeczpospolita.
Full article in Polish avialible: here.
In February 2024, Poland’s government revealed that it is working on a comprehensive migration strategy for the years 2025-2030, advertised as a “responsible and safe” approach. The Ministry of Interior and Administration plans to spend the first half of 2024 conducting consultations to learn the preferences and expectations on migration and foreigners’ employment. This constitutes an opportunity for the key market players to voice their concerns with Poland’s current approach to workforce migration, which, while allowing employers to engage many international workers (Ukrainians in particular) easily and quickly, remains reactive, unpredictable and, in some cases, does not allow for advance job-structure planning. The new strategy is expected to result in a complete overhaul of the country’s legislation on foreigners, expected to enter into force mid-2025. – Sławomir Paruch, Marcin Sanetra, and Bartosz Tomanek.
Read here.