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Employment contract conversion: will the employee cover back contributions?

Transforming a contract based on the Civil Code into an employment contract can have significant financial implications for both the employer and the employee. Typically, if a company engaged someone as an independent contractor under working conditions resembling employment and is subsequently required to pay outstanding social security contributions and taxes, these costs cannot be recovered from the employee. However, the situation is entirely different when the employee insists on a contractor agreement rather than employment due to potential financial advantages. – Michał Włodarczyk and Mateusz Krajewski comment for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

Court clarifies: minor tasks during sick leave may not jeopardize sick pay

It is widely understood that employees on sick leave should refrain from working, regardless of their work arrangement (remote, office-based, or hybrid). However, courts generally agree that brief work activities necessitated by circumstances during sick leave should not automatically disqualify an employee from receiving sick pay. – Karolina Kanclerz comments for Rzeczpospolita.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

Workforce restructuring: how to communicate changes

Effective internal communication during organizational restructuring hinges on the specific nature of the changes. If the plan involves restructuring without redundancies – such as expanding certain departments or shifting employee competencies – open communication is crucial to ensuring the company’s development vision aligns with the aspirations of its employees. However, the communication strategy must be entirely different if downsizing is planned. A significant concern for many organizations is preventing a surge in stress and sick leave following such announcements. – Kinga Ciosk explains in an interview with the Polish Association of Listed Companies.

The interview is available here.

Pay transparency to drive women’s salary growth

Significant changes are on the horizon regarding pay structures and amounts. Upcoming legislation will introduce a somewhat ambiguous yet crucial requirement: comparing the compensation of individuals in similar roles or performing work of equal value. Beyond the complexities of benchmarking, employers must also prepare for potential pay increases and factor these into their budget planning for the coming year. – Sławomir Paruch, Oskar Kwiatkowski and Maurycy Oroń comment for Rzeczpospolita.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

Seminar: New generation, old problem: Gen Z vs workplace bullying

We are pleased to invite you to participate in our English-only seminar: New generation, old problem: Gen Z vs workplace bullying , organized by AmCham with PCS law firm and PepsiCo experts.

At the event, our expert lawyers and managers will discuss, in a workshop setting, the practical aspects of the issue, including:

  • How do Gen Z perceive bullying in the workplace?
  • Whether the legal and market environment is shifting too, and why?
  • How should modern employers in Poland prevent bullying and other unwanted workplace behaviors?
  • How do Gen Z change workplace dynamics, and are existing bullying countermeasures relevant for Gen Z and modern teams?

Date: 20 May 2025, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., hybrid formula (at Kraków or online).
Speakers: Robert Stępień, Marcin Sanetra.

We encourage active participation from HR practitioners and strategists.

Registration: here.

Poland: company’s foreign income generally exempt from health insurance contributions

I believe the court was correct in challenging the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)’s position on health insurance contributions, given its simplistic nature and weak legal foundation. Insurance regulations should not be subject to broad interpretation. The court correctly determined that despite certain similarities between the structure of an American LLC and a Polish partnership, an LLC does not fall under the category of entities whose partners must pay social insurance contributions. Therefore, in this specific case, it could not be treated as economic activity carried out in Poland. – Karolina Schiffter comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

Court: equal pay consideration for nurses and paramedics

A recent ruling by the Regional Court in Lublin has cast a new light on the issue of equal pay for nurses and paramedics. The court found that the scope of duties for both professions is fundamentally the same, and minor variations in tasks are not considered crucial. While emphasizing that each case requires individual assessment, the ruling underscores that pay disparities do not automatically constitute discrimination or a breach of equality principles. Employers retain the right to differentiate pay, but such differences must be substantial, objectively justified, and transparent. – Karolina Schiffter comments for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

A new take on bullying: revolution or just a facelift?

On 20th January this year, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy released draft amendments to the regulations on workplace bullying, primarily focusing on redefining it. The proposed changes describe workplace bullying as persistent harassment of an employee, encompassing physical, verbal, or non-verbal actions. A key development in regulations is that employers will be legally required to actively and consistently address workplace bullying. This demands a comprehensive approach: implementing preventive measures, detecting and appropriately addressing incidents, and providing thorough corrective action and support for individuals affected. Significantly, the understanding of workplace bullying will shift to include unintentional acts. Furthermore, the legal framework concerning liability for workplace bullying was also updated. – Paweł Sych and Zuzanna Janelli comment for HR na Szpilkach magazine.

Article avialible here.

Ignoring the mail will not stop dismissal – key court ruling

An employee cannot avoid the legal consequences of termination or dismissal by intentionally refusing to accept mail. Employers can rely on the Supreme Court’s current and consistent line of rulings which state that a letter is considered delivered when the recipient has a realistic opportunity to access its contents, regardless of whether they actually read it. Kinga Polewka-Włoch comments for Rzeczpospolita.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

Court: Polish Social Insurance Institution cannot review non-domestic social security decisions

Under the coordination procedure, the authority competent to contest the legitimacy of the Polish Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)’s decision provisionally establishing applicable social security law is the corresponding insurance institution in the other country. This point is essential to consider when evaluating the possibility of challenging a ZUS decision in this area. As common courts in Poland are not authorised to review decisions of this nature, any concerns regarding such a decision should be raised with the relevant non-domestic authority. If that insurance institution confirms or challenges ZUS’s initial determination, then ZUS is bound by that outcome and cannot appeal it. – Kinga Polewka-Włoch comments for Rzeczpospolita.

Full article in Polish avialible here.

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