Updates archive

Keeping and storing employee documentation is a basic duty of each employer and compliance with it is onerous and costly. In line with legal regulations in force, companies must store documents in hard copy for 50 years from employment termination. This, however, may soon change.

The Polish Ministry of Economic Development posted online a bill on rules for checking criminal records of candidates applying for employment at financial institutions. If enacted, the bill will legalize the vetting process applied by some employers. The bill makes it legal, from January 1, 2018, to ask job candidates to provide certificates of no criminal record concerning a specific group of offences.

Only one employment contract is generally permitted between an employer and an employee for a specific type of work. However, work may be also provided under civil law agreements. As a result, two concurrent legal relationships may be established with the same person: an employment contract and a civil law agreement. How to manage it to avoid an allegation of circumventing the law?

Trial-period employment contracts give employers an opportunity to verify qualifications and suitability of newly-hired employees for their jobs. Such contracts may be signed for a fixed term of up to three months.

Workers tend to be unwilling to undergo medical tests, be it pre-employment, return-to-work or periodic examinations. Are there any effective legal instruments employers could use to discipline uncooperative employees?

Employers planning to introduce additional remuneration components should establish detailed conditions governing their payment. Bonuses, unlike discretionary awards, are claimable. Employees acquire a bonus entitlement once they meet the conditions set out in the employer’s internal regulations.

Although in principle it is against the law to instruct employees to do work on Sundays and statutory holidays, the Polish Labor Code provides for some exceptions. Multinational corporations with service centers or other operations in Poland that provide services for their overseas units, may take advantage of a special legal regulation which permits work on Sundays and statutory holidays.

New employees undergo pre-employment health assessment to confirm their ability to work in the assigned position. Absence of contraindications to performing a specific work is confirmed periodically during medical examinations whose frequency depends on the nature of work. Employers must refer employees for medical examinations and they are required to report for such examinations.

The power of employees depends on the kind of representative body present in the company. As long as employee representatives, works councils, EWCs or trade unions cooperate with employer they may be a constructive partner in carrying on the social dialogue. But representatives may become a problem when they attempt to abuse their powers.

Under Polish law employers cannot verify the criminal records of job candidates unless they are recruiting for positions where the law requires a clean criminal record. This limitation results in a material threat to the interests of consumers using the services of banks and other financial institutions in which Polish employees do not undergo vetting procedures.

A non-compete contract that survives the termination of employment does not automatically transfer in the event of a transfer of the business establishment. This lack of transfer may have serious consequences. 

An employment contract, whether for a trial period, definite or indefinite term, may be terminated with notice both by an employee and an employer. Generally, during the notice period, the employee must work for the employer whereas the employer must pay remuneration for the entire notice period to the employee.

When introducing bonuses as an additional element of remuneration, the entitlement criteria must be specified in detail to mitigate the risk of disputes with employees. 

In recent months, the Polish government and Members of Parliament have drafted a number of labor law amendments that will affect the Polish labor market. Some of the proposed bills are already being considered by the Sejm, while others are still at the stage of inter-ministerial consultations. 

Employers own copyrights to works created by their employees, but this rule does not apply to works created under civil law contracts such as mandate or specific-work contracts.

Employers have the right to check how their employees use the company equipment entrusted to them. Employees, however, need to be notified about the monitoring rules in force in the company. Otherwise, employees may claim that their personal rights have been violated.

Social media are a popular source of information about candidates in recruitment processes. Industry reports show that it is more and more common for Polish employers to look up potential employees on Facebook, LinkedIn or GoldenLine. Are these practices in line with Polish law?