articles - Labour and employment law

GDPR rules require certain entities to appoint a Data Protection Officer. Where an organisation considers that such an obligation does not apply to it, it should properly document this.

Many employers believe that they have the right to require their employees to provide information on their disability. This is because employers have an obligation to ensure that employees with disabilities can exercise particular privileges. The Personal Data Protection Office ('PDPO') examined this issue in its position paper published on 24 August 2020, where it reminded that it is up to the employee to decide whether or not to provide such information.

In its paper published on 30 June 2020, the Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) expressed the view that the data of management board members representing a legal person are protected by the GDPR as the data of natural persons who are identifiable by using data disclosed in the National Court Register.

According to the Personal Data Protection Authority (“DPA”), employers may not process employees' biometric data to record working time. However, this does not mean that employers may not use such data for other purposes.

The dangers caused by COVID-19 result in many employers unilaterally introducing measures to protect their employees from falling ill with the virus. For example, they measure their temperature before they enter the workplace or ask them to complete declarations stating where (in which country) and with whom they spent their holidays. As a result, a number of personal data is collected, including special categories of personal data (concerning health). An extraordinary situation, however, does not entitle employers to take completely arbitrary action.

Almost two years have passed since the GDPR came into being and yet many employers are still unaware that special regulations were introduced to the Workplace Social Benefits Fund Act which impose on them numerous obligations related to the processing of personal data for the purposes of granting benefits from the Workplace Social Benefits Fund (Zakładowy Fundusz Świadczeń Socjalnych, ZFŚS).