articles: varia
In recent years, numerous discussions on the limits of freedom of expression in the workplace have been a popular topic of discussion in public forums. There have also been high-profile legal disputes based on conflicts between the value systems promoted by employers and the personal beliefs of employees. Current events in the international arena, particularly the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the operations of the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip, have opened up another potential area of friction in the employment relationship. In this context, the question is whether an employee's opposition to military action can justify refusing to carry out work orders (for example, when dealing with clients from countries involved in military operations).
An employee's return to work following an extended period of parental leave presents significant challenges for both the employee and the employer. The Labour Code affords returning employees protection and grants them additional rights designed to facilitate a seamless transition back to the workplace, thereby imposing a range of corresponding obligations on employers.
In recent years, employers have increasingly made diversity & inclusion (D&I) a part of their HR strategy. Recent changes in the social and political climate might suggest that D&I is losing relevance. Nonetheless, it is important to remember that employment legislation itself plays a significant role in building an inclusive and diverse work environment. Indeed, D&I is not just the domain of soft HR actions: its pillars are embedded in the provisions of the Labour Code.
Mediation is one of the ways of amicably resolving disputes, including labour law disputes. In practice, mediation is generally carried out in all types of labour disputes, in particular in cases concerning employment contract termination, payment of bonuses or other employment dues, bullying or sexual harassment.
The law protects employees who are absent due to illness from dismissal, if they return to work before the end of the period set down in law. Only a sufficiently long and, in principle, uninterrupted absence due to sickness allows the employer to terminate the contract immediately with an employee who is unfit to work. As a result, situations arise, in practice, in which employees take sick leave “on and off”, interrupting long periods of absence by returning for a few days to work. On the one hand, this is supposed to guarantee further protection against dismissal while, on the other, to ensure that the benefit for being unable to work is received for as long as possible. Nevertheless, it turns out that this strategy will not always prevent the employer from letting the employee go.
Infertility treatment using the in vitro method entails costs which, due to non-reimbursement by the National Health Fund, for many people constitutes an enormous expense, often impossible to cover with own funds. Although there are local government support programmes in some Polish cities, subsidies that can be obtained from them do not cover all costs and apply only to selected groups of people.