Carer’s leave was introduced into the Labour Code on 26 April 2023 by the Act amending the Labour Code (LC) and certain other acts of 9 March 2023. The Act was intended to introduce two directives into Polish law:

• Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union
• Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU.

Directive 2019/1158 aims to promote equality between men and women in the labour market, ensure equal treatment in the workplace and make it easier for employees (parents and carers) to reconcile family life with work. Under its provisions, employees are entitled to paternity leave, parental leave, carer’s leave and flexible working arrangements if they are parents or carers.

The Labour Code stipulates time limits after which an employer’s claims expire for remedy of damage inflicted by an employee due to failure to perform or improper performance of employee duties. Under Art. 291 § 2 of the Labour Code, claims of this kind expire one year from the day on which the employer became aware of the damage done by an employee, but no more than three years from the time the damage was inflicted. It is not entirely clear when these periods should be considered to start.

Under the Labour Code (Art. 100 § 2(6)), an employee has a duty to abide by the principles of community life, but what does this entail?