flash news - Labour and employment law

Analyses commissioned by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy on opportunities for reducing working hours have been completed, their conclusions showing improvements in employee health at places where working time has been reduced, consequently fewer absences.

The Director of the Labour Law Department informs us that the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is analysing reducing working time. The ministry has also requested institutes to research how long an employee is able to work effectively in a day. In addition, commercial analyses are being undertaken as to the cost of reducing working time.

The Supreme Court has held that an employee's sickness cannot be considered force majeure. Such a decision was made in a case in which the plaintiff sought an award of salary and a number of other work-related benefits. The regional court dismissed the claim, indicating that the defendant had successfully raised the statute of limitations. The plaintiff appealed against the decision, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal after agreeing with the assessment of the court of first instance. In her appeal, the plaintiff alleged a violation of the statute of limitations. She argued that the statute of limitations period had been suspended while she was on sick leave for several months.

The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is working on a draft regulation on maximum temperatures in the workplace. According to the original proposal, which we wrote about here, the maximum temperature is to depend primarily on the metabolic rate of employees carrying out a particular type of work.

The Szczecin District Court found that, despite the justified nature of an employee’s absence, failure to inform the employer promptly of the absence was a legitimate reason for terminating the employee’s employment without notice following his return from sick leave.

A bill has been submitted to the Sejm according to which 24 December - Christmas Eve would permanently become a public holiday for all employees. The bill also stipulates that trading on the Saturday preceding Easter Sunday would only be possible until 14:00.