flash news - Labour and employment law

During its 72nd session, the Sejm adopted amendments to the Labour Code implementing two EU directives into Polish law :

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

On 6 February 2023, the Act of 1 December 2022 on amendments to the Labour Code and certain other legislation  (Journal of Laws 2023, item 240) was published  in the Journal of Laws.

It is, therefore, necessary to highlight two important dates:

• the provisions on sobriety checks will enter into force 14 days after the date of the publication, i.e. on 21 February this year;
• the provisions on working remotely will enter into force 2 months after the date of publication, i.e. on 7 April this year.

On 30 January 2023, a draft regulation of the Minister of Family and Social Policy amending the regulation on records on employees was published on the website of the Government Legislative Center.

The proposed changes are as follows:

• records on employees working remotely are to be kept in Part B of personnel files;
• a new Part E of personnel files is for keeping documents related to checking employee sobriety or checking for the presence in an  employee's body of agents acting similarly to alcohol.

Yesterday, the Office of the President announced that on 27 January 2023, the President signed an Act amending the Labour Code and Certain Other Acts (Parliamentary publication no. 2335), permanently introducing sobriety control and remote working into the Labour Code.

The Act will enter into force 14 days after the date of its promulgation – with the exception of provisions on remote working and those on telework that have been repealed, which will start to bind two months after the promulgation.

On 17 January 2023, a change occurred to the  per kilometre rates at which employers reimburse their employees’ costs of using their private vehicles for business purposes.

On 13 January, the Sejm adopted an amendment to the Labour Code and certain other legislation (regarding remote work and testing for sobriety), rejecting all of the amendments proposed by the Senate.