flash news - Labour and employment law

Even though the deadline for implementing the EU Whistleblowing Directive (17 December 2021) has already passed, legislative work on the Polish Act on Whistleblowers is still continuing. After receiving a significant number of critical comments, today (12 April), the Ministry of Family and Social Policy announced a second draft implementing bill. The new draft bill differs significantly from the preceding one. In particular, Polish legislators have withdrawn the idea of anonymous reporting (unless allowed under special statutory provisions, which the new Act on Whistleblowers is only intended to supplement), and also eased sanctions for not having internal reporting procedures in place (currently, failure to comply with this duty is subject only to a fine).

A draft bill on amending the Labour Code and certain other acts has been published (bill number: UC118) in the schedule of legislative and agenda tasks of the Council of Ministers. The bill aims to implement Directives 2019/1152 (on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union) and 2019/1158 (the work-life balance directive) into Polish legal system and to introduce amendments that would ensure that provisions on terminating definite term employment contracts fully comply with Directive 1999/70/EC.

A bill amending the Law on Foreign Citizens and other laws has appeared in the Council of Ministers’ list of legislative and programme works (draft number: UD275). The bill’s main objective is to streamline proceedings on granting temporary residence permits for foreign citizens in Poland – including, in particular, the so-called "combined permits" (i.e. residence and work permits) – where flagrant breaches of statutory deadlines for handling these types of administrative matters are currently being noted. The changes are also intended to facilitate obtaining of work permits by foreign citizens intending to work in entities of particular strategic importance for Poland's economy.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration has published a draft resolution of the Council of Ministers on acceptance of the document “Poland’s migration policy – guidelines for action 2021-2022” (ID179).

The document has a program nature and aims to identify main problems with regard to the entry, stay and work of foreigners in Poland as well as to specify areas requiring improvement together with directions of change.