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Labour Code of 26 June 1974 (Dz.U. 1974 Nr 24 poz. 141)

Main Region

First Region

Poland
Labour codes, general labour and employment acts
1974-06-26
National
Law, Act

Second Region

Ustawa z dnia 26 czerwca 1974 r. Kodeks pracy
Sets out provisions for employment in Poland. In 2019, the Code was amended with respect to discrimination and mobbing (workplace bullying), as well as parental rights, deadlines concerning work certificate rectification and rules regarding limitation of claims within employment related litigation. Below please find our brief summary regarding key points of the solutions introduced recently:

1. Discrimination: Widening the catalogue of possible grounds for discrimination; in practice it means that an employee will be more easily able to claim that he / she is discriminated against for reasons other than those specified explicitly in the Labor Code.

2. Mobbing (workplace bullying): The possibility of making claims of mobbing (workplace bullying) including during employment with the employer. Prior to the amendment this right was only conferred to an employee who terminated the employment relationship due to mobbing, what meant that in case of employees who remained employed or with whom the employer terminated the employment relationship it was impossible or difficult to claim damages.

3. Parental rights: Granting protection against termination of a work contract equal to that of a parent also to other family members of the employee (which are at the same time employees) e.g. grandmother of a child who, in special situations, paid maternity or parental leave. In addition, a working family member, who uses parental leave, will acquire the right to take a vacation leave immediately after using parental leave at his / her request, on the same basis as parents who are employees to date.

4. Work certificates
Extension of the current 7-day deadline for the request to correct an issued labour certificate by the employer up to 14 days and extending up to 14 days the deadline for submitting the application for rectification of the labor certificate to the labor court by the employee (also if the employer did not notify the employee of the refusal to rectify). In addition, the employee has the right to pursue its right from the employer’s obligation to issue a work certificate in the event of not receiving it from the employer or requesting the determination of the right to obtain a work certificate in the case of non-existing employers;
AND
Issuing a work certificate on the day on which the employment contract ceases (instead of, as before, without undue delay) to an employee with whom the employer does not intend to conclude another employment contract within 7 days from the day the previous one ended. Whereas in case where there is an objective lack of possibility of issuing a certificate by that date and deliver it personally, it will be necessary to go through the post office within 7 days from the date of termination of employment. Failure to issue a certificate on time is subject to a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000, just like the failure to issue a work certificate until now;

5. Limitation of claims: After the amendment, Art. 292 of the Labor Code specifies (in order to avoid interpretative doubts) that in proceedings the court does not declare limitation of rights employment claims ex officio, it is done only after its evasion is made by the person against whom the claim is made, unless they waive the right of limitation.

Implementing Text region

Amending Text region

Related Text region

Electronic region

Monograph region

    Monograph title
    The Polish Labour Code
    Publisher
    Tepis Publishing House
    Place of publication
    Warsaw
    Country
    Poland
    Date
    1996
    Page range
    pp. 5-105
    Monograph title
    Code polonais du Travail
    Publisher
    Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar
    Place of publication
    Varsovie
    Country
    Pologne
    Date
    1997
    Page range
    pp. 11-107
    Monograph title
    Kodeks Pracy (2004 Consolidation in Polish)
    Publisher
    LexisNexis
    Place of publication
    Warszawa
    Date
    2004
    Monograph title
    Polish Labour Code, Polish-English bilingual edition
    Author
    Katarzyna Michlowska
    Publisher
    Wydawnictwo C. H. Beck
    Place of publication
    Warsaw
    Country
    Poland
    Date
    2004
    Edition
    Consolidation of 23 December 1997
    ISBN
    83-7387-505-0