Labour law – further changes from April 26^th, 2023.

In view of the need to implement:

• the EU Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union,
• the EU directive on work-life balance for parents and carers,

in March this year, another Labour Code Amendment Act was adopted by the Parliament, the provisions of which will take effect as of  April the 26^th , 2023.

The most significant changes are presented below.

I. Changes in employment contracts

1. New rules in employment contracts for trial period

An employment contract for trial period will be concluded for a period not exceeding 3 months, but in any case no longer than:

• 1 month in case of the intention to enter into an employment contract for a fixed term of less than 6 months;
• 2 months in case of the intention to enter into a fixed-term employment contract of at least 6 months and less than 12 months.

The parties to the contract will be able to provide for the possibility of extending the contract for the period of holiday or other excused absence of the employee.

In the case of contracts concluded for 1 or 2 months, the parties will be able to extend the trial period once, but only if justified by the nature of work and by no more than 1 month.

Accordingly, an employment contract for trial period will have to include not only the duration of the trial period or the date on which the contract ends and, if the parties agree so, a provision extending the contract for the period of employee’s holiday or other excused absence from work, but also – in case of contracts concluded for a period of 1 or 2 months – the period of the fixed- term employment contract to be entered into after the trial period and – if agreed – provision regarding the rules on extending the trial period.

2. New information obligations of the employer towards employees – new content of the supplementary information to the employment contract

The catalogue of information to be provided by the employer to the employee will be significantly expanded. The supplementary information to the employment contract will have to inform about the following:

1. the daily and weekly working time standards applicable to the employee,
2. the daily and weekly working hours applicable to the employee,
3. the breaks to which the employee is entitled,
4. the daily and weekly rest to which the worker is entitled,
5. the rules on working overtime and compensation for such overtime,
6. in the case of shift work, the rules on the transition from shift to shift,
7. in the case of several workplaces, rules on movement between workplaces,
8. the components of the employee’s remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind other than those agreed in the contract of employment,
9. the amount of paid leave to which the employee is entitled, in particular annual leave, or, if it is not possible to determine the amount at the time when the information is given to the employee, the rules for determining and granting it,
10. the applicable rules on termination of the employment relationship, including the formal requirements, the length of the notice periods and the time-limit for appeals to an employment tribunal, or, where the length of the notice periods cannot be ascertained at the date on which the information is communicated to the employee, the method of determining such periods of notice,
11. the employee’s right to training, if provided by the employer, and in particular the general principles of the employer’s training policy,
12. the collective agreement or other collective agreement to which the worker is subject and, where a collective agreement is concluded outside the workplace by joint bodies or institutions, the name of such bodies or institutions,
13. in case when the employer has not established work regulations – the date, place, time and frequency of payment of remuneration for work, night time and the method adopted by the employer for employees to confirm their arrival and presence at work and to justify their absence from work.

The information will be provided to the employees within 7 days from the date of admission to work (and not from the date of conclusion of the contract, as provided for in the previous legislation).

In addition, no more than within 30 days from the date of the employee’s admission to work, the employer will be obliged to inform the employee of the name of the social security institutions to which social security contributions related to the employment relationship are paid and information on the social security protection provided by the employer. This obligation does not apply in the case where the employee chooses the social security institution.

The information will be provided on paper or electronically and it is possible to make reference to the legislation governing the issues in question.

In addition, the employer will be obliged to inform the employee of any change of his address.

3. Alignment of fixed-term and open-ended contracts

The alignment of contracts will be expressed in particular through:

• the obligation to justify in writing the termination of a fixed-term employment contract;
• the necessity to carry out trade union consultations, i.e. to notify in writing the company trade union representing the employee of the intention to terminate the contract, stating the reason justifying the termination;
• the possibility to reinstate the employee.

The new rules apply to fixed-term contracts concluded before the date of entry into force of the new Law, unless such contracts were terminated before that date. 

II. Additional days off

1. The right to time-off due to force majeure

Every employee will be entitled to time off from work for reasons of force majeure in urgent family matters caused by illness or accident, if the employee’s immediate presence is necessary.

The employee will be able to make a request no later than the day on which this leave is taken and the employer will be obliged to grant it.

The dimension of this leave is 16 hours or 2 days per calendar year, payable at 50% of salary.

2. New form of family care leave

This is an unpaid leave for employees to provide personal care or support to a family member (son, daughter, mother, father or spouse) or a person living with the employee in the same household who requires care or support for serious medical reasons.

Care leave is to be granted to employees at the rate of 5 working days per year.

In the application, the employee shall indicate the name of the person who requires care or support for serious medical reasons, the reason why the employee needs to provide personal care or support and, in the case of a family member, the degree of relationship to the employee or, in the case of a non-family member, the residential address of this person.

III. Parental protection – changes in child care leaves

1. Extension of the protection of parent workers

The prohibition of overtime, night work, interrupted working hours and posting outside the permanent workplace – without the employee’s consent – will apply to an employee raising a child until the child is 8 years old – instead of 4 years old as before.

2. Extension of parental leave

Parental leave will be extended to 41 weeks and in the case of multiple births to 43 weeks. Each parent receives an exclusive right to 9 weeks of parental leave out of the 41 or 43 weeks indicated above. This right cannot be transferred to the other parent.

Parental leave may be taken by both employees – the child’s parents – at the same time. The leave may also be combined with maternity leave and with work for the employer granting the leave.

Parental leave may be granted as a one-off leave or in up to 5 parts no later than until the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 6.

The amendment entitles to parental leave of 41/43 weeks the employees who, between 2 August 2022 (i.e., the date by which the Member States were obliged to implement the EU directive) and the date of entry into force of the Act, had the right to parental leave or a part thereof or had taken parental leave or a part thereof granted on the basis of the previous provisions.

3. Changes to paternity leave

The amendment provides that the paternity leave to which an employee-father of a child is entitled on the occasion of the birth of his child, amounting to 2 weeks, is to be taken no later than until the child is 12 months old, thus shortening the period during which the leave is to be taken.

The transitional provisions provide that an employee-father raising a child on the effective date of the amendment is entitled to paternity leave under the rules set out in the existing provisions, but no longer than until the child is 24 months old. Thus, the existing rules will apply to employees – fathers whose children were born on or before 26 April 2023.

4. Protection against dissmissal

During pregnancy and maternity leave, and from the date of the employee’s application for maternity leave, leave on maternity leave conditions, paternity leave, parental leave (or part thereof) – until the date of termination of such leave – the employer may not only terminate or dissolve the employment relationship with that employee (unless there are reasons justifying termination without notice due to employee’s fault and the company trade union representing the employee has agreed to the termination), but also may not conduct preparations to terminate the employment relationship with that employee.

The notion of “making preparations” is not defined in the Act and therefore jurisprudential practice will be necessary to develop the true meaning of this provision.

5. Flexible organisation of working time

Employees raising a child up to the age of 8 will have the right to request flexible working arrangements.

Flexible working arrangements are understood as:

• remote working,
• the intermittent working time scheme
• the shortened working week scheme
• the weekend working scheme
• flexible working time
• individual work schedules,
• reduction of working time.

IV. Other changes

1. Parallel employment with another entity

An employer may not prohibit the employee from taking up employment with other employers nor other forms of rendering services for other entities.

2. Secure working conditions

An employee who has been employed with a particular employer for at least six months may once in a calendar year submit a paper or electronic request for a change in the type of contract from a fixed-term contract to an open-ended contract or for more predictable and secure working conditions, including a change in the type of work or full-time employment. This period shall include the period of employment with the previous employer if the change of employer occurred in connection with Article 23¹ of the Labour Code.

3. Training

If the employer is obliged to provide training to employees necessary for the performance of a certain type of work or work in a certain position, and this obligation arises from the provisions of the collective agreement, the rules or regulations of the law or the employment contract, and in the case of training received by an employee on the basis of a supervisor’s order, such training shall be provided to the employee:

• at the employer’s expense
• as far as possible during working hours.
• will be counted as working time.

4. Additional breaks at work

The amendment in Article 134 of the Labour Code provides for additional breaks included in working time. Namely, if the daily working time of an employee is:

• at least 6 hours – the employee is entitled to a break at work lasting at least 15 minutes;
• longer than 9 hours – the employee is entitled to an additional break of at least 15 minutes;
• longer than 16 hours – the employee is entitled to another break of at least 15 minutes.

Should you require more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.