HR and payroll legislative updates: Q2/2023

1. Facilitation Package for Entrepreneurs

Another proposal for a package of changes, announced by the Government, is being prepared, which is to improve the legal and institutional environment for entrepreneurs. It will include, among others:

• minimization of visits by entrepreneurs to state offices. Visits will be necessary only in exceptional cases, and state institutions will mainly use e-mails or letters,
• the use of a stamp will no longer be required, and the lack of a stamp will not be a reason for considering the document incomplete,
• streamlining the inspection rules in companies thanks to notifying the entrepreneur about the inspection and delivering a list of documents and information that will be necessary during the inspection; it will also be possible to deliver the required documents to offices on electronic carriers instead of in paper form.

2.  Amendments to the Labour Code

In April 2023, two amendments to the Labour Code entered into force. On 7 April 2023 - regulations regarding remote work and sobriety testing. On 26 April 2023 - important changes to the Labour Code, which implemented two EU directives regarding the transparency and predictability of working conditions in the European Union and the introduction of work-life balance for parents and carers. The last directive introduced to the Polish Labour Code, among others, changes in parental leaves, flexible work organization for parents caring for a child up to 8 years old, additional leave from work, i.e. carer's leave to provide care for a family member, leave from work due to force majeure.

3. Cancellation of  the state of epidemic emergency as of 1 July  2023

The draft regulation of the Minister of Health published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre provides for the cancellation of the state of epidemic emergency as of 1 July  2023. Thus, this would mean the expiry of the Regulation of the Minister of Health of 12 May  2022 on declaring an epidemic emergency in the territory of the Republic of Poland, which provided, among others, for:

• suspension of the obligation to perform periodic examinations of employees,
• suspension of the obligation to conduct periodic health and safety trainings,
• the possibility for the employer to unilaterally grant overdue annual leave of up to 30 days,
• suspension of the obligation to set up a company social benefit fund and to make contributions to this fund,
• temporary transfer of a local government employee to work in another unit

4. Changes in the regulation on employee documentation

Along with the changes introduced to the Labour Code, the Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 10 December 2018 on employee documentation (Journal of Laws, item 2369, as amended) has also changed. The changes in the regulation consist in adding documentation regarding new employee rights, amendments to the Labour Code, including an application for applying for and using leave from work due to force majeure (Article 148[1] of the Labour Code), an employee's application for and the use of carer's leave (Article 173[1] of the Labour Code), and documentation related to remote work.

5. New employment certificate template

The change in the Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 30 December 2016 on the employment certificate (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1862), extended the catalogue of information that the employer is obliged to include in the employment certificate.

The catalogue of information included in the content of the employment certificate necessary to determine the rights under the employment relationship and social security rights has been extended, among others, by:

• exemption from work provided for in Article 148[1] of the Labour Code, used in the calendar year in which the employment relationship ended (new point 5a in § 2(1) of the Regulation of 30 December 2016),
• carer's leave used in the calendar year in which the employment relationship ended (new point 6a in § 2 in section 1 of the Regulation of 30 December 2016),
• the period of remote work provided for in art. 67[33] K.P., performed in the calendar year in which the employment relationship ended (new point 12a in § 2 in paragraph 1 of the Regulation of December 30, 2016).

The new template of the employment certificate has been in force since 23 May 2023.

6. New regulation on applications regarding parental rights

In the Journal of Laws of 17 May 2023, item 937, the regulation of the Minister of Family and Social Policy of 8 May 2023 on applications regarding the rights of employees related to parenthood and documents attached to such applications has been published. This is a new executive act replacing the previous regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 8 December 2015 on the same matter (Journal of Laws item 2243).

The new Regulation defines the necessary content of individual applications submitted by an employee who wants to exercise a given right related to parenthood. These applications may concern:

• granting a part of maternity leave, leave on the terms of maternity leave or part thereof, parental leave or part thereof and paternity leave or part thereof,
• resigning from part of the maternity leave and part of the leave on the terms of maternity leave,
• combining the use of parental leave or its part with the performance of work for the employer granting such leave,
• granting a parental leave or a part thereof,
• reducing the working time of an employee entitled to parental leave.

7. Changes in the regulations on occupational health and safety at workstations equipped with screen monitors

On 25 May 2023, a draft regulation of the Minister of Family and Social Policy was published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre amending the regulation on occupational health and safety at workstations equipped with screen monitors (form number RCL 135).

The planned changes to the Regulation will include, among others:

• modification of the very definition of "workstation",
• the repeal of the definition of a computer system,
• specifying that the provisions of the regulation do not apply to portable systems not intended for use at a given workstation for at least half of the daily working time,
• giving a new wording to the annex to the regulation, which defines the minimum occupational health and safety and ergonomics requirements that should be met by workstations equipped with screen monitors.

The draft imposes an obligation on employers to adapt, within 3 months from the date of entry into force of the draft regulation, workstations equipped with screen monitors created before the date of entry into force of the draft regulation.

Should you wish to discuss the above-mentioned changes, please contact the employees
of Payroll & HR Department of Mazars Polska Sp. z o.o.