New regulations giving employees the opportunity to submit applications to change employment conditions, including switching to an indefinite-term contract, are meeting with growing interest. Experts note that although these applications are not yet submitted en masse, their number is systematically growing and employers must be more careful when discussing the continuation of cooperation
As Rzeczpospolita reminds, from April 26, 2023, thanks to the amendment to the Labor Code and the implementation of two EU directives on transparent working conditions and work-life balance, employees in Poland have gained new opportunities to negotiate employment conditions. These legal changes are aimed at improving the situation of employees, especially those who are parents and provide care.
Under the new regulations, employees can take an additional five days (unpaid) carer's leave and two days (or 16 hours) of leave from work due to force majeure for urgent family matters. However, as Rz emphasizes, these rights are not very popular.
However, other new provisions regarding employment conditions are gaining popularity: a particularly interesting provision in the Labor Code allows employees to submit applications for a change in the type of contract, full-time working time or other employment conditions. An employee may submit such an application once a year , provided that he or she has worked for a given employer for at least six months, who in turn is obliged to respond to the application within one month, and failure to respond or refusal without justification may result in the imposition of a fine.
The introduction of these regulations raised concerns that employees would be afraid to submit applications for fear of negative consequences. However, the responses of employee and employer organizations show that interest in these rights is growing. As pointed out in Rzeczpospolita by prof. Grażyna Spytek-Bandurska from the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs, "requests to change working conditions appear, but not on a massive scale yet."
According to the expert, the reasons for the still low popularity of these tools may be the lack of common knowledge on the subject and the high demand for employees, which makes it important for employers to maintain employment. - Alternatively, it is agreed in advance for what period the parties will cooperate (e.g. for the duration of the project) and the employee is not always interested in extending it. There are, of course, seasonal jobs, which are, by definition, limited in time, the professor noted.
An indefinite-term contract is still the most desirable n
Robert Lisicki from Konfederacja Lewiatan in an interview with "Rz" emphasized that applications for more predictable employment conditions are most often submitted in order to switch from a fixed-term contract to an indefinite period. - We expected this to happen. Changing the type of employment contract has always aroused the interest of employees. Before the amendment to the provisions of the Labor Code, such applications had already been submitted, he noted.
In turn, Paweł Śmigielski from OPZZ, quoted by "Rz", pointed out the problems with compliance with the new regulations by some employers, who "are now more cautious in conversations with employees regarding the continuation of cooperation after a fixed-term contract". However, he himself did not note any concerns of employees regarding submitting applications
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