On 26 April 2023, the legal solutions introduced by the Act of 9 March 2023 mending the Labour Code and certain other acts (Official Journal of 2023, item 641) came into force. One of the novelties is the change concerning the scope of information on employment conditions that the employer provides to the newly engaged worker. Moreover, the employer is obliged to give appropriate information to an employee going to work or perform a professional task abroad.
1. Employer’s information obligation towards the worker
Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code imposes an obligation on the employer to inform the employee, not later than within 7 days from the date of his/her admission to work, about:
- the daily and weekly working time standard applicable to the employee,
- the daily and weekly working hours applicable to the employee,
- breaks in work to which the employee is entitled,
- the daily and weekly rest to which the worker has the right,
- rules concerning overtime work and compensation for it,
- rules for moving from shift to shift – in the case of shift work,
- rules for moving between places where the work is carried out – in the case of several places of work,
- components of the employee’s remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind other than those agreed in the employment contract,
- the amount of paid leave to which the employee is entitled, including holiday leave, and if it’s impossible to determine it on the date of providing the information, about the rules for its determination and granting,
- the applicable rules for termination of the employment relationship, in particular about the formal requirements, the deadline for appealing to the Labour Court, the lenght of the periods of notice, and if it’s impossible to determine the lenght of the notice periods on the date of providing information, about the method for determining the notice periods,
- the employee’s right for training, and in particular about the general principles of the employer’s training policy – in the event that the employer provides training,
- the collective labour agreement or another collective agreement to which the employee is subject, and in the case of a collective agreement concluded outside the workplace by joint bodies or institutions – the name of such bodies or institutions,
- in the event that the employer hasn’t established Staff Regulations:
a. the date, place, time and frequency of payment of remuneration for work,
b. the night time,
c. the method adopted by the employer for the employees to confirm their arrival and presence at work, as well as to justify their absence from work.
Moreover, within 30 days from the date of admitting the employee to work, the employer is obliged to provide information on the name of the social security institutions to which social security contributions from the employment relationship are paid and on the protection relating to social security provided by the employer. The obligation in question doesn’t arise if the worker make his/her own choice concerning the social security institution.
An important novelty is the employer’s obligation to inform the worker about the change of the address of its head office and, in the case of an employer being a natural person without a head office, about a change of address of residence. The employer shall inform the employee about this change no later than within 7 days from the date of change of address, in paper or electronic form (Article 29 § 32 of the Labour Code).
The employer is also obliged to inform the worker of a change concerning the employment conditions specified in Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code, as well as of the fact that the employee is covered by a collective labour agreement or another collective agreement. The information in question should be provided without delay, no later than the date on which the modification applies to the worker. This obligation doesn’t arise in the event that the change concerning the employment conditions results from the modification of the provisions of labour law and social security law, and these provisions have been indicated in the information given to the employee (Article 29 § 33 of the Labour Code).
2. Form of the provision of information concerning employment conditions
The employer provides the worker with information on employment conditions in paper or electronic form. However, the legislator stipulated that the provision of information to the employee in electronic form would occur in the event that the worker had the possibility to print the information and store it and the employer would keep proof of its transmission or receipt by the employee.
The transfer of information may take place by indicating the appropriate provisions of labour and social security law. However, such an indication can’t include information on:
- rules for moving between several places where the work is carried out,
- the collective labour agreement or another collective agreement to which the employee is subject, and in the case of a collective agreement concluded by joint bodies or institutions – on the name of such bodies or institutions,
- the date, place, time and frequency of payment of remuneration for work, night time, manner in which employees confirm their arrival and presence at work, as well as justify their absence from work (Article 29 § 31 of the Labour Code).
Information concerning the modification of the employment conditions specified in Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code, as well as the fact that the employee is covered by a collective labour agreement or another collective agreement, should be provided in paper or electronic form.
3. Information for an employee going to work or to perform a professional task outside the country
The new wording of Article 291 § 2 of the Labour Code constitutes an extremely important change. The amended provision requires the employer who sends an employee to work or to perform a professional task abroad to inform the worker in question about:
- the country or countries where the work or professional task is to be performed;
- the expected duration of the work or professional task abroad;
- the currency in which remuneration will be paid during the performance of the work or professional task abroad;
- benefits in cash or in kind related to the performance of the work or professional task abroad if such benefits are provided for by the provisions of labour law or if this results from the employment contract;
- ensuring or not ensuring the return of the employee to the country;
- the conditions concerning the worker’s return to the country – if the employer ensures such a return.
The employer shall provide the information in question “before the employee goes to work or to perform a professional task outside the country”. In other words, the worker should receive the above-mentioned information before going abroad.
It should be emphasised that in accordance with the requirement introduced by the legislator, travel for work or in order to perform a professional task outside the country, justifying the creation of the information obligation, shall last longer than 4 consecutive weeks.
The employer informs the worker about the change concerning the conditions of employment indicated in Article 291 § 2 of the Labour Code, without delay, no later than the date on which this modification applies to the employee. The information obligation doesn’t arise if the amendment to the employment conditions results from the modification of the provisions of labour law, and these provisions have been indicated in the information given to the worker (Article 291 § 2 of the Labour Code).
The obligation to provide the above-mentioned information to employees going to work or to perform a professional task outside the country is independent of the information obligation from Articles 29 § 3 – 33of the Labour Code..
4. Form of the provision of information to an employee going to work or to perform a professional task outside the country
It clearly results from Article 291 § 2 of the Labour Code that the employer provides the information indicated in this provision in paper or electronic form. However, the condition for giving information to an employee in electronic form is that it’s made available to the worker with the possibility of printing and storing it, and that the employer keeps proof of its provision or receipt by the employee (Article 291 § 51 of the Labour Code).
The change concerning the conditions of employment specified in Article 291 § 2 of the Labour Code may also occur in written or electronic form.
It results from the content of Article 291 § 3 of the Labour Code that only information on the currency in which the remuneration will be paid during the performance of work or a professional task abroad can be given by indicating the appropriate provisions of labour law.
5. Scope of application of the provisions concerning the information obligation towards an employee sent to work or to perform a professional task outside the country
Pursuant to Article 291 § 6 of the Labour Code, the provisions of Article 291 § 2-4 and 51 of the Labour Code apply accordingly to employment relationships established on a basis other than an employment contract. This means that the provisions stipulating the employer’s obligation to provide relevant information to an employee assigned to work or to perform a professional task abroad concern accordingly employment relationships established on a basis other than an employment contract, for example on the basis of a contract of mandate.
6. Sanctions for failure to comply with the information obligation
Failure to comply with the information obligation by the employer has been penalised. According to Article 281 § 1 p. 2a of the Labour Code, a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000 applies to the employer or a person acting on his/her behalf who didn’t inform the worker on the conditions of his/her employment on time, seriously violating the provisions concerning the information obligation, i.e. Article 29 § 3, 32 and 33 of the Labour Code and on Article 291 § 2 and 4 of the Labour Code.
The imposition of sanctions for non-compliance by the employer with the provisions concerning the information obligation has its source in EU legislation. As clarified in the explanatory note on the draft Act: “This regulation is consistent with Article 19 of Directive 2019/1152, from which it should be concluded that sanctions for the employer for breaching the information obligations referred to in Article 29 § 3, 32 and 33 of the Labour Code or in Article 291 § 2 and 4 of the Labour Code, and for not providing the employee, in paper or electronic form, with a response to the application referred to in Article 293 § 4 of the Labour Code, must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.”
7. Legal notice
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