As of April 7, 2023, new regulations on flexible working hours and remote work came into force in Poland. They thus replace the telework arrangements that were in effect until now. Significantly, the latest regulations apply not only to those employed under a contract of employment. In turn, the April 23 amendments introduced new types of leave.
What are the current provisions, who can take advantage of them and how to apply? We answer.
Who can work remotely?
The current Law of December 1, 2022 (Journal of Laws 2023 item 240) gives the opportunity to work remotely to almost anyone. The exceptions are positions where duties cannot be performed remotely or involve risks to life and health. Remote work is also impossible in the absence of premises and technical conditions for its successive provision. You have the right to refuse an employee to work remotely, but you must do so in writing within 7 days of receipt of the request.
A catalog of jobs that are not possible to perform under remote work can be found in the amended Labor Code.
How to take advantage of remote work?
You can include information about the possibility of remote provision of duties in the contract already at the time of signing it. However, if the employee signed the contract before April 7, 2023, he also has the opportunity to use remote work – at his own request or at your (the employer’s) request. The request, which includes the reason, date and place of work can be submitted on paper or electronically.
Remember – in order for an employee to perform work remotely, he or she must submit a statement that he or she has the conditions to perform his or her duties safely. Importantly, the specified location cannot change arbitrarily, and during the hours of work performance, he must be available on the predetermined communication channel.
Do you want the employee to return to an earlier form of work performance before the originally scheduled date? This is possible – at the request of the employer or the employee. Both you and the employee have 30 days to respond to the request. If you fail to agree, at the end of this time in accordance with the applicable law, the earlier terms of work will be restored.
Who can’t be denied remote work by an employer?
There are several cases in which you cannot refuse an employee to work remotely. You also cannot call on employees to return to the office earlier (than expected). This situation includes:
- employees raising a child up to the age of 4,
- pregnant employees,
- employees caring for a person with a disability certificate who is in a shared household,
- female employees with a certificate of obstetric failure or complicated pregnancy,
- parents of children with a certificate of disability, as well as parents of a child who has an opinion on the need for early development support, special education or remedial classes (also applies to adult children).
April 26 changes – work life balance
Two additional types of leave have been introduced into the Labor Code to provide employees with a better work-life balance. Poland was obliged to introduce them by the European Union under Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019 on work-life balance for parents and caregivers.
The first of the leaves is caregiving leave, which is 5 days of unpaid leave to care for a loved one. An employee can use it if, for medical reasons, he needs to provide support to a member of his family or a person who forms a household with him (in practice: children, parents or spouse). The application should be submitted no later than the day before the planned leave. As an employer, you cannot refuse to take care leave.
The second type of leave is leave for reasons of force majeure concerning the family situation. The dimension of this leave is, depending on the type of work provision, 2 days or 16 hours. The employee must apply in the same way as for leave on demand, but force majeure leave is paid at 50%.
Implementing change is easier when a company is properly prepared.
Haergi provides tools that make it easy to work remotely and allow online requests. Want to learn more? Get in touch.
