Global employment briefing: Poland, June 2017

• Poland

• Employment law

01-06-2017

New regulations on work prohibited to women, new rules of employment of temporary agency workers and lowered retirement age.

From 1 May 2017, a new list of jobs that are detrimental to women's health, including jobs prohibited for pregnant and breast-feeding employees, is in force. In the upcoming months, there will bring several amendments to the Polish labour law including changes to the employment of temporary workers and a lower retirement age. More details below.

New regulations protecting pregnant and breastfeeding women

From 1 May 2017, a new regulation implements a list of arduous, dangerous or harmful work for pregnant and breastfeeding women's health.

The new regulation introduces a change of the rules governing the performance of work at monitor screens by pregnant women – they provide for the a maximum of no more than 8 hours per day. The time spent working at the monitor screens may not exceed 50 minutes in each hour, after which time at least a 10-minute break, included in working time, should take place.

New rules of employment of temporary agency workers

Changes to the rules relating to the employment of temporary workers enter into force on 1 June 2017. Under current provisions, a temporary work agency may assign its worker to perform temporary work for a single user-employer for a total period not exceeding 18 months during 36 subsequent months. The limit starts to run from when each different temporary work agency assigns the same temporary worker to work for the same user-employer.

Starting from 1 June 2017, a user-employer will only be allowed to benefit from work of a given temporary worker for 18 months in the 36 months period irrespective of whether the temporary worker is assigned by one or more work agencies.

The same limit of the period of work will also apply to temporary workers hired on a basis of civil law contracts. User-employers will also have a new duty to maintain a register of temporary workers.

Also from 1 June 2017, foreign entities entitled to perform the activity of a temporary work agency in the territory of the EU Member States or the EEA States must be registered by the Marshall of the Province in order to conduct such an activity in Poland (previously, only notification was required).

Lowered retirement age

Starting from 1 October 2017, a lowered retirement age of 60 years for women and 65 years for men will be reinstated in Poland. Due to this change, the existing four-year pre-retirement period of protection against termination of employment could be shorter than four years and a transitional provision is in place to address this situation. For such employees, the pre-retirement protection period is extended after they reach retirement age, so their total period of protection equals to four years. This interim rule will apply until 1 October 2021. In this period, when hiring a person who is entitled to draw a pension, it may happen that this person is protected against termination of his or her employment contract.