[Poland] Amendment to the Labour Code 2023 – important deadlines

Legislation revolutionary to labour law is about to come into force. From 7 April 2023, regulations governing remote work will become effective, while from 26 April, provisions implementing the pro-parent and pro-family EU directive will begin to apply. In the article below, we summarise the deadlines related to the changes in labour law.

Changes to employee personal files – 21 March 2023

The provisions of the amended employee records regulation came into force on 21 March 2023. Employers will have 14 days from the date of entry into force of these provisions to adapt to the new rules the way in which they store documents collected prior the effective date of this regulation, i.e. until 5 April 2023.

Employee sobriety checks – 21 February 2023

The amendment to the Labour Code, passed in December 2022, introduced the possibility to test an employee for sobriety or the presence of agents acting similarly to alcohol. The related provisions came into force on 21 February 2023.

Remote work regulations – 7 April 2023

The amendment to the Labour Code regulating remote work, passed in December 2022, comes into force on 7 April 2023. The act regulates the following issues related to remote work:

• definition of remote work
• principles of remote work
• obligations of the employer towards the remotely working employee
• control of remote work

Implementation of pro-parent and pro-worker EU directives – 26 April 2023

On 23 March 2023, the President signed another amendment to the Labour Code. The act implements two EU directives – Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union and Directive on work-life balance for parents and caregivers. Read more about them here. The legislation will come into force on 26 April 2023.

2023 is revolutionary for labour law in Poland. The laws which have been passed are the biggest amendments to the Labour Code in years. The changes to the legislation are beneficial for employees, but impose new obligations on employers.

Changes to labour law in 2023 – deadlines

Acts referred to in the article:

1. the Act of 1 December 2022 amending the Act – Labour Code and certain other acts (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 240).
2. the Ordinance of the Minister of Family and Social Policy of 6 March 2023 amending the Ordinance on employee documentation (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 471).
3. the Act of 9 March 2023 amending the Act – Labour Code and certain other acts (Journal of Laws 2023, item 641).

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