Days off introduced in 2023 -> which cannot be carried over to 2024

2023 was a year of many changes in labour law, such as the implementation of the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, making it possible to take additional days off. Importantly, these days off are granted for a specific calendar year, and cannot be carried over to the following year. This applies to:

a) force majeure leave – granted for two days or 16 hours per calendar year, due to family emergencies caused by illness or accident, if the employee’s immediate presence is required,

b) care leave – granted for five days per calendar year to provide personal care or support to a relative or to a person living in the same household for serious medical reasons.

Revision of the minimum wage

From 1 January 2024, the minimum wage will be PLN 4,242, and  minimum hourly rate of pay will be PLN 27.70.

The change of the minimum wage will affect a number of employees’ rights, the most important of which include the amount of pay for night work and remuneration for downtime.

POLAND – State Labour Inspectorate’s activities in 2024 

The State Labour Inspectorate Action Programme for 2024 was presented at a meeting of the Labour Protection Council. In 2024, the State Labour Inspectorate will carry out 60,000 inspections as well as preventative and promotional measures relating to at least 35,000 entities.

The focus will be the observing by employers of  new employees’ rights related to parenthood, and working remotely, and those provided for in the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions. In terms of occupational health and safety, the inspectorate will mainly focus on the renewable energy sources industries, heat and power plants, and storage, sale and processing in the scrap metal industry.

Whistleblower protection without implementation of the Directive?

Although Poland has still not implemented the Whistleblower Directive, the District Court in Toruń has ruled that it can be applied. The court issued the judgment in a case in which an employee appealed against termination of their employment contract. The grounds for termination included groundless slandering of co-workers for breach of professional duties. The employee made the wrongdoing public via social media.

In a non-final judgment, the District Court in Toruń stated that, firstly, the reasons for termination were not stated sufficiently clearly and specifically. It also found that the case should be examined in terms of the Whistleblower Directive, under which an employment contract cannot be terminated due to a whistleblower making a public disclosure. At this point, however, the Directive only applies directly to the relationship of individuals with emanations of the state.