The amendment of the Labour Code and certain other acts signed by President Duda aims primarily at implementation of the two Directives - so called Parental and Work-Life Balance Directives – to the Polish legislation.

So called Parental Directive establishes the minimum requirements aimed at achievement of men and women equality in terms of their opportunities on the labour market – by facilitating work-life balance to the employees being the parents or caregivers – explains the Minister of Family and Social Policy, Marlena Maląg.

To this end, the Directive provides for individual rights related to fatherly, paternal and carer’s leave as well as flexible organisation of work time for the employees being the parents and caregivers. The Directive encourages equal sharing of care-related responsibilities between men and women.

The other Directive aims at improving the working conditions by ensuring more transparent and predictable employment.

Parental Directive. What will change?

The implemented amendments include among others:

• Decoupling of the right to parental leave from employment of the child’s mother (insurance) as of the labour day (i.e. a parent of child will be entitled to parental leave despite the fact that the child’s mother was not employed/had no sickness insurance as of the day of labour),
• Introduction under the parental leave of a non-transferrable part of this leave of 9 weeks for each parent
• Establishment of material allowance for the entire parental leave period at the level of 70 percent of the allowance basis,
• Introduction of unpaid carer’s leave – of 5 days in a calendar year – in order to provide personal care or support to a relative (son, daughter, mother, father or spouse) orving in the same household, who requires care or support for serious medical reasons, without keeping the right to remuneration for the duration of this leave,
• Introduction of force majeure leave – of 2 days or 16 hours in a calendar year – in urgent family issues caused by sickness or accident, if the immediate presence of the employee is necessary, keeping the right to a half of remuneration for the duration of this leave (calculated as remuneration for a holiday leave).

This is only a part of the implemented solutions. These are very important changes benefiting the families and working parents – indicates the Minister of Family, Marlena Maląg.

Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU

Key changes:

• Ensuring the employee who worked for at least 6 months to request (once per calendar year) a change of a type of employment contract into the employment contract for an undefined period or request more predictable and secure working conditions and the right to receive a response in writing to such request along with a justification within 1 month from delivery of the request,
• Extending the scope of information on the employment conditions – by additional elements such as, for example, information on trainings offered by the employer, length of paid leave provided to the employee,
• Granting the employee’s right to unpaid training necessary to perform certain types of work or at specific job,
• Ensuring the employee’s right to parallel employment –by introducing a ban on prohibiting an employee from being in a parallel employment relationship with another employer.

The Act will enter into force after 21 days from its announcement.