Remote work and home office

The Anti-Crisis Shield Act adopted by the government contains provisions pertaining to the remote work, or work carried out outside of regular workplace. Under the new rules, an employer may (but does not have to) order their employees to work remotely, and the employees may not refuse. However, the regulations do not specify the form in which the order is to be given, which is why the employee should accept it in any form, whether given by phone, verbally or via e-mail. Another key thing is that the employer may also order the employee to work remotely in a place other than the employee’s home.

However, the Act does not outline any detailed guidelines concerning remote working. Issues such as documentation of remote work and other aspects related to attendance for example are matters that should be agreed between the employer and their staff. On the other hand, work start and end time should be the same as before, which means that they should be in line with the employer’s internal regulations, such as work regulations. The Act does not specify the minimum or maximum time of remote work, which is why it may be extended or shortened depending on the decision of the employer; however, the regulation of the Act, which provides for remote work expires after 180 days from 8 March this year; thus, any remote work and home office arrangements resulting from this Act should not extend beyond 4 September this year. From the employee's point of view, however, it is important that the above provisions do not affect their salary and remuneration.

Holidays and leaves during the epidemic

The law regulates the rules concerning the use of leaves and holidays by employees. Pursuant to Article 161 of the Labour Code, the employer has the obligation to grant the employee a holiday leave in the calendar year in which the employee obtained the entitlement to the leave or holiday in question.. Holidays should be taken in accordance with the holiday plan (Article 163 § 1 of the Labour Code). This plan should be outlined by the employer, taking into account requests submitted by employees and the need to ensure normal operations of the company. The employer does not create a holiday plan if the company’s trade union has agreed to it. This also applies to any employer who does not have a company trade union. In such cases, the employer determines holiday dates in consultation with the employee, taking into account their requests and the need to ensure normal operations of the company.

On the other hand, in the case of outstanding holidays, which has not been taken by 30 September of the following calendar year, the employer has the right to order the employee to go on a leave - even without their consent – including during the coronavirus pandemic.

Information obligation

The obligation to inform about occupational risks applicable to the employer also covers the coronavirus risk. Therefore, the employer informs the employees about the occupational risks that are associated with their work, as well as about the rules of protection against risks. It is therefore important that there is a flow of information between the employer and employees in order to give them ongoing guidance on how to operate in the workplace in the new circumstances caused by the coronavirus risk.

Workplace shutting down or inability to perform remote work

If the employer has to shut the company down, or if the employee is unable to work remotely, they are still entitled to remuneration, provided, of course, that the employee is ready to continue working. This issue is regulated in detail by Article 81 § 1 of the Labour Code, which states that an employee is entitled to remuneration:

• resulting from their personal pay rate, determined by the hourly or monthly rate (this applies to employees paid at a fixed hourly rate, for example 20 PLN per hour or at a fixed monthly rate, for example 4,000 PLN per month – these employees will receive their remuneration during downtime),

• and if this remuneration element was not included while determining the remuneration conditions, the employee is entitled to 60 percent of their remuneration (this includes, but is not limited to, employees who receive piecework or commission pay, or remuneration determined as a rate, for example, for the quantity of products manufactured or a certain percentage of income/revenue/profit).

In the above and other cases, however, the remuneration may not be lower than the minimum remuneration for work determined on the basis of separate regulations.

Workplace safety

The establishment and provision of appropriate working conditions should always be paramount to the employer. According to the Labour Code, their responsibilities include: organising work in a manner that ensures safe and hygienic working conditions, responding to the needs of ensuring health and safety at work and adjusting measures taken to improve the existing level of protection of health and life of employees, taking into account the changing conditions of work.

During the coronavirus epidemic, to prevent its spread, the company is obliged to provide its employees - regardless of the type of employment contract - with disposable gloves or hand disinfectants. Furthermore, the employer is obliged to change the organisation of the workplace in such a way that the distance between individual workplaces is at least 1.5 metres. To ensure the health and safety of workers, the employer may also take other safety measures. These measures should be adapted to the type of work carried out by the worker and should take account of the worker's exposure to the risk and the associated likelihood of adverse events.

It is recommended that the employer issues appropriate recommendations for employees, outlining how to deal with the threat posed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (concerning, among others, contacts with other employees, customers or the need to avoid groups of people) based on the general recommendations of the Minister of Health concerning this matter.

At the same time, employees are obliged to perform their work in a manner consistent with the health and safety regulations and guidelines, as well as to follow the orders and instructions given by the employer and superiors. In addition, the employee is obliged to cooperate with the employer and their supervisors in order to fulfil their obligations concerning workplace health and safety.

Flexible working time

The Anti-Crisis Shield Act introduced a number of solutions and provisions that make the working time regulations more flexible. These are provisions that allow employers to limit the rest time of their employees. Employers may limit uninterrupted daily rest for workers to not less than 8 hours and uninterrupted weekly rest to not less than 32 hours. What is important is that the employer must guarantee employees an equivalent period of rest in a time no longer than 8 weeks.

The above rules may only be applied by employers who have suffered a decrease in revenues as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. By principle, taking advantage of these regulations hinges on having paid all the required taxes, obligatory social security contributions and other required fees.

In addition, in consultation with trade unions or workers' representatives in workplaces with no trade unions or other organisations, employers may:

• conclude an agreement on the introduction of a system of equivalent working time, which enables them to extend the daily working time to a maximum of 12 hours (in a settlement period not exceeding 12 months) – the employer will then be obliged to “give back” all the hours above the standard 8 hours of working day to the employee on another day or provide them with a day off;
• conclude an agreement to apply less favourable conditions of employment than those resulting from the employment contracts concluded with those workers, to the extent and for the duration determined in the agreement.

All of the issues described above are regulated by two documents: the Labour Code and the Anti-Crisis Shield Act.