April 2023 was a month of changes in labor law. Not only remote work, but also the employee’s ability to apply for a change in the form of employment to an employment contract for an indefinite period or for more predictable and safe working conditions. This entitlement is available to employees who have worked for a given employer for at least 6 months.
Changing the form of employment – conditions
Pursuant to the Labor Code, an employee who has worked in the company for at least 6 months under an employment contract may submit an application to change the form of employment to an employment contract for an indefinite period or for more predictable and safe working conditions. These regulations are related to the implementation of Directive 2019/1152 [1], however, neither the Labor Code nor the Directive explains what “more predictable and safe working conditions” are – in practice, this issue may raise many doubts.
Importantly, this period includes previous periods of employment if the change of employer occurred in connection with the transfer of the workplace to another employer or it results from a specific regulation.
Moreover, this right does not apply to persons employed under a contract for a trial period due to its nature – it is a contract enabling the employee’s competences in a given position to be checked.
Application to change the form of employment
An employee may submit an application in paper or electronic form once a calendar year .
Taking into account the provisions of the Labor Code, an application may be submitted, for example, by an employee employed under a fixed-term contract in order to change the contract to an indefinite-term contract, but it can also be assumed that this may also concern an increase in working time.
Employer’s obligations
After receiving such an application, the employer is obliged to consider it no later than within 1 month from the date of its receipt.
The employer is not obliged to accept the employee’s request and may reject such a request. In such a case, however, he is obliged to justify his decision, taking into account his own and the employee’s needs.
The employer is obliged to respond both positively and negatively to the employee. Failure to provide an employee with a response on time or to provide a justification for the refusal may result in a fine.
The employee, in turn, has the opportunity to appeal to the labor court and submit a complaint to the National Labor Inspectorate if he sees grounds for doing so.
Summary
To sum up, from April 26, 2023, Polish employees have a new opportunity to change the form of employment after 6 months of working for a given employer. The new regulations increase the flexibility of the labor market and make it easier for employees to adapt the form of employment to their needs, which may lead to greater job satisfaction and higher productivity. However, this issue may raise some doubts related to changing the terms of employment to be more predictable and safe for the employee, due to the lack of a clear definition or even interpretative guidance in this regard. Therefore, each time the employer should analyze the terms of employment of a given employee and adequately justify any refusal.
[1]Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, OJ EU.L.2019.186.105, Art. 12
