Information on Employment Conditions

after the amendment to the Labour Code

Effective as of 26 April 2023, the amendment to the Labour Code (implementing two directives of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019: No 2019/1152 – on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union and No 2019/1158 – on the work-life balance for parents and carers) has significantly expanded the scope of information that an employer should provide to employees in connection with concluding an employment contract.

According to the amended Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code, within seven days of an employee commencing work, in addition to information on the daily and weekly working time limits, the frequency of payment of remuneration, and the length of the notice period (and possibly on a collective agreement if applicable), the employer must also provide the employee with expanded information covering:

• the breaks they are entitled to;
• the daily and weekly rest periods they are entitled to;
• the rules on overtime and compensation for overtime;
• in the case of shift work, the rules on changing from shift to shift;
• in the case of several workplaces, rules on movement between workplaces;
• the components of the employee’s remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind, other than those agreed in the employment contract;
• the amount of paid leave, in particular annual leave;
• the applicable rules on the termination of the employment relationship, including the formal, requirements, the length of notice periods and the time limit for appealing to an employment tribunal or, if it is not possible to determine the length of the notice periods on the date of providing the employee with this information, how such notice periods are determined;
• the right to training, if provided by the employer, and in particular the general principles of the employer’s training policy; and
• social security institutions (public and private, e.g. providing Employee Capital Plans).

In addition, employers without work regulations in force should include documentary information in the terms and conditions of employment about the date, place and time of paying remuneration for work, night-time hours and the method of confirming the employee’s arrival and presence at work as well as excusing an absence from work.

The employer should notify all employees hired after 26 April 2023 about the extended terms and conditions. For employment contracts already in force on that date, the employer is obliged to supplement the information within three months from the date of the employee’s request in written or electronic form.

The information can be provided in electronic form, as long as the employee can print it out and store it, and the employer has documentary evidence that it was received by the employee.

The amendment to Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code means existing templates of information on employment conditions will have to be supplemented with additional elements. Given the scope of the required information, the document provided to employees will be longer and more detailed than the information provided so far.

Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code:

The employer must inform the employee, in paper or electronic form:

1. no later than within seven days of the employee’s admission to work, at least about:

• the daily and weekly working time limits applicable to the employee,
• the daily and weekly working hours applicable to the employee,
• the breaks to which the employee is entitled,
• the daily and weekly rest to which the employee is entitled,
• the rules on overtime and compensation for overtime,
• in the case of shift work, the rules on the transition from shift to shift,
• in the case of several workplaces, rules on movement between workplaces,
• the components of the employee’s remuneration and benefits in cash or in kind other than those agreed in the contract of employment,
• the amount of paid leave to which the employee is entitled, in particular annual leave, or, if it is not possible to determine the amount at the time when the information is communicated to the employee, the rules for determining and granting it,
• the applicable rules on termination of the employment relationship, including the formal requirements, the length of the notice periods and the time-limit for appeals to an employment tribunal or, where the length of the notice periods cannot be ascertained at the date on which the information is communicated to the employee, the method of determining such periods of notice,
• the employee’s right to training, if provided by the employer, and in particular the general principles of the employer’s training policy,
• the collective bargaining agreement or other collective agreement to which the worker is subject and, where a collective agreement is concluded outside the undertaking by joint bodies or institutions, the name of such bodies or institutions,
• where the employer has not established work regulations, the date, place, time and frequency of payment of remuneration for work, night-time hours and the method of confirming the arrival and presence at work and justifying absence from work adopted by the employer;

2. no later than 30 days from the date of the employee’s admission to work, the name of the social security institutions to which social security contributions relating to the employment relationship are paid and information on the social security protection provided by the employer; this does not apply if the employee chooses the social security institution.

The provision of full and correct information must be ensured not only for compliance reasons, but also in relation to the employer’s liability for misconduct. Indeed, the amendment to the Labour Code makes the offences of i) failing to provide information on the terms and conditions of employment on time, in gross breach of Article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code), and ii) failing to respond to an employee’s request to supplement information on the terms and conditions of employment punishable by a fine of up to PLN 30,000  (Articles 281 § 1(2a) and 2b of the Labour Code).

Article 281 § 1 of the Labour Code:

Anyone who, being the employer or acting on behalf of the employer:

(…)

2a) fails to inform an employee in a timely manner of the terms and conditions of their employment, in gross violation of the provisions of Articles 29 § 3, 32 and 33 and Article 291 § 2 and § 4,

2b) fails to respond to an employee’s request in a timely manner, in paper or electronic form, or fails to inform the employee of the reason for refusing a request as referred to in Article 293 § 3, 

(…)

– will be subject to a fine from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.