What new developments may await employers in 2020? Below you will find information on the labour law and social insurance bills that are currently before Parliament or that Parliament has already finished working on.
Remuneration quotation requirement in job offers
Yet another bill to amend the Labor Code was put forward before the Sejm on 12 December 2019. The bill requires employers to disclose the gross remuneration they propose to offer their new employees and the specific minimum and maximum figures employees may hope to receive. The new regulations call for fines of anywhere between PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000 to be imposed on employers (or persons acting on their behalf) failing to provide this information in breach of statutory law or for hiring employees to work for less than the remuneration stated in the job offer. The bill, forwarded for the first reading in the Sejm on 8 January 2020, has already been criticized by employers pointing out that information about wages and salaries is subject to business secrecy and that its disclosure may have a major impact on competitiveness. Employers also note that gross remuneration stated in the job offer does not include additional benefits and bonuses, which means that potential employees will not be getting the full picture of their earnings anyway.
The insurance premium cap
On 19 November 2019 a bill to amend the Social Insurance System Act and certain other acts was put before the Sejm by left-wing parties. Among other things, the bill is intended to eliminate the annual cap based on payment of social insurance premiums of 30 times the average wage. On 15 January 2020, the Sejm's Committee for Social Policy and the Family voted to reject the bill in its first reading which means it will no longer be considered by Parliament. No other initiative to do away with the so called "30-times limit" is currently on the table in the Sejm.
Restrictions on Sunday trading
On 12 December 2019, a group of opposition deputies put forward a bill to amend the Labor Code and repeal the Act of 10 January 2018 on Restrictions on Trade on Sundays, Public Holidays and Certain Other Days. The bill was forwarded for its first reading in the Sejm on 8 January 2020.
Under the laws currently in force, trade outlets must be closed in 2020 on all but seven Sundays in the year, with some exemptions, including postal outlets and gas stations. The new bill calls for the reintroduction of Sunday trading, with employees working on Sundays being allowed at least two free Sundays in any given month.
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