Since the Act came into force, a new working regime has taken effect for posted workers in Poland.

Long-term posting rules

When the posting period exceeds 12 months, an employer have to provide a posted worker with the same working conditions as provided for a worker employed in Poland. Rules and procedures for concluding and terminating employment contracts and for applying non-compete clauses, occupational pension schemes and worker capital plans are exempted from the conditions which must be provided for workers.

The 12-month period can be extended up to 18 months if an employer sends a justified notification regarding the extension to the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) by the end of the 12-month period at the latest. The justified notification is not required if a posting has started prior to the act entering into force. In this case, the long-term posting rules will apply after the end of the 18-month posting period.

Employment agency rules

A temporary employment agency or placement agency will also be considered as an employer posting workers when a worker is being posted to another EU Member State not by one of these entities but by the user employer who hires the worker. As a result, these agencies are entities which have to comply with the rules on posting.

Calculating time periods

The periods of posting of all posted workers will be cumulative if they are successively posted to perform the same job at the same place.

Remuneration

Employers are required to provide posted workers with remuneration which includes all mandatory components of remuneration provided within Polish law, e.g. Labour Code and collective agreements. The previous regulation obliged employers to provide posted workers with the minimum wage.

Allowances and expenses

Posting allowance shall be included in a posted worker's remuneration provided that it does not represent reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the posting. If (according to the applicable law) the posting allowance is not distinguished from the expenses allowance, the whole allowance will be treated as reimbursement of expenses. Allowances and expenses: An employer must provide a posted worker with allowances to cover costs related to business travel from the place of work in Poland, to which the worker was posted, to another place of work in Poland or outside Poland.

Information requirements

A Polish user company to which a worker is posted must inform the temporary work agency or placement agency in writing about working conditions applicable to the worker.

A Polish user company who hires a worker from a temporary work agency or a placement agency and intends to send the worker to another Member State to provide services is obliged to inform the agency in writing about this intention prior to acting.

An employer is obliged to report about any changes in the information included in the statement on the posting that had been submitted to the PIP. Previously, only some changes were reported to the PIP.

Penalties

Non-compliance with the new information requirements against the temporary work agency or a placement agency may result in a fine of 1000 PLN to 30 000 PLN.

Other

Documentation concerning posting

An employer posting a worker to Poland is obliged to draw up documents setting out the worker's remuneration in such way that the components of that remuneration are easily identified in accordance with the applicable law (national legislation or practice of the Member State from which the worker is posted).

National Labour Inspectorate

PIP's rights and duties have been extended in a way that allow it to verify compliance with the laws (not only Polish rules on posting but also those in force in other Member States) in a more effective way, e.g. the PIP is authorised to request information regarding posting outside of Poland in the event of a possible infringement of applicable provisions of the Member State where the worker has been posted.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.