The Act dated 10 June 2016 on the Posting of
Workers in the Framework of the Provisions of
Services (the “Act”) came into force on 18 June
2016. The Act lays down, among others, rules on
posting workers within Poland as part of the
provision of services, for verifying the compliance
with the provisions on posting workers and the
fulfilment of disclosure obligations related to the
posting of workers, and also on the protection of
workers posted within and from Poland.
The purpose of this legislation is to implement
Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the
posting of workers in the framework of the
provision of services and Directive 2014/67/UE of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 15
May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive
96/71/EC. With the entry into force of the posted
workers legislation, the provisions of the Second
Section of Chapter IIa of the Polish Labour Code,
which dealt with the terms of employment for
workers posted within the Polish territory from a
European Union member state, were repealed.
Under the Act, employers who post workers within
Poland are required to provide these workers with
terms not less favourable than those provided for
under the Labour Code and other regulations
governing the rights and obligations of employees,
for example, in respect of working time standards
and the number of working time hours, as well as
daily and weekly rest periods, the minimum wage,
rates of pay and overtime allowance, and also the
protection of pregnant workers, including during
maternity
leave.
However,
the
provisions
concerning minimum paid annual holidays,
minimum rates of pay and overtime allowance will
not apply to posted workers where they are tasked
– in line with their qualifications and provided that
the duration of the worker’s posting does not
exceed eight days in a year, starting with the date
on which they commence work at a given position –
with initial assembly or first installation work as
contemplated under an agreement between the
employer posting the worker concerned within the
territory of Poland and an undertaking operating
therein, if such assembly / installation is necessary
for taking the goods supplied into use. This
derogation does not apply, however, to any
employee performing at such place any work
associated with the construction or maintenance of
a building structure.
In addition, under the Act the employer posting
workers within the territory of Poland is obliged to
designate a person (to be present within Poland for
the duration of the posting) authorised to act as
intermediary in contacts with the State Labour
Inspection (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy – the “PiP”)
and to send and/or receive documents and notices.
Further obligations imposed on the employer
concerned include filing with the PiP a statement
providing the statutorily defined information that is
necessary to carry out factual checks and controls at the workplace (no later than on the date of
commencement of the provision of service) and
notifying each change to the above-mentioned
information within seven business days from such
change. These statements and notices may be
delivered on paper or electronically, either in
Polish or in English.
Finally, employers posting workers within the
territory of Poland are required to keep (during the
posting) documentation relating to the posting of
each worker (in electronic or paper form).
The Polish legislature has also introduced the
possibility that an employer failing to meet the
duties imposed on it may be subject to a fine. The
amount of this fine may range from PLN 1,000 to
PLN 30,000.