While Polish labour law is in principle quite restrictive, the Labour Code provides on as many as three occasions for the possibility of suspending certain regulations. These are, of course, limited and conditional upon meeting a number of requirements.
The first regulation that addresses the issue is Article 91 of the Labour Code. It allows the conclusion of an agreement suspending the application of all or some of the provisions of labour law determining the rights and obligations of the parties to an employment relationship if warranted by the employer’s financial standing. However, this does not apply to the Labour Code and the provisions of any other statutes and implementing regulations. So practically speaking, the scope of the provisions the application of which can be suspended is limited to intra-enterprise labour law rules, i.e., regulations and enterprise labour agreements and collective labour agreements, as well as charters laying down the rights and obligations of the parties to an employment relationship within the relevant work establishment. The agreement is concluded by the employer and a trade union representing the employees, and if no trade unions operate at the employer’s, the agreement is concluded by the employer and employee representatives appointed under the procedure in effect at the employer’s. The suspension of the application of the provisions of labour law may not last longer than three years. The employer submits the agreement to the relevant district labour inspector. To the extent and over the time set forth under the agreement, the terms provided for under the suspended regulations do not apply by operation of law.
As regards contracts of employment, there is a separate regulation that lays down similar terms, namely Article 231a of the Labour Code, that addresses the application of terms of employment that are less advantageous than those provided for under contracts of employment concluded with such employees if warranted by the employer’s financial standing. In this case, limitations are imposed on the employers that are allowed to conclude the agreement. The application of the provision is restricted to employers who are not covered by a collective labour agreement or employ fewer than 20 employees. Meeting one of the above conditions is sufficient. The other conditions are the same as in the article discussed previously, and so the agreement cannot be concluded for a term of over three years, and the employer is required to submit it to the relevant district labour inspector. The agreement is concluded by the employer and a trade union representing the employees, and if no trade unions operate at the employer’s, the agreement is concluded by the employer and employee representatives appointed under the procedure in effect at the employer’s.
The last provision addressing the issue under consideration is Article 24127 of the Labour Code. It provides for a suspension, on the grounds of the employer’s financial standing, of the application of an establishment or multi-establishment agreement by its parties. This is achieved by the conclusion of a suspension agreement for a period of up to three years. The suspension agreement is filed with the register of enterprise or multi-enterprise agreements, as the case may be. To the extent and over the time laid down under the suspension agreement, the terms of employment and other acts providing the grounds for establishing the labour relationship set forth under the multi-enterprise and enterprise agreement do not apply by operation of law.
It is worth noting that a condition repeated in all the provisions referred to above is the employer’s financial standing. However, it must be borne in mind that it is up to the parties to the agreement to decide if the condition has been met; the Supreme Court held this issue to be beyond the court’s remit.