Labor Code – changes from April 26, new leaves, breaks at work, the most important changes

On February 21 this year, new provisions regulating the control of employee sobriety entered into force, and on April 7 – regulating provisions remote work.

The next amendment to the Labor Code will come into force on April 26 this year. It aims, among other things, to increase the predictability of employment, improve working conditions and give working parents additional rights.

Employees will gain two additional breaks from work: lasting at least 15 minutes if the working time will be longer than 9 hours and another at least 15 minutes if the working time will be longer than 16 hours. Employer will not be able to prohibit the employee from simultaneously remaining in an employment relationship with another employer; he will also not be able to include provisions in the employment contract prohibiting the employee from taking up other gainful employment, unless appropriate and well-formulated non-competition agreements are concluded.

– When it comes to additional earnings, of course, employees could take seasonal jobs and take other jobs after working hours. But now they will actually be able to work for two employers, explained Aneta Czernek, an expert on the labor market.

The employee will be entitled to a new type of employee leave not related to parenthood, so-called carer’s leave of 5 working days in a calendar year. You will be able to use it to provide personal care or support to a family member who needs it for serious medical reasons or to someone living in the same household.

parental leave will be extended to 41 weeks – in the case of the birth of one child i up to 43 weeks in the case of multiple births. An employee raising a child up to the age of eight will be able to apply for flexible work arrangements. In addition, an employee raising a child under the age of eight may not, without their consent, be employed overtime, employed at night, employed in the intermittent working time system and delegated outside the permanent place of work.

– We have two types of such big changes when it comes to holidays. One concerns parental leaves, and the other – leaves for all employees – said Czernek.

– Parental leave will be extended by an additional 9 weeks for the father, non-transferable to the mother. Interestingly, our legislator is working to ensure that in the case of single mothers, this leave is transferred to the mother when the father is absent or the father is unknown, she explained.

– The second big change is an additional 5 days of leave in the so-called emergencies. Here one would have to ask the legislator what the author had in mind? Because, as a rule, most employees can use this leave in the event of a sudden illness or sudden event that affects people living with them in the same household. But tax office employees can use this leave for a person who does not live with them. This applies only to the employees of the treasury – emphasized Czernek.

The employee will be additionally entitled to it during the calendar year dismissal due to force majeure in urgent family matters caused by illness or accident 2 days or 16 hours. During the period of this dismissal, the employee will retain the right to half of the salary.

– The employer was not provided with any tool that could verify the entitlement to this leave. There is also a solution, there is no tool that verifies what force majeure is – commented the expert.