Labor Code. Four-day working week, presumption of employment, changes in seniority. Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk comments

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Protection Council in Brussels last week adopted an EU directive on improving working conditions via online platforms.

– It is estimated that about 30 million people working in the European Union via online platforms are currently deprived of the employee protection that can be enjoyed by people employed under employment contracts or full-time jobs – said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister of Family, in RMF FM work and social policy.

As she noted, these are not only couriers, but also, among others, accountants, translators. – There are and will probably be more and more such competitions. These people are generally treated as sole proprietorshipsas business institutions, and they are simply employees – noted the head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

The EU directive – as explained by the minister – includes, among others: obliges member states to introduce a mechanism such as the presumption of employment. – If a situation arises in which an employee working via the platform performs this work under supervision, during specific hours, he or she meets the criteria applicable to an employment relationship to be treated as an employee by default – Dziemianowicz-Bąk explained in a radio interview. In such a case, “the burden of proving that it is not an employee but a company, a second business, would rest on the online platform.”

One of the proposals presented by the minister envisages equipping the National Labor Inspectorate with competences “that would enable, during an inspection, by way of an administrative decision, the transformation of a false B2B contract or a civil law contract if there are grounds for recognizing an employment relationship.”

– But there are more such possible solutions – she noted, adding that the presumption of employment scheme “should not be limited only to employees employed via online platforms.”

The Minister of Family informed that work on preparing regulations on this matter has already begun. – They will also take place within the Social Dialogue Council, because it is a large, even revolutionary change in the Labor Code – emphasized Dziemianowicz-Bąk on RMF FM.

This is not the only big change prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. – We are finalizing work on a project implementing the commitment from the National Reconstruction Plan. European Commission expects Poland to counteract segmentation in the labor market and obliges us to develop legislative solutions that will lead to fair and equitable contributions for various types of contracts. We are working on mechanisms that will not pass on the costs of contributions to the employees themselves, said the minister on RMF FM.

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk was asked in a radio interview whether, according to the proposal, all mandate contracts and contracts for specific work would be subject to contributions.

– Whether all of them would be excluded, whether some would be treated differently, will still be the subject of discussion. However, as a rule, it should not be the case that the difference between civil law contracts and employment contracts is so large that it is profitable and calculated for a dishonest employer to employ people on falsified civil law contracts – she said.

The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy emphasized that the ministry she runs, in addition to wanting to fight against the “demoralization” of employment here and now, also wants to “mitigate the effects of the denigrating that Polish employees have had to deal with for years.”

– We are already finishing the project and it will soon be directed to further government work on including periods of employment, either as a sole proprietorship or under civil law contracts, in the length of service – informed Dziemianowicz-Bąk on RMF FM.

In the opinion of the Ministry of Family, “it is an absurd situation when a man with several years of experience, a great expert, is treated by the state and the law as if he did nothing.” – He is treated as if he was just starting his professional career, just starting his adventure with work. This has specific, measurable consequences related to the length of leave, internship allowances, and including internships as jubilee awards, she pointed out.

– We want to alleviate the effects of the pathology of the labor market. Pathologies that this market has been struggling with for years – emphasized Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk in a radio interview.

The minister was also asked about the issue of shortening working hours in Poland. – Analyzes are ongoing. I asked the Central Institute for Labor Protection for such analyses. We are also observing natural experiments that result from the fact that companies themselves are increasingly deciding on such pilots, attempts to shorten the working week, knowing that the length of work does not always translate into its effectiveness, and that a rested employee is often a more productive employee. The analyzes show that a more sensible solution would be to shorten the working week to four days rather than to 35 hours, because it is more in line with adapting the shift system to such work framework – noted Dziemianowicz-Bąk.

The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy admitted that she would like the project on this matter to appear this year. In her opinion, it is “high time” for changes, although she emphasized that she was speaking on her own behalf, not on behalf of the entire government.

– As Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, I believe that working time and the working week should be shortened. More than 100 years have passed since the introduction of the 8-hour working day, technology has advanced, and work efficiency is not equal to its length. Poles are among those EU nations that work the longest and lack time for life, the minister pointed out.

This, in her opinion, translates into occupational diseases and the demographic situation. – Shortening the working week would be a social investment. I would like it to be possible to shorten working hours this term – she said on RMF FM Dziemianowicz-Bąk.

The minister also said that her ministry is not working on a project abolishing the ban on Sunday trading.