12-10-2015
Payroll
Poland
Labor Code, employment contract, fixed-term contract
The legislator decided that fixed-term employment contract may be concluded for the maximum period of 33 months. Also, the total employment period under several fixed-term employment contracts concluded by the same parties to the employment relationship may not exceed 33 months. The exceedance of this period causes that the employee shall be deemed employed under an indefinite-term employment contract.
Second important change is introduction rule that the employer may enter into up to three fixed-term employment contracts with one employee. If the fourth contract is concluded, the employee shall be deemed employed under an indefinite-term contract.
Regulations allows some exceptions to the aforementioned limitations on the time and number of fixed-term employment contracts (to include contracts concluded to replace employees or to perform seasonal and temporary work, or those entered into for objective reasons on the part of the employer, which were considered controversial once they had been introduced).
What is more the legislator introduce possibility of termination any fixed-term employment contract on notice, irrespective of the term for which it has been concluded and whether appropriate provisions have been set forth therein. The notice period for this kind of contracts will be the same like for indefinite-term contracts (from 2 weeks to 3 month) and it will be conditional on the length of service with a given employer.
Under the amended act, the number of employment contract types will be reduced to three:
- trial period employment contract
- fixed-term employment contract
- indefinite-term employment contract
Thus, contracts concluded for a period necessary to perform specific work will no longer be allowed and fixed-term contracts will be concluded instead.
On the basis of the transitional provisions period of employment in determining the notice period and a maximum period of employment under a contract of employment for a specified period will start from the date of entry into force of the amendments or 22 February 2016.