Including periods of work performed under a mandate contract and running an individual business into employment tenure is controversial, according to the Confederation Lewiatan. The Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy intends to add such a provision to the Labor Code. The draft amendment is expected to be adopted by the government and submitted to the Sejm in the third quarter of 2024.
“The current situation is unfavorable for employees who, before entering into an employment relationship, engaged in business activities in the specified forms or worked under civil law contracts, were cooperating persons, or were members of agricultural production cooperatives and agricultural circles cooperatives. However, there is controversy regarding the automatic equalization of work performed under an employment relationship with professional activities carried out under other legal forms. The introduction of changes that partially equalize the rights of employees and persons previously employed under civil law contracts could lead to the recognition of these contracts as equivalent to employment relationships, regardless of the subject and manner of cooperation,” says Robert Lisicki, Director of the Labor Department at the Confederation Lewiatan.
The unique nature of work performed under an employment relationship forms the basis for the separation of labor law. For the purpose of realizing rights under the employment relationship, tasks performed as an entrepreneur, for example, cannot always be equated with work performed under an employment relationship in a specified position.
Furthermore, the draft law raises concerns about including documented periods of work conducted abroad, other than employment, into the employment tenure. How should the concept of gainful activity be understood, and how can it be documented, especially in the case of non-EU countries?
The amendment will increase the number of cases where employees, after long periods, even several years, will present documents that affect their entitlement to certain rights. In such situations, they may expect to be granted specific rights for previous years. Employee rights should be determined from the day the employee presents documents to the employer confirming previous periods of employment, such as the right to increased vacation entitlement.
