New Labour Code to be created

The Regulation of the Council of Ministers concerning the Codification Commission of Labour Law entered into force on 1 September 2016. The task of the Commission will be to prepare drafts of the Labour Code and the Code of Collective Labour Law.

“We return to work on new labour codes. We believe that the Code from 1974 requires a change,” said Minister Elżbieta Rafalska. “After partial changes in the labour law, such as the introduction of the minimum hourly wage or the elimination of the first day employment syndrome, it is time for a comprehensive reorganisation of this area.”

In 2006, the codification commission ended its work. It drafted two bills on the labour code – individual and collective employment relations, however, work on them was not continued. The new Commission will use the drafts developed by its predecessors.

14 prominent representatives of science and practice of individual and collective labour law will be appointed to the Commission. Candidates for members of the Codification Commission are put up by trade union organisations and employers' organisations, as well as by the minister responsible for labour affairs.

Due to the changing labour market situation, legal norms that form individual labour law need to be reclassified, whereas the statutory provisions forming collective labour law should be codified.