Employer’s information obligations connected with the conclusion of an employment contract after the amendments to the Polish Labour Code

Abstract

The article concerns the revised Polish Labour Code (LC) and its amendments which entered into force in 2016 and introduced new or modified the existing disclosure obligations imposed on employers concluding employment contracts with employees. The analysis of the new wording of the provisions leads to the conclusion that proper implementation of employer information obligations can be very embarrassing, and sometimes even impossible to achieve in practice. It is also suggested that supervisory organs may face serious difficulties in effectively controlling fulfilment of these obligations because the legislature has failed to equip the labour inspectorate with effective tools to respond to abuse quickly. Further, it is pointed that some of the provisions and Articles 251 § 5 and 29 § 11 LC in particular create serious doubts of interpretation. These relate, inter alia, to the understanding of ‘proper fulfilment of obligations’ specified in the regulation, which form it should take, as well as the kind of sanctions for improper satisfaction of the obligation. Finding answers to these questions is one of the purposes of this article.