That is, the matter of the employer's obligations

The previous article in this series was devoted to employee responsibilities. It's time to shift perspective and familiarize ourselves with the obligations employers are saddled with. While payment of wages may be the most important responsibility from an employee's perspective, it's not their only obligation. Before proceeding with a brief list and description of the most important responsibilities, it's important to emphasize that this list is not exhaustive, and in many cases, it won't even cover most responsibilities. This is because their number far exceeds that of employee responsibilities, and they are significantly more detailed and comprehensive.

First of all – information!

The employer's primary obligation to an employee is to induct them into a specific position, familiarize them with the work process, and familiarize them with their basic rights. The method of conveying all information regarding the job should be tailored to the type of work and the employee's personal characteristics. The employer should receive written confirmation from the employee that they have been instructed – this will serve as evidence if the employee justifies their failure to perform a given duty by failing to inform them of their scope of duties. The instruction itself can be provided in any form, even verbally. The employer is also obligated to inform employees about the possibility of full-time or part-time employment, promotion opportunities, and job vacancies.

100% of the norm

Another employer's responsibility is to organize work in a way that ensures full utilization of working time, as well as the achievement of high productivity and appropriate quality of work by employees, utilizing their talents and qualifications. This obligation involves organizing work to be as effective as possible, taking into account employee competencies. This involves ensuring conditions for proper management and cooperation, as well as the necessary raw materials and supplies.

What to do to get things done and not get worked up?

Employers are also obligated to organize work in a way that minimizes its burden, especially monotonous work and work at a predetermined pace. This involves changing employee responsibilities to make the work less monotonous. For example, employers may introduce shifts after a specified work period, introduce additional breaks, add other activities to monotonous work, and so on.

Counteracting discrimination and mobbing

An important obligation is to combat discrimination in employment, particularly on the grounds of gender, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, trade union membership, ethnic origin, denomination, sexual orientation, as well as employment for a fixed or indefinite period, or full-time or part-time. Fulfilling this obligation should involve not only refraining from discrimination by the employer but also implementing a range of preventive measures and measures to respond quickly and effectively to the occurrence of discrimination in the workplace. Employers should make the provisions regarding equal treatment in employment available to employees in the form of written information distributed throughout the workplace or provide employees with access to these provisions in other ways accepted by the employer. It is also worth mentioning that employers are also obligated to combat mobbing, which will be the subject of a subsequent article, so we invite you to follow this series.

Health and Safety

Each of us has completed at least one occupational health and safety (OHS) test in our lives, which outlined how to sit, when to take breaks, or what to do to de-stress (personally, my favorite way to de-stress, as recommended in OHS training, is to look at the greenery outside the window ;)). This is the employee's responsibility, but also, above all, the employer's responsibility. Employers must ensure safe and hygienic working conditions and conduct systematic employee training in occupational health and safety. This involves actually ensuring OHS, not just literally fulfilling the regulations specifying obligations in this area. Violating this obligation is a serious offense against employee rights. Anyone responsible for OHS, or managing employees or other individuals who fails to comply with OHS regulations or principles, is subject to a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.

Remuneration

From an employee's perspective, another responsibility seems to be one of the most important: timely and accurate salary payment. The issue of salary and payment methods will be the subject of a subsequent article in this series, so we invite you to stay tuned for future posts.

Raising professional qualifications

Employers are also obligated to facilitate employee development. This obligation applies not only to qualifications related to a specific employee's position, but also to the employee's overall qualifications. Facilitating this does not mean an obligation to organize training, but rather to facilitate development opportunities for employees who take individual steps in this area.

Social fund

Another important employer obligation, from the employee's perspective, is meeting the social needs of employees, within the limits of their available resources. Employers employing at least 50 full-time employees are obligated to conduct social activities. Such activities may include supporting various forms of recreation (subsidizing trips), cultural and educational activities (reimbursements for theater tickets, for example), providing material assistance – in kind or financial, as well as repayable or non-repayable housing assistance.

Archiving

Maintaining and storing documentation in paper or electronic form regarding employment-related matters and employee personal files (employee documentation) is a crucial obligation. This also applies to storing employee documentation in a manner that guarantees its confidentiality, integrity, completeness, and accessibility, in conditions that do not pose a risk of damage or destruction, throughout the employment period and for a period of 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the employment relationship was terminated or expired. Employees have the right to request documentation even after their employment ends, which is why proper maintenance and storage are so crucial.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the issue of employer obligations is difficult to encompass in a single post. Therefore, our series will include posts addressing both other obligations and those specifically mentioned above. This article aims to provide a framework within which you can navigate when filing claims against employers in connection with employment relationships.

Regardless of the above, we invite you to read the next article in which we will present the issue of employer and employee rights in more detail.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Legal status as of September 29, 2023

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