European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Article 129, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140(1), 143, 144, 145, 146, 150, 237(11a), 237(13a) -Act of 26.06.1974 - Labour Code; Article 3, 4, 5 - Act of 11.11.2013 on special solutions related to the protection of jobs
Polish labour law stipulates that working time must not exceed 8 hours in a 24-hour period and an average of 40 hours in an average five-day working week in an applicable reference period not exceeding 4 months.
Working time may be reduced below these norms for employees working in particularly arduous or harmful conditions by providing for breaks from work that count as working time or by reducing these norms; in the case of monotonous work or work at a fixed pace, breaks from work that count as working time may also be provided. The list of jobs involving strenuous or monotonous work must be determined by the employer after consultation with the employees or their representatives in the manner and in accordance with the principles defined in Article 237(11a) and (13a) of the Labour Code on consultation with the employees' representative and after consultation with a doctor responsible for the preventive health care of employees as described in Article 145 of the Labour Code.
There are also provisions that allow working time to be reduced in special circumstances, which are included in the Act on Special Solutions Related to Job Protection. This law applies to employers who have experienced a decrease in economic activity, defined as the sale of goods or services, calculated in terms of quantity or value, of no less than 15% in total, calculated as a ratio of total turnover for 6 consecutive months during a period of 12 months prior to the date of application for benefits. If the employer's situation meets the above conditions, an agreement can be reached with the trade unions (or with the employees' representative if there is no trade union at the workplace) to reduce working hours by a maximum of 50%. The remuneration of the employees concerned (up to the minimum wage) and the allowance for the reduction of working hours (up to the amount of the unemployment benefit) are financed by the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (Fundusz Gwarantowanych Świadczeń Pracowniczych).
Amendments to the Labour Code were introduced in August 2013, allowing greater flexibility in working time arrangements.
The first change concerns the possibility of extending the reference period. Within any system of working time arrangements, the reference period (working time accounting period) may be extended up to 12 months if this is justified by objective, technical or organisational reasons. This option generally applies to the entire workforce of the enterprise. The other change was the introduction of flexitime, which means that the work schedule may provide for different starting times or specify the period within which the employee must start work (e.g. from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.) This option is more personal and can be tailored to the needs of a particular employee.
Both schemes can only be introduced through agreements with employee representatives. If there are trade unions in a company, such an agreement must be made with them. In a non-unionised company, a similar agreement must be made with employee representatives. In the latter case, the employees' bargaining position is weaker, as these representatives do not enjoy any protection under Polish law (they are not the same as representatives - members of the works council, who only have information and consultation rights). The Labour Inspectorate must be informed no later than 5 working days after the agreement is concluded. There are also working time arrangements other than the basic one which contain some element of flexibility. The systems of working time organisation for extension of working time duration beyond 8 hours in a 24-hour period (art.135–138 and 143-144 Labour Code) are the following:
The introduction of the possibility to reduce working time on the basis of the act of 11.10.2013 on special solutions related to the protection of jobs was met with sharp criticism of trade unions and is not being used in practice. This is due to the low level of basic wages, whose further reduction within the shortened working time schemes would in most cases be unacceptable for trade unions.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (as of 27 April 2017), 2,366 companies have introduced agreements on flexible time arrangements between 23 August 2015 and 24 April 2017. Those were mainly medium-sized companies (753), followed by small (620), micro (573) and large companies (420). Most of the agreements were introduced in companies operating operating in manufacturing (885), wholesale and retail (366), and construction (223). There are no data available as to what kind of flexibility these agreements concern (extending the reference period or flextime arrangements). The number of such agreements is steadily increasing. There were 901 agreements until May 2014; latest data from 15 October 2015 show an increase with a total of 1,766 agreements.
The extension of the reference period results in the employees receiving less overtime pay. The relation between the extension of the reference period in some working time arrangement schemes (work in equivalent working time systems) and occupational health and safety is debated in academic literature (see for example Rączka, 2014). Although the extension of the reference period beyond the applicable working time system should be made 'in accordance with general principles for the protection of the safety and health of workers', it is allowed in working time arrangement systems which are already in themselves burdensome for the employee (Articles 136 and 137 of the Labour Code) or which entail difficult working environment conditions (Article 145 of the Labour Code).
Eurofound (2015), Poland: Working time flexibility, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/working-time-flexibility/poland
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
