{"id":838603,"date":"2023-08-31T19:54:16","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T17:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talenti.pl\/materialy\/nowe-przepisy-dotyczace-pracy-zdalnej-wazne-zmiany-dla-rodzicow-i-nie-tylko\/"},"modified":"2024-03-18T16:00:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T15:00:37","slug":"nowe-przepisy-dotyczace-pracy-zdalnej-wazne-zmiany-dla-rodzicow-i-nie-tylko","status":"publish","type":"materialy","link":"https:\/\/talenti.pl\/en\/materials\/nowe-przepisy-dotyczace-pracy-zdalnej-wazne-zmiany-dla-rodzicow-i-nie-tylko\/","title":{"rendered":"New remote work legislation – important changes for parents and not only."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you work or would you like to work remotely? This year (April\/May), new legislation regulating remote work in Poland came into effect. Find out what benefits you may be entitled to and what your responsibilities are when working remotely. We write about what’s new and put your remote work knowledge in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Remote work. Legal changes in 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Does my employer have to provide me with internet access when working remotely? Can I travel and work remotely? Can I really expect a sudden visit from my employer at the location where I am working? There are still many questions about remote working, so it is worth taking another look at what our rights and obligations are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all remote work is created equal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What does remote work really mean? Such work can be performed either entirely or partly from home. This means that the so-called hybrid working system is also a type of remote work. It may require consultation with the employer in each case, or it may be formally regulated, e.g. in the employment contract or by appropriate bylaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to implement remote work at the company?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are three ways to introduce remote work into a company. Your employer can provide you with relevant terms and conditions for such work and make sure that you are aware of them. You are then bound by the regulations of this document. The second way is through an individual agreement with the employee. You may, for example, specify the conditions in your employment contract. The third case relates to an epidemiological event or other state of emergency where it becomes hazardous to perform work at the office. Then the employer can enforce remote working. If none of the above situations occur, you have the right (according to the Labour Code) to work remotely occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Occasional remote work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It may be the case that your employer will not set out the rules for remote work – no terms and conditions will be created and no appropriate provisions will be added to your contract. What then? According to the Labour Code, you will be entitled to 24 days of occasional remote work. These days work on the same basis as holidays, so when changing employers you still have to stick to 24 days per calendar year. The HR department should take note and keep track of such days. Can an employer refuse to grant such a day? Yes, but they must justify their decision. The request for a day of remote work is informal and it is sufficient to ask the employer in an email for approval. There are no restrictions as to combining these days, but theoretically they should serve for fortuitous events and emergencies, and should not be scheduled. This matter has not been regulated yet. Furthermore, the employer also does not reimburse the employee for the costs of remote work. So when is an employee reimbursed for those costs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of remote work – who pays<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the case of regulated remote working, e.g. through a provision in the contract or specific terms and confitions, the employer must compensate the employee for the costs incurred due to such work. Here, they have two options to choose from – an equivalent or a flat rate. In simple terms, the equivalent will be individual for each employee and calculated based on the costs incurred, while the flat rate is a predetermined and unchangeable amount independent of the actual costs incurred by the employee in a given month. A flat rate is a generally accepted average of expenses and is much easier for the employer to manage. The employer should take into account factors such as electricity, water, internet, and telephone usage, as well as equipment maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic equipment and office supplies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You may be wondering how the issue of office equipment such as a laptop, a printer or even a chair is handled in this case. Here, the matter is very individual. Undoubtedly, an employee must be provided with equipment without which they would not be able to do their job, e.g. a laptop. The situation varies predominantly when we are dealing with a person who is just starting a new job and is negotiating the terms of their remote work, as opposed to a person who has always worked from the office and would now like to work from home. Below, you will see two situations on different ends of the spectrum; both are legal and dependent on the employer’s goodwill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am starting a corporate job as a UX Designer.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The company is headquartered in Gdansk and I live in Krakow. I will be working 100% remotely. I am currently negotiating the terms of the employment contract. It looks like my employer will reimburse me 200 PLN every month for the use of electricity, internet etc. Within a week, they will send me a laptop, a keyboard and a monitor via a delivery service. In addition, I will get 1,000 PLN every year for the so-called ‘office supplies’. Those working from our office in Gda\u0144sk are entitled to use the gym and swimming pool for free, so those working remotely will receive an additional 100 PLN per month for sports and recreation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I work as a manager in an office and want to switch to remote.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I am a manager at an insurance company and have asked for remote work. I am not the first person to make such a request, so the employer has created terms and conditions that define the rules. Each employee can work remotely a maximum of 2 days a week on the laptop they use at the office. Everyone gets a 100 PLN reimbursement for this. At the office, I have an extra monitor, a printer and a sound-proof room from where I can call clients. The employer does not consider this necessary for work, saying that I can use these amenities while working from the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who cannot be denied remote work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are several groups of people who cannot be denied remote work. These include pregnant women, parents of children under the age of 4, parents of disabled children, people caring for a disabled household member or close family member. Such employees can be denied remote work, only if it is impossible to do so. If it is made difficult but not impossible, it does not constitute grounds for refusal. What about other employees on contrcats of eomployment? In their case, the employer is not obliged to agree to remote work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote work supervision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even remotely, we are employees and we have our rights and obligations. According to the law, the employer can supervise whether we abide by working hours and whether the time is actually spent on work. We can also be supervised with regards to the conditions in which we work – whether they comply with occupational health and safety regulations. The last item that the employer can verify is our compliance with GDPR and data protection procedures. However, they must first notify us about the inspection and it must take place during working hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I work remotely, can I travel abroad?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remote work from abroad is possible under several conditions. Firstly, you have to inform your employer about such an intention – you cannot simply pack up and change your place of work. The employer also needs to agree to it, and by law, we need to specify our exact location. The employer cannot then inspect us, so this situation requires a lot of trust on their part. If we want to work on the road, travelling around Europe for example, we should theoretically provide our location every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote work and its principles are a topic of continuous importance for many of us. More and more of us are choosing to work from home, abroad or on the road. It is therefore worth checking what rules have changed, what rights and obligations we have in relation to remote work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is based on the recording of the webinar “Not knowing the law can be harmful” with Daria Milewska and Agnieszka Czmyr-Kaczanowska, organised by talenti – watch the full recording! (PL only)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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