On September 7, 2019, amendments to the Labor Code entered into force, introduced by the Act of May 16, 2019 amending the Labor Code and some other acts (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1043).

The amendment modified the wording of the provisions regarding non-discrimination. The wording of the present regulations allowed for the assumption that the exemplary description of cases of discrimination relates only to the employee’s personal properties, not related to the work he or she performs. Deletion of the phrase “in particular” means that any objectively unjustified unequal treatment of employees will be considered as discrimination.

In the light of currently applicable provisions, an employee who has suffered mobbing has the right to claim damages from the employer, which until now was conditioned by the employee terminating the employment contract justified by the mobbing he or she suffered. The amendment abolished the requirement to terminate the employment contract, thus, from September 2019, every case of mobbing entitles the employee to claim damages.

Further changes relate to employment certificates. Starting from September 7, 2019 failure to comply with the deadline for issuing an employment certificate (7 days from the date of termination of employment) is punishable by a fine (amount of fine from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000). If it is impossible to issue an employment certificate directly to an employee or a person authorized by him, the employer will be obliged to provide him with the certificate by sending it through a postal operator within the meaning of the Postal Law.

The deadline for the employee to submit an application for rectification of an employment certificate has been extended from seven to fourteen days. If the application is not accepted (refusal or silence of the employer), the employee may appeal to the labor court. The employee may also apply to the labor court to determine the right to receive an employment certificate (e.g. the employer does not exist). A final court order requiring the issue of an employment certificate or establishing the right to receive an employment certificate replaces the certificate itself (Article 477^(1a) §2 and Article 691⁽¹⁰⁾ §4 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

In the discussed amendment, the rights of employees taking parental leave and the immediate family members of employees who obtained the right to maternity leave, leave on conditions of the maternity leave or parental leave or discontinued gainful activity in order to take care of a child were equalized. The equalization of these rights applies to, among others, employment protection, the possibility of binding application for vacation leave and the right to remuneration for the entire period of unemployment if the person taking such leave is reinstated.