Labour and Social Security Journal 08/2022

The employer's managerial powers arising from labour law are not the same in nature as those shaped by technology, they locate the employer's managerial action in a very different area from technology — in interpersonal relationships and not in data, in instructions and not in signals, in relating to individuals' ways of being and not to feedback, to their conscientiousness and diligence and not to setting them up for exploitation. Technological leadership has a different means of expression, a different methodology of action, a different scale of coercion and order, is secured differently, and does not know the limits that are placed on normative leadership. Technology allows for a change in the paradigm of management, thanks to access to what was, which connects with what is, in order to determine what will be (feedback mechanism), uncovers what was hitherto hidden in the sense of impossibility to extract it from the labour legislation — the continuity, the permanence of supervision and the possibility of freely positioning the individual as a disposable asset. Technology is a new manifestation of management and, more fundamentally, a new manifestation of reference to human beings and to work; it has led to a hitherto unnoticed transgression of the limits of subjectivity, and thus of what is embedded in the object of regulation, in law, in personal dignity, and to an entry into the area of the possibility of freely objectifying the individual. This article attempts to capture the phenomenon of technological being-in-the-world and the resulting implications for labour law.

Progressing unfavourable climate change — rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, melting glaciers and snow, rising average global sea level, is a reality. To mitigate climate change, emissions must be reduced or prevented. Certain workplaces and industries will undergo changes or disappear altogether as a result of climate change, while others will come into being as we move towards 'greener' economies. Labour law, although not a natural ally in the fight against global warming, can become a very strong partner for environmental law. The Authors point to the obligations of the parties to the employment relationship, which should be reinterpreted to become an effective instrument in this fight. Thus, they start a discussion on the role of labour law in combating climate change.

The article discusses draft of the amendment to the Polish Labour Code regarding collective agreements on remote work. The paper discusses the rules for conclusion of the given collective agreements by trade unions and employers. On the theoretical level the author scrutinize its legal consequences for the system of collective employment law.

The article discusses draft of the amendment to the Polish Labour Code regarding collective agreements on remote work. The paper discusses the rules for conclusion of the given collective agreements by trade unions and employers. On the theoretical level the author scrutinize its legal consequences for the system of collective employment law.

The government draft of the act amending the Labour Code and other acts on, among others, the introduction of remote work institution to the Labour Code, published on the Sejm's website due to the ongoing parliamentary work, provides for the possibility of performing remote work occasionally (occasional remote work). This form of work is to be allowed for 24 days in a calendar year. The proposed regulation does not directly refer to the situation of a part-time employee or employee who commences work during the year. As a consequence, the question arises whether the scope of this right is proportionally reduced. In addition, since this is an annual right related to the employee, should the information on the number of days worked in this form be reflected in the employment certificate in the event of termination of the employment relationship? The analysis carried out in the article allows for the conclusion that the principle of proportionality should be applied in both of the indicated cases, and the employer should indicate in the work certificate the number of days of occasional remote work.

The article concerns the legal consequences of the liquidation of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court and the Chancellery of the President of the Disciplinary Chamber for the employees of these units. In the Act of June 9, 2022, liquidating these units, special provisions were laid down for judges of the Disciplinary Chamber and employees of the Chancellery. The status of other persons employed in the Disciplinary Chamber is regulated by common law. The text explains the separate functioning of the Disciplinary Chamber in the Supreme Court. Next, the analysis covers the legislative and constitutional coherence of the provisions concerning the retirement of the judges of the Disciplinary Chamber. Many doubts are also related to the change of the workplace and the proper application of Article 231 of the Polish Labour Code to the employees of the liquidated Chancellery. Some of them are not applicable, others require the adaptation of the standards contained therein to the situation in which there is no change of employer. The untypical and controversial nature of some of the solutions applied shows the legislator's determination to strengthen the legal position of the employees of the Chancellery of the President of the Disciplinary Chamber. However, these actions did not cover the remaining administrative employees of the Disciplinary Chamber.

The subject of this paper is the judgment of the German Federal Labour Court (BAG) of June 25, 2021, 5 AZR 505/20, in which it was indicated that the caregiver — a foreigner posted to Germany to work in the household of a dependent person, has the right to wages of at least the minimum wage, not only for working time, but also for the period of on-call time. The author discusses the effects of the judgment regarding the legal situation of informal carers from Eastern European countries, as well as the organizational and financial possibilities of providing dependent people with proper care (also around the clock) at home.

The article presents the thesis that county labour market councils (PRRP) play the role of an actor of local governance. As a result of the research, the independence of the stakeholders in the selection of representatives to the PRRP, independence of PRRP in shaping their role in local governance, and the driving force of opinions generated by PRRP were found.

Recently, the problem of legal conditions of testing the sobriety of drivers employed in public transport has become more important in Poland. The author presents the most recent significant judgment of the Supreme Court on the issue of introducing by employers an internal preventive procedure for examining employed drivers in terms of being under the influence of alcohol before starting work. The Supreme Court discusses the relation of this type of procedure to the relevant act provisions and the consequences of the employee's refusal to submit to it.