Labour and Social Security Journal 08/2023

The legality of contractual prohibition or another limitation on the employee's additional employment which goes beyond the scope of competitive activity should be reconsidered in the light of the Act of 9 March 2023 amending the Labour Code and Certain Other Acts (Journal of Laws 2023, item 641), preceded by the Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union (OJ L 186, p. 105). The wording of newly introduced Article 261 of Labour Code does not lead to unambigous conclusions. Hence, in order to determine the consequences of above amendment the other metods of interpretation of the law must be used. In the light of that interpretation the Polish legislator has excluded the competence of labour relationship parties to conclude a contract which sets out a prohibition of additional employment. In the author's opinion such a regulation is an excessive means of limiting the freedom to shape the content of that legal relationship.

This year's amendment to the Labour Code introduced exemption from work due to force majeure. The author analyses this regulation, focusing in particular on the grounds for granting this exemption, as well as its dimension. He also points out the legislator's mistakes that may affect the application of the new provision.

Abstract The latest amendment of February 8, 2023 to the Labor Code and some other acts introduced significant changes in the scope of parental rights not only in relation to employees, but also uniformed services officers and professional soldiers. The article analyzes new regulations concerning the parental rights of police officers. Not all parental rights that employees can exercise apply to police officers. The Act on the Police explicitly excludes the possibility of taking advantage of the institution of reduced working time in the period when a police officer is entitled to grant him or her parental leave (Article 186⁷ of the Labor Code) and to apply for flexible organization of service (Article 188¹ of the Labor Code). In addition, there are limitations resulting from other provisions of the Police Act, which affect the possibility of applying certain regulations of the Labor Code in the field of parental rights, e.g., simultaneous use of parental leave by police officers' parents. 

The article presents the issue of regulations regarding occupational risk assessment for remote and occasional remote work in connection with amendment of the Labor Code. The study presents theoretical and practical aspects of hazard identification and estimation of occupational risk related to remote work. 

The second part of the article is devoted to additional normative changes recently added to the Polish legal system, which are provided by Polish social assistance to war refugees from the territory of Ukraine.

Abstract In the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court the requirement has been formulated, to precede the withdrawal of the A1 certificate by ZUS with an agreement on retrospective inclusion in the applicable legislation. In this context in the paper it was discussed the procedure for withdrawing the A1 certificate, as well as the question of concluding an agreement by the institutions concerned on the applicable legislation and the retroactive inclusion of a posted employee, for whom the A1 certificate has been withdrawn, into the competent system. Against this background, the problem of protecting a posted employee against the effects of retrospective verification of legislation in the situation of no discrepancies concerning the applicable legislation, and consequently no need to conclude an appropriate agreement, will also be presented.

The considerations undertaken in the article concern the problem of regulation of the profession of psychotherapist. This issue has been analysed first of all in order to establish the legal status of the mentioned profession de lege lata. The findings confirmed the lack of regulation in this area. As a result, an attempt has been made to assess whether this profession can potentially fulfil the determinants of a free profession, as well as how this profession differs from the professions of a psychiatrist and a psychologist. The author also analyses the issue of freedom of choice and exercise of a profession, as well as the legal possibilities of limiting this freedom – assessing the regulation presented in the text. The article also describes an empirical study which shows that the vast majority of people practising psychotherapists and taking part in the study gave a positive answer to the question whether Polish psychotherapists need legal regulation of this profession. As a result of the analysis, there is an opinion that there is a need to institutionalize the profession of psychotherapist and there are de lege ferenda conclusions as to the potential direction of the legislator's actions and the areas that should be taken into consideration while drafting a law regulating the functioning of this profession.

The study discusses the position of the Supreme Court, which is important for practice, regarding the exemption from compulsory social insurance for a period of 6 months from the date of commencement of business activity. The Supreme Court clarified the rules for calculating the period of 60 months referred to in Art. 18 sec. 1 Entrepreneurs Act.

The Covid-19 pandemic shook the foundations of labour law, making it legitimate to reevaluate whether the hitherto accepted standards remain valid not only in times of crisis but also beyond. The book under review was written at the very beginning of the global pandemic. The analyses conducted in it seem, however, to be relevant not only from the point of view of the development of the pandemic reality but also from the possibility of applying the analyses presented in it to post-crisis periods.