The legal status of a member of company board in the light of the Act on protection of employees claims in case of insolvency of the employer

This article deals with the problems related to protection of board members in case of the insolvency of their employer. The possibility of employing management board members of companies on the basis of employment relationship, grounded in Polish labour law, implies their protection in the event of the insolvency of the employer. Under the current legislation, members of management boards who are employees (or employed on the base of civil contract) are treated in the same way as all other employees. The Act does not recognize their special status — the impact they could have on rising insolvency of the company, greater opportunities for selfprotection of their interests and the ability to influence their employee status. This raises the risk of taking advantage of their particular position and potential abuses. It is particularly visible in the case of management board members who are also the company's majority shareholders. The author wonders how the legislator may take into account the special status of board members in the Act on the protection of employees claims in case of insolvency of the employer, in particular in terms of preventing potential abuses.

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