The key elements of the changes contained in the draft act include:

– introducing a rebuttable presumption of an employment relationship for persons providing work via platforms – in the event of a dispute between the worker and the platform, it will be sufficient for the worker to demonstrate that they are working under the direction and control of the platform (or its intermediary). It will be incumbent on the digital platform (or its intermediary) to prove that the person in question is not an employee within the meaning of the Labour Code. The presumption procedure will apply in both court proceedings and administrative proceedings before the State Labour Inspection;

– increasing control over the algorithms used to manage the work of workers employed via platforms, including restricting the use of algorithms for fully automated decision-making without human intervention, for example, in situations where the platform terminates a contract with a person working through the platform;

– strengthening the protection of personal data of workers employed via online platforms and introducing penalties for breaches of this protection by the platform;

– introducing the obligation for the platform to notify the State Labour Inspection Office (PIP) that a person performs work through the platform and of cooperation with intermediaries, and imposing sanctions for failure to comply.

Once the draft is included in the government’s register, the next step will be to put it out for public consultation, coordination and review. This should happen later this week.

The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy points out that the current government actively supported the adoption of the directive at EU level – Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk during the meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in March 2024, stated:

When I took office a few months ago, I made a commitment that I would do my best to ensure that work in Poland is valued and safe. Every job. I am convinced that as labour ministers we all share a similar commitment. I firmly believe that the solution proposed in the (...) Directive addresses this challenge.

The draft Platform Work Act prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (MRPiPS), which transposes EU legislation into national law, is a further step – following the reform of the State Labour Inspection (PIP), which came into force on 8 July – towards strengthening the protection of workers against precarious employment, exploitative contracts or being forced into undeclared work.

A few weeks ago, the head of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy explained the sequence of the proposed changes to labour law, pointing out that the timetable for work on the reform of the State Labour Inspection and the implementation of the Platform Work Directive was not coincidental.

Our goal is to ensure the best possible protection of employees against exploitative forms of employment, and we are introducing legislation in an order that allows us to achieve this goal. The reform of the State Labour Inspection (PIP) had to come into force first. Why? Because it was this reform that granted the Inspection the right to conduct administrative proceedings and issue decisions converting unlawful contracts into employment contracts. Without this key change, the implementation of the Platform Work Directive would have been merely superficial – as it would have applied only to proceedings before labour courts, which platform workers, such as couriers, very rarely choose to pursue. By ensuring the correct sequence of legislation, additional protection for platform workers will begin at the stage of action by the PIP, rather than only before the courts, the Minister for Labour stated.

Step by step, we are introducing a new order on the labour market, so that work in Poland will be safe, stable and dignified – adds Dziemianowicz-Bąk.