Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on amendments to improve working conditions

10.01.2023

The labour market is changing, and the needs of employees and employers are also changing rapidly. Therefore, we must also transform our regulations that protect the labour market and, above all, the employee. The Council of Ministers has adopted a draft amendment to the Labour Code. This concerns, among other things, unpaid care leave, which will amount to five days per year, and the extension of parental leave.

Premier Mateusz Morawiecki podczas konferencji prasowej dot. Kodeksu pracy

Favourable amendments for employees

The government supports amendments that seek to expand labour rights. The new legislation includes changes that will make it easier to reconcile work and family life. Among other things, they introduce additional care leave.

Amendments proposed include:

2 additional breaks included in working time, for employees working more than 8 hours,
it will not be possible to prohibit an employee from being simultaneously in an employment relationship with another employer,
unpaid care leave, which will amount to 5 days per year,
amendments relating to parental leave, including an increase in maternity pay to 70% for both parents,
the possibility of taking time off work due to Force Majeure.

We fight for Poles' wages

"We listen to employers' and entrepreneurs' voices, but we also listen first and foremost to employees' voices. Our new proposals are good solutions for Polish employees, the Polish economy and the Polish labour market," concluded the head of government.

The government is more consistently fulfilling its promises to citizens. In difficult times of crisis, we are particularly mindful of the lowest-paid employees. At the same time, we are fighting for every single workplace, so that the unemployment level stays at the lowest level possible.

In 2022, the government decided to make a record increase in the 2023 minimum wage. As of 1 January, it amounts to PLN 2709.48 net - compared to 2015, this is an increase of almost 111 per cent. Additionally, as of 1 July 2023, the minimum net wage will be raised to PLN 2783.86. Compared to 2015, this is an increase of more than 116 per cent.

The situation on the labour market - Poland competes with its advanced technologies and productive workforce

The Polish economy is competing with ever-better advanced technologies and productive workforce.

We are a country with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the European Union. According to Eurostat data published on 1 December 2022, the unemployment rate in Poland in October 2022 was 3% compared to 6% in the EU and 6.5% in the Eurozone. Thus, together with Germany, Poland ranked second, after the Czech Republic (2.1%), in terms of the lowest unemployment rate in the EU.