Remote work order also possible following September 4th
Regulations on remote work performed on request of the employer in connection with COVID-19 have recently been amended, and take effect from September 5th this year.
On August 20th this year, an amendment to the so-called Special Coronavirus Act[1] of March 2nd, 2020 on special solutions related to preventing, counteracting and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases and related emergencies (“Special Act“) was announced. The amendment covers regulations relating to the ability of employers to assign an employee to work remotely to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
The previous COVID-19 regulations expired after September 4th, 2020 (in accordance with the current wording of Article 36(1) of the Special Act), meaning that employers would not be able to order remote work under the Special Act from September 5th, 2020.
The amendment to the Special Act (under Article 4 of the Act of July 24th, 2020 amending the Act on the posting of workers as part of the provision of services and certain other acts; Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1423) resulted in the remote work regulations (i.e. Article 3 of the Special Act) being no longer classified as temporary, but binding also following September 4th, 2020, meaning that assigning an employee to remote work from September 5th onwards will still be possible under the Special Act.
In addition, remote work regulations have been clarified by precisely indicating the period, during which employers may give a remote work order in connection with COVID-19. The new regulations allow employers to assign employees to work remotely to counteract COVID-10 throughout the state of epidemic threat or state of epidemic announced due to COVID-19, as well as within 3 months following cancellation thereof. Employers may thus organize remote work both during the state of epidemic threat / state of epidemic and following 3 months from the cancellation thereof to ensure safety to employees.
In addition, the Ministry of Family and Social Policy is currently working on regulations amending the Labour Code, allowing the introducing of remote work after the end of the state of epidemic threat / state of epidemic, without connection to COVID-19. So far, there have been no details of these regulations; we will keep you updated as soon as new information unfolds.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Anna Gwiazda
Attorney at Law, Partner, Head of Labor Law Practice
T: +48 660 765 903
E: a.gwiazda@kochanski.pl