POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Magdalena Zwolińska, Aleksander Płaza, Sylwia Miros and Karolina Rogatko, HRLS Zwolińska & Zwoliński
The parties are free to determine the date of termina - tion of the contract, which may fall on the date of conclusion of the agreement or after a certain period of time. In the agreement, in addition to the standard remuneration resulting from the performance of work, the employer may grant the employee additional cash benefits. This is a fairly common practice aimed at amicably terminating the employment relationship and avoiding potential legal proceedings between the employer and the employee. In the termination agreement, the parties may decide that, until the date of termination of the contract, the employee will be exempt from the obligation to per - form work, while retaining the right to remuneration. In addition, the parties may regulate a number of other issues, such as the date and manner of returning com - pany equipment, settlement of business expenses, or maintaining the confidentiality of information related to the employer. The termination agreement must comply with manda - tory provisions of labour law. The most important reg - ulation in this regard is the prohibition on an employee waiving remuneration for work already performed. An important difference between a termination agree - ment and a termination notice is that there is no requirement to indicate the reason for the termination in the agreement, and the employee cannot appeal against the termination agreement to the labour court. However, the general rules on the declarations of will, resulting from the Civil Code, apply to termination agreements. Therefore, if the agreement was con - cluded under the influence of an error or threat on the part of the employer, the employee may revoke the effects of their declaration of will – in such a case, the termination agreement will be considered not to have been concluded. 7.5 Protected Categories of Employee Employees Protected Against Dismissal The employer may not terminate the employment con - tract of an employee who is less than four years away from reaching retirement age. In addition, the employ - ee is protected from dismissal during leave and other justified absences from work if the period allowing
the employer to terminate the employment contract without notice has not yet been reached. The cases of protection against dismissal described above do not apply in the event of the employer’s bankruptcy or liquidation. The employer may also ter - minate the employment contract without notice due to the employee’s fault. In addition, the Labour Code provides broad protection of the employment relationship for pregnant employ - ees and employees exercising parental rights. During pregnancy, as well as from the date of the employee’s request for maternity leave, paternity leave or parental leave (for example), the employer may not: • make preparations to terminate – by or without notice – the employment relationship; and • terminate the employment relationship. The employee is entitled to protection until the end of the relevant leave. During this period, the employer may terminate the employment contract without notice due to the employee’s fault, if the trade union representing the employee has agreed to the termination. Moreover, the contract may be terminated by notice only in the event of the employer’s bankruptcy or liquidation. In addition, the law provides for special employment protection for certain groups of employees. For exam - ple, an employer may not terminate the employment contract of a trade union activist who is covered by employment protection on the basis of a resolution of that union without its consent. Similarly, an employer may not terminate the employment contract of a mem - ber of the works council without the consent of that council. A violation by the employer of the require - ment to obtain the consent of the relevant entity may result in the labour court awarding compensation to the employee or reinstating them to their job. Furthermore, if an employee under special protection appeals to the court against the termination with or without notice, they may request that the court grant security by ordering the continued employment of the employee by the employer until the proceedings have
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