On February 22, 2016, new provisions of the Labor Code came into force, which introduced extensive changes to the terms of concluding temporary employment, with regard to the number of fixed-term employment contracts permitted and the length of their termination notice. Since the entry into force of these amendments they have caused a lot of controversy, although their main goal is to strengthen the position of the employee and stabilize the labor market.

The 33 and 3 rule, i.e. limitation of the duration and number of fixed-term contracts

The period of employment under a fixed-term employment contract, as well as the total period of employment on the basis of fixed-term employment contracts concluded between the same parties, shall not exceed 33 months, and the total number of such contracts shall not exceed three ( Art 25¹, § 1).

The process of concluding fixed-term employment contracts prior to the adoption of the amendments to the Act of February 22, 2016 was greatly abused in Poland. Prior to the amendments there was no set limit on the duration of a fixed-term employment contract. By law, the third contract became an indefinite term contract if there was a gap of no more than one month between successive contracts. As a result, employers often concluded contracts for periods that lasted many years and made sure that the breaks between successive contracts lasted longer than one month.

Currently, the maximum period of employment based on fixed-term contracts is 33 months and is independent of the length of breaks between the dates of their conclusion. In the event that a fourth contract of this nature is signed or the period of 33 months is exceeded, the contract will automatically be transformed into an indefinite term employment contract, as detailed in paragraph 3 of Article 25¹ of the Labor Code:

If the period of employment under such contract (contracts) is longer than 33 months or if the number of contracts is more than 3, it will be considered that the employee, respectively from the day following the expiration of this period or from the date of conclusion of a fourth fixed-term contract, is employed on the basis of an indefinite term employment contract.

Changes in determining the period of notice for a fixed-term employment contract

In the new regulations, in force since February 22, 2016, the things that have caused the biggest doubts, and thus the most controversy, are the changes concerning the abolition of the existing rules of terminating contracts concluded for fixed periods. Similarly as in the case of indefinite term contracts, the period of notice in the case of fixed-term contracts is determined by the length of employment with a given employer. After the adoption of the Labor Code amendments, the notice periods for fixed-term and indefinite contracts are as follows:

•  2 weeks - if the employee was employed less than 6 months,
•  1 month - if the employee was employed for at least 6 months,
•  3 months - if the employee was employed by a given employer for a minimum of 3 years.

In the case of termination of a fixed-term contract which was concluded before the amendments were introduced, for a period longer than 6 months, and which provided for the possibility of termination with 2 weeks notice, the notice periods referred to in Article 36 § 1 of the Act of June 26, 1974 shall be applicable.

When setting the length of the notice period for a fixed-term employment contract that is already in effect on the day the amendments enter into force, and that is terminated after the effective date of the amendments to the Act, the periods of employment with a given employer that occur before February 22, 2016 are not taken into account. Under the new regulations, when determining the length of the period of notice, only the periods of employment with a given employer that occur after the effective date of the amendments to the Act will be taken into account.

Controversies over the amendment to the Labor Code of February 22, 2016.

The aim of introducing amendments to the Labor Code, as referred to in the Act of 22 February 2016, is undoubtedly to strengthen the position of the employee, and thus to introduce stabilization on the labor market. Under the old regulations, employers concluded employment contracts for periods of 5 or 10 years and introduced breaks between successive contracts that lasted longer than one month, thus allowing them to effectively avoid the necessity of concluding indefinite term contracts with their employees.

In addition, according to the old regulations, a fixed-term employment contract could only be terminated if it was concluded for a period of longer than 6 months, and its contents included relevant provisions. Then, the period of notice was two weeks, regardless of the length of employment with the given employer. As a consequence an employee employed for eight months had the same period of notice as an employee who had eight years of service.

The amendments of February 22, 2016, therefore, aroused the greatest controversy among employers who were forced to extend the notice period. On the other hand the new regulations brought greater stabilization for employees, especially those who entered into a fixed-term contracts that lasted many years.