The rights and obligations of employers
Find out what rights and obligations you have as an employer towards employees under the labour law.
Employers’ obligations towards employees
As an employer, you must:
- inform new employees about the scope of their obligations, the way in which work is to be performed in designated positions and their basic rights
- organise work in such a way as to ensure the most efficient use of working time and high efficiency and high quality of work by employees (based on their abilities and qualifications)
- organise work in such a way as to make it less onerous (especially monotonous work and work at a predetermined work-rate)
- prevent discrimination in employment
- ensure safe and healthy working conditions and provide regular training in this area for employees
- pay remuneration in a timely and correct manner
- facilitate improvement of employees’ professional qualifications
- create conditions allowing employees who begin to work after finishing a vocational school or a university to learn how to properly perform their work
- satisfy employees’ social needs, within the limits of available means
- apply objective and fair criteria for assessing employees and their performance
- maintain employee records (i.e. personal files, payroll files and files relating to the performance of work for you) and retain them in paper or electronic form
- retain employee records in the manner and on the terms specified in labour laws
- promote the principles of social interaction at the establishment
- make the provisions on equal treatment available to employees in written form or ensure access to these provisions in another manner adopted at your company
- prevent harassment.
Employers’ rights
Employers’ rights are enjoyed within the framework of employment relationships with employees.
As an employer, you are entitled to:
- oversee employees’ work and assess the results of the work assigned to them, including checking how teleworkers perform their duties
- enforce from employees to fulfil the obligation to work conscientiously and with due diligence and follow the employer’s work-related instructions, unless they are contrary to the law or employment contracts
- demand that employees fulfil the following obligations:
- observe the working hours, workplace regulations and order at the establishment, as well as occupational health and safety rules and fire protection rules
- look after the interests of the establishment and protect its assets
- maintain the confidentiality of information the disclosure of which could cause damage to the employer and maintain confidentiality as defined in separate provisions
- observe the principles of social interaction applicable at the establishment
- assign other appropriate work to employees during downtime (due to circumstances attributable to the employer), for which they are entitled to remuneration
- instruct employees to remain ready to perform work under employment contracts outside normal working hours at the establishment or at another place designated by the employer (on-call duty)
- request that employees work overtime due to:
- the need to carry out a rescue operation to protect life or health, property or the environment or to remove a failure
- the employer’s special needs
- offset overtime by time off
- impose penalties for breach of order on employees (taking into account restrictions resulting from labour laws):
- warnings and reprimands – if employees do not observe the organisation and order of the work process, occupational health and safety rules and fire protection rules, and the method adopted to confirm arrival and presence at work and to justify absences
- financial penalties (including together with warnings or reprimands) – if employees do not comply with occupational health and safety rules or fire protection rules, are absent from work without justification, arrive at work under the influence of alcohol or consume alcohol during working hours
- give awards and distinctions to employees who perform their tasks and duties in an exemplary manner
- call employees back from annual leave (in specific circumstances which could not have been foreseen when the leave started)
- reschedule leave due to the employer’s special needs if employees’ absence would result in serious disruption of the work
- grant employees unpaid leave (at their written request), also to work for another employer for a period agreed by these employers
- introduce special supervision over the establishment or the area around the establishment (monitoring) if this is necessary to ensure the safety of employees, protect property, control production or maintain the confidentiality of information the disclosure of which could cause damage to the employer, subject to compliance with additional conditions referred to in labour laws
- check employees’ company electronic mail (monitoring of electronic mail) on the terms set out in labour laws
- deduct specific sums of money from employees’ remuneration, on the terms and within the limits specified by labour laws:
- amounts enforced under enforceable titles to cover maintenance payments
- amounts enforced under enforceable titles for claims other than maintenance payments
- cash advances granted to employees
- financial penalties imposed on employees
- award additional benefits to employees who improve their professional qualifications (for example, to cover learning fees and fees for transport, textbooks and accommodation) or, if employees improve their qualifications on their own initiative, not the employer’s, or without the employer’s consent, grant leave of absence for a full working day or part of a working day without the right to remuneration and grant unpaid leave for a period agreed with the employees.