A trade union is supposed to defend the rights of its members. To create it, 10 employees are needed, who by virtue of a resolution establish a trade union. Each trade union must be entered in the National Court Register, where information about the members of the trade union’s board, the number of members and their identities can be found. Its existence in the workplace means a number of obligations for the employer.

The basic duties of an employer with trade unions include:

• consulting with the trade union the intention to terminate the contract of an employee employed on the basis of a contract for an indefinite period of time and the intention to terminate the terms and conditions of work or pay for less favourable conditions. In most cases, the opinion of the unions is not binding on the employer and is only opinion-forming. However, if the unions do not cooperate in this matter, the employee may challenge the legality of the notice of termination, and the employer may face a loss in the labour court and, as a result, the employee’s claim for reinstatement or compensation;
• A request for consent to terminate an employment contract without notice, pursuant to Article 52 of the Labour Code, for particularly protected employees – pregnant women or women on maternity leave, social labour inspectors or employees protected by their trade union membership. In this case, it is not only the opinion of the union that is required, but the consent of the trade union representing the employee;
• participating in negotiations and concluding an agreement on a collective bargaining agreement;
• setting the estimates of the Company Social Benefits Fund – the employer must cooperate with the trade unions operating in the workplace in determining the expenditure plan from the company’s social benefits fund, m.in amount of co-financing for holidays – „holidays under the pear tree”, loans for housing purposes, allowances, etc.;
• submitting to the unions for their opinion the regulations on remuneration, work, awards and bonuses, as well as the Company Social Benefits Fund. While the work regulations only require an opinion from the union, the remuneration regulations may be introduced in the workplace after obtaining the consent of the unions operating in it;
• granting exemption from the obligation to work or unpaid leave to an employee who is appointed to perform a trade union function outside the workplace;
• providing a room for the union – along with the necessary infrastructure m.in, computer, telephone, printer. This room can be rented free of charge or for a fee, but too much rent may be considered as hindering the union’s activities.

An employer who has a trade union must also bear in mind that some members of the trade union are under special protection and it is very difficult to terminate their employment. These are:

• members of the organization indicated by name and surname in the resolution of the Association’s Management Board;
• members of the board or audit committee of the union.

The obligation to cooperate with a trade union operating on the premises of the workplace results directly from Article 23² of the Labour Code, which states that „the employer is obliged to cooperate in such matters with the company’s trade union organisation, representing the employee by virtue of his or her membership in the trade union, or to agree to defend the rights of an employee who is not a member of the trade union – in accordance with the Act on Trade Unions”. The employer is obliged to cooperate with each trade union – it may happen that there are several trade unions operating in the company and each of these unions defends the rights of its members.

In order to find out whether an employee is a member of a trade union, the employer is obliged to write to the trade unions and ask whether a particular employee benefits from the trade union’s defence. This is the only procedure that gives the employer the opportunity to know who belongs to a given union. This follows from Article 30 of the Trade Unions Act of 23 May 1991 on Trade Unions, which states that „In individual cases arising from the employment relationship (…) The employer is obliged to ask the organisation for information about the employees who benefit from its defence (…). Failure to provide this information within 5 days relieves the employer of the obligation to cooperate with the company’s trade union organization in matters concerning employees.”

Only after receiving information that a given employee benefits from the trade union’s protection, the employer consults with the trade union the intention to, for example, terminate the employment contract or change the terms of employment to a less favourable one. If the trade union does not provide information about the employees who benefit from its defence for 5 days, the employer is exempt from the obligation to cooperate with the organisation in the case of the employee in question.

This position was also taken by the Supreme Court in its judgment of 20 July 2000 I PKN 748/99: „The failure of a trade union organisation to provide information about employees benefiting from its defence (…) relieves the employer of the obligation to cooperate with that organisation, including with respect to obtaining the consent of the management board of the trade union organisation to terminate the employment relationship with a member of the management board or the audit committee of that organisation (Article 32(1) of the Trade Union Act)’.

For obstructing or failing to cooperate with trade unions, the employer may be fined by the National Labour Inspectorate. On the other hand, for persistent obstruction of activity, for example by refusing to make office space available for trade union activities, the employer may be subject to criminal liability in the form of a fine or restriction of liberty.

To sum up, a trade union is supposed to defend the rights of its members. Therefore, the employer is obliged to cooperate with the trade union operating on the premises of the workplace, it follows directly from the Labour Code.

Source:  https://poradnikprzedsiebiorcy.pl/-zwiazek-zawodowy-w-zakladzie-pracy-co-oznacza-dla-pracodawcy

Supported by Norway through Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.