From a legal point of view, it is worth knowing that one of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights is work-life balance. Its aim is to ensure that parents, carers have the right to leave, flexible working arrangements and access to upbringing and care services, taking into account gender equality.

Work-life balance translated into Polish is a work-life balance. In turn, in terms of life, it is a state to which many professionally active people aspire, and which, contrary to appearances, is not easy to achieve.

In the labour market, there is already a difference between the sheer number of women employed and men. According to data from the Central Statistical Office, the professional activity of women is much lower than the professional activity of the opposite sex. The latest data shows that in 2020, economically active men accounted for about 9438 thousand people, and women were less by 1790 thousand (TABL. 1. Statistical Yearbook of Labour 2021 Central Statistical Office). In addition, the Statistical Yearbook of Work 2021 states that the reason why these people remain economically inactive and do not look for a job, excluding such issues as retirement, education, supplementing qualifications, are family responsibilities related to running a home or raising children. The last argument was cited by as many as 1381 thousand women, and men only 202 thousand (TABL. 5. Statistical Yearbook of Labour 2021 Central Statistical Office).

Typically, women who have taken on the greater part of their family responsibilities are obliged to devote most of their time to caring for their children, which results in less time for professional life and at the same time is reflected in the amount of salary received or climbing the career ladder. Such conditions mean that employers still, if they have a choice, prefer to hire men than women, if only because of their greater availability. Such situations do not only happen in Poland, but also throughout Europe, which is why the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have decided to adopt Directive 2019/1158 of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU (hereinafter: Work-life balance Directive or Directive 2019/1158).

The Work-Life Balance Directive was adopted in 2019. Under Article 20 thereof, Poland has until 2 August 2022 to implement the provisions into the Polish legal order. In addition to the regulations on the Polish Governance or the implementation of the protection of employers’ whistleblowers, in 2022 a revolution in the rules related to the work of parents and guardians awaits. Ahead of the content of this article, it can be pointed out that, like any change, this will also be associated with additional financial resources for employers.

The aim of Directive 2019/1158 is to ensure equal opportunities in the labour market between women and men and equal treatment of both sexes.

Recital 2 in the preamble to the Work-life balance Directive clearly states that gender equality is one of the fundamental principles of the Union. The second subparagraph of Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that the Union shall promote equality between women and men. Similarly, Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union requires equality between women and men to be ensured in all areas, including employment, occupation and pay.

The work-life balance directive aims to promote gender equality so that both men and women can reconcile family and working life. Moreover, another task of the EU act is to encourage a more equal sharing of caring responsibilities, as well as to enable the creation of an earlier bond between fathers and their children as a result of the more time they will be able to request to spend it with their children.

The personal scope of the Directive applies primarily to workers employed under labour law, i.e. those with employment contracts, including part-time workers, fixed-term workers or persons employed under a contract with a temporary employment agency. Therefore, persons associated with employers by civil law relations or the so-called self-employed remain outside the scope of the Directive.

The regulations of the work-life balance directive focus especially on people who perform their duties on the basis of employment contracts.

The work-life balance directive regulates paternity leave, including certain guarantees for this group of employees. Under Article 4 of the Directive, a worker is entitled to paternity leave of 10 working days on the occasion of the birth of a worker’s child. Under an EU act, the right to paternity leave cannot be made conditional on a previous period of service or length of service, and that leave is granted irrespective of the civil or family status of the worker.

Currently, the Polish legislator has provided such leave under Article 1823 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. That provision provides that:

an employee-father raising a child has the right to paternity leave of up to 2 weeks, but not longer than:

• until the child reaches the age of 24 months, or
• until 24 months from the date on which the decision on the adoption of the child becomes final and no longer than until the child reaches the age of 7, and in the case of a child for whom a decision has been made to postpone compulsory schooling, no longer than until the child reaches the age of 10.

After analyzing the cited provision, it can be clearly stated that Polish labor law already provides fathers with 14 days of leave that an employee can take, so this change does not seem to be a revolutionary change in relation to the current regulation. The Directive leaves Member States some discretion as to the period within which such leave should be taken: before the child’s superfamilies, after birth or in a mixed manner (i.e. part before birth and some after the birth of the child). The Polish standard is more advantageous than the provisions of the directive because it provides for the possibility of using this leave by the child’s father until he or she reaches the age of 2. Whether this provision will be changed as a result of the amendment of the provisions of the directive to the Polish legal order cannot be prejudged, but due to the fact that this provision is more favorable, it seems unlikely.

The next change is the introduction of parental leave, which is granted for 4 months to both parents. This change would not be revolutionary, the institution of parental leave already exists in Poland, if it were not for one issue. The aim of the directive is to ensure that 2 months of parental leave are due separately to the father and separately to the mother. In addition, these 2 months are not transferable between employees. In case of non-use – they are lost. With this change, it can be expected that, in order to avoid losing the right to this paid free worker, fathers will be more likely to apply for parental leave on the basis of this amendment.

The European Parliament, together with the Council of the European Union, have transferred competence to the Member States to set a reasonable period within which a worker is to apply to his employer for parental leave. It is possible for Member States to make the length of leave dependent on a period of work or length of service, but the restrictions imposed by Member States should not exceed one year. Currently, according to Polish regulations, it is a period of 2 years.

According to Article 5(4) of the work-life balance Directive, 'in the case of successive fixed-term contracts within the meaning of Council Directive 1999/70/EC (14) concluded with the same employer, the sum of those contracts shall be taken into account for the purpose of calculating that period of service or length of service’. Moreover, Member States may determine the circumstances in which an employer, after consultation in accordance with national law, collective agreements or practice, may postpone the granting of parental leave for a reasonable period on the ground that the taking of parental leave during the period indicated could seriously impair the proper functioning of the employer.

The change will significantly affect the costs of employers who employ men planning or just starting families. It should be assumed that, in accordance with the intention of the EU legislator, workers will be willing to submit applications for such leave, otherwise it will be forfeited to them. The child’s mother in this situation will have a shorter parental leave.

The EU legislator in the provisions of the work-life balance directive also introduces another change that will affect the finances of employers. According to the provisions of this legal act, every employee will have the right to carers’ leave of 5 working days per year. The definition of this leave is also important, which deviates from the Polish definition indicated in the Labor Code.

In the light of Article 3 of the Directive, carers’ leave is leave for workers to provide personal care or support to a relative or person living with the worker in the same household who requires significant care or support for serious medical reasons.

Those considerations areto be clarified by the Polish legislature.

Currently, the legislator in the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, i.e. Article 188 § 1, provides only for exemption from work for caring for a child up to the age of 14 in the amount of 16 hours or 2 days, while maintaining the right to remuneration. There is no doubt that the Directive extends the right in this respect to other persons, such as the spouse, parents, partner living with the worker, and increases the length of possible leave. In this situation, it should be expected that employees will gain an additional 5 days off, of course, with an indication of these goals. However, it is important whether the Polish legislator will guarantee employers the right to verify the grounds for granting this exemption. There are fears that it will not, which will actually cause each employee to gain an additional 5 days off, and the employer will not have the right to verify the correctness of granting the holiday, because how, for example, to determine that the employee actually took care of his parents at that time.

Source: https://kipwa.pl/2022/02/23/dyrektywa-work-life-balance/

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