Thematic feature - individual labour/employment disputes and the courts

Download article in original language : PL0403101tPL.DOC

This article examines how individual labour/employment disputes are handled through the courts in Poland, as at March 2004.

In March 2004, the EIRO national centres in 24 European countries were asked, in response to a questionnaire, to give a brief overview of their country's system for dealing with individual labour/employment disputes through the courts, along with data on: the volume of cases; the costs; the timeframe; alternatives to going to court; and any current debate on these issues. The Polish responses are set out below (along with the questions asked).

System

Please give a brief description of how disputes concerning individual employees' employment and labour rights are handled in your country by courts, tribunals or other official judicial bodies.

Individual disputes over claims rooted in the employment relationship are governed by section 12 of the Labour Code, while the provisions of the Civil Process Code laying down a simplified judicial procedure apply. The procedures aim to: ensure that employees' interests receive special protection; place the two parties to the dispute on a more or less equal footing; facilitate the enforcement of employee claims; and simplify bureaucracy.

Individual labour/employment dispute cases are dealt with in first instance by the labour division of the district courts, and in the second instance by the labour division (or, occasionally, the labour and social insurance division) of the circuit courts. The courts' labour divisions deal with:

• all claims arising from the employment relationship or associated with it. These involve claims that one of the parties to an employment relationship, either the employer or the employee, has violated employment/labour laws or the provisions of other statutes and/or executory instruments defining the rights and mutual duties of employers and employees, or of collective agreements and other collective bargaining arrangements rooted in labour law. Typical claims by employees relate to termination of employment, reinstatement of the employment relationship, remuneration, severance payments, benefits paid to employees preparing for retirement and claims following an employee’s death pursued by their heirs. Employers, for their part, might seek compensation for damage caused by the employee or for the return of irregularly collected benefits;

• claims that an employment relationship in fact exists, although there is no contract or a contract provides that no such relationship exists; and

• claims for damages from the employer on the basis of laws regulating compensation with respect to accidents at work and work-related illnesses.

The courts' labour divisions does not hear cases concerning:

• the institution of new terms and conditions for pay and employment;

• the application of 'work standards'; and

• accommodation facilities for workers.

A party not satisfied with a court ruling can appeal it to a higher instance, ie to the circuit court (for district court rulings) or to the appeals court (for circuit court rulings). Subject to certain conditions, some decisions may also be appealed before the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy, SN). This right applies where the following are alleged:

• breach of substantive law by way of defective interpretation or application; and

• procedural improprieties that they may have coloured the outcome of the case.

No appeal to the Supreme Court is available where the the claim is worth less than PLN 10,000 (roughly EUR 2,000), or in respect of cases concerning disciplinary penalties at work or work certificates.

Various 'social organisations', including trade unions, are entitled to bring cases against employers on behalf of employees. The State Labour Inspection (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) is also authorised to take the employer to court in cases of termination of employment, as well as to represent employees in the course of such proceedings.

Number of cases/disputes and costs

How many cases have been dealt with in your legal system by each category of court? Where possible, please provide statistics on the number of disputes in your country each year from 1990 to 2003 (or the latest year for which data are available). Where possible, please provide statistics on costs.

Table 1 below sets provides data on the number of labour law cases (of all types) brought before the courts, the number of cases decided and those still pending at the end of the year.