Artur Tomanek

The legal definition of an employment relationship as a means of distinguishing between labour and non-labour forms of employment 

The aim of this text is to consider the functions which are fulfilled by the legal definition of an employment relationship in Polish labour law. The evolution of legal regulation as well as the labour courts’attitude lead to the conclusion that the definition provided for in the Art. 22(1) of Labour Code may fulfil only to the limited extent the function of distinguishing between employment relation and civil law forms of employment. The postulates to include new criterions determining the existence of an employment relationship to the aforementioned regulation should be evaluated in a careful and restrictive way. On the other hand, the meaning of the legal definition of an employment relationship may be newly considered in the light of ILO position on facilitating the determination of the existence of employment relationship, including the proposal to provide for a legal presumption of aforesaid relationship.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Self-Employment and Wage Protection

The Act of 10 October 2002 of the minimum wage, as amended in 2016, has granted a right of minimum hourly wage to natural persons who carry out economic activity and employ neither employees nor mandataries. Minimum hourly wage is a subject of protection based on a concept of employees’ wage protection which is laid down in Polish Labour Code. In this text the aspects of protection laid down in the amended Act of the minimum wage are analysed, not excluding the protection against execution in the meaning of the Civil Procedure Code. In conclusion the author states that the subjective scope of above-mentioned protection goes too far taking into account that natural persons who carry out economic activity on the real market do not need a protection based on labour law concept.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31