In 2020, for the first time in the history of the International Labour Organization (ILO), we sighted the universal ratification of a Convention, that is, the ratification by all 187 Member States of the Organization. The C182—Convention of Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999) is identified as a fundamental Convention because it refers to one of the fundamental labour rights identified at ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998). This Declaration, despite having been immersed in intense debates on the regulatory option adopted by the ILO (soft law), spelled out a list of fundamental rights and principles at work, approaching to the grammar of human rights. In this sense, it is possible to understand that Convention No. 182, since it is fundamental, already had a prominent role. However, universal ratification presents itself as opportune and strategic, especially when it formalizes the commitment of States to the observance of the parameters presented in the respective international labour standard. Thus, using the deductive method (Lakatos, Marconi 2003) and the bibliographic and the documentary research techniques, the study is going to analyse the importance of universalizing international labour standards for International Labour Law.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

The right to leave for time of remaining unemployed in Polish law and court jurisdiction in comparison with EU law and CJEU case law: Reflections based on the CJEU judgment of 25 June 2020 in joined cases C-762/18 and C-37/19

This paper provides an analysis of the domestic case law together with the views presented by polish legal doctrine in relation to the view expressed in the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the joined cases C-762/18 and C-37/19 on the right to the financial compensation in lieu of annual leave for the time of remaining unemployed.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

In search of legal construction for a workplace as a community. Arkadiusz Sobczyk’s idea of treating a workplace as a public administration entity

A workplace, for the sole fact of being a public administration entity, would be realising a public interest. This allegation of legality of activity, and so of realising the rule of law, would also affect different application and practice of labour law. To be brief, labour law would receive a real chance of becoming “socially just”. And this would be achieved through the authority of the state, whose structural element would be a workplace.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

This paper addresses the employee’s right to disconnect, which means refraining from professional activity after working hours in the form of answering phones, checking e-mail, or replying to instant messaging. This right directly correlates with the employee’s right to rest and with the employer’s obligation to provide the employee with safe and hygienic working conditions. The issue of exercising this right had already been a difficult one, but it was the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that intensified and accelerated certain processes related to employee’s rest and the disruption of work-life balance. Nowadays, the right to disconnect can be inferred from the employee’s right to rest. However, this requires goodwill on the part of both the employer and social partners. Finally, the author discusses the legal consequences of violating the employee’s right to disconnect, the measures that the employer needs to take before legislative changes are made, and where such changes ought to be introduced.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Protection of employees claims in case of consumer bankruptcy

The article presents the issues of protection of employee claims in the event of bankruptcy of a natural person not conducting business activity (the so-called consumer bankruptcy). The issues raised are analysed both under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Law and the Act on the Protection of Employee Claims in the Event of Employer Insolvency.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

In Poland, reporting of irregularities by employees has been largely ignored. This topic is not part of the professional-ethical or normative discourse. External disclosure involves reporting the irregularity to an external entity that can react or take follow-up action. The issue of external reporting is a highly controversial problem of labor law in Poland, which is limited by the primary obligation of an employee specified in the Labor Code in Art. 100 § 2 points 4. Under such conditions, employees who report irregularities to repair the organization are treated as persons violating their loyalty to the employer, even though they demonstrated the will to rectify the offense and the accompanying readiness to act. An attempt to go beyond this dilemma is to be the new Directive of the European Union on the protection of whistleblowers and the presented draft Polish act on the protection of whistleblowers submitted on October 18, 2021. The transposition of the Directive provisions turned out to be a failure on December 17, 2021. For employees who decide to report irregularities externally, reporting irregularities is a complex dilemma that may break the ties of trust and dismissal by employer-relevant regulations. The Polish Labor Code requires the conceptualization of the rationality of notifications, despite the lack of appropriate regulations in this regard.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31