An employment relationship is a legal relationship between an employee and an employer. Under this relationship, the employee is obligated to perform work for the employer under the employer’s supervision at a place and time designated by the employer. The employer, in turn, is obligated to pay the employee a salary. These definitions are set forth in the provisions of the Labor Code.
Any employment that meets these conditions may be considered an employment relationship—regardless of the type of contract entered into.
An employment contract may be entered into for a probationary period, for an indefinite term, or for a fixed term.
Establishing an employment relationship and determining its terms require a mutual declaration of intent by the employer and the employee (this is a bilateral legal act). An employment contract must be in writing.
Work performed for an employer must always be remunerated. The regulations stipulate that remuneration must be fair, commensurate with the employee’s work and time invested in the assigned tasks, and the employee may not waive this right.
The employee is entitled to annual, uninterrupted, paid vacation leave.
The employer is responsible for occupational safety and health conditions at the workplace. The scope of the employer’s responsibility is not affected by the employees’ duties regarding occupational safety and health or by the delegation of tasks to specialists outside the workplace.
The Labor Code contains a non-exhaustive list of an employer’s obligations. In particular, an employer is required to:
- inform employees starting work about the scope of their duties, how to perform their work in their assigned positions, and their basic employee rights,
- organize work in a manner that ensures full utilization of working time,
- organize work in a manner that reduces the burden of work,
- prevent employment discrimination and workplace bullying,
- pay wages on time and in full,
- facilitate employees’ professional development,
- meet employees’ social needs to the extent of available resources,
- apply objective and fair criteria for evaluating employees and their work performance,
- maintain records related to the employment relationship and employees’ personnel files,
- contribute to the development of social coexistence principles within the workplace,
- make the text of regulations concerning equal treatment in employment available to employees in the form of written information distributed within the workplace or ensure employees have access to these
- regulations in another manner adopted by the employer,
- inform employees, in the manner adopted by the employer, about the possibility of full-time or part-time employment, and inform employees on fixed-term contracts about job openings,
- issue an employment certificate to the employee without delay.
Another fundamental obligation of the employer is to pay social security contributions on behalf of employees for social insurance, health insurance, the Labor Fund, and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund.
An employment contract is terminated:
- by mutual agreement of the parties;
- by a notice from one of the parties with a notice period;
- by a notice from one of the parties without a notice period;
- upon the expiration of the term for which it was concluded.
A notice from either party regarding termination or termination of the employment contract without notice must be in writing.
The Code requires that the employer’s notice of termination of an employment contract concluded for an indefinite period or of termination of the employment contract without notice specify the reason justifying the termination or termination of the contract. Furthermore, it is then required to include a statement informing the employee of their right to appeal to the labor court.
It is worth noting that an employer may not terminate an employment contract during an employee’s vacation or during any other excused absence from work, unless the period entitling the employer to terminate the contract without notice has already expired.