KOWR replaced the combined Agricultural Property Agency and the Agricultural Market Agency as of September 1, 2017. In connection with the reorganization, the minister responsible for rural development appointed the Plenipotentiary for the establishment of the KOWR. The plenipotentiary proposed employment to selected employees of both Agencies in the KOWR, specifying the working and pay conditions, including the place of employment. The lack of such a proposal or its non-acceptance resulted in the termination of the employment relationship on August 31, 2017. About a thousand people lost their public jobs then.
A claim for compensation for unlawful termination of employment was filed by a driver who did not receive a job offer at the National Center for Agricultural Support. As compensation in connection with termination of employment for reasons relating to the employer, he received 16 thousand. PLN. KOWR appealed against the judgment.
The Supreme Court in its judgment of September 26, 2019 (file no. III PK 126/18) stated that the government has no right to terminate jobs by operation of law when reforming offices and public administration institutions. According to the Supreme Court, one cannot freely decide who is to keep the job in the transformed office. The principles of equal treatment of employees resulting from the Labor Code should be applied.
The Supreme Court referred to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, stressing that everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal treatment by public authorities; and no one may be discriminated against in political, social or economic life for any reason. The settlement of this case was determined by a discriminatory thread – the driver claimed that the failure to submit a job offer to KOWR was due to his age. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court stressed that even if the discrimination did not occur in the case, it would still be possible to consider whether the reason for not submitting the job offer was rational and objective. In this regard, it is possible to use the dismissal selection pattern for dismissals for reasons not attributable to the employee.
KS