The Parliament has passed a law amending the Labour Code with regard to remote work and sobriety tests. Amendments proposed by the Senate were rejected. Now, we are waiting for the President's signature and publication.

What awaits employers:
 

Remote work:

• new law will take effect 2 months after publication in the journal of laws; 
• employer can decide whether to introduce fully remote work, a hybrid model or occasional remote work;
• employer will bear the costs of remote work (must either estimate them or set a lump sum);
• remote work on unilateral instructions allowed during an epidemic emergency and 3 months later. Covid remote work will no longer apply;
• employer should introduce regulations re: remote work. It must be consulted with employees’ representatives;
• if there are trade unions at the employer, the remote work rules must be agreed with trade unions in an agreement. After 30 days, employer can do it unilaterally;
• agreement/regulations must regulate inter alia: groups of employees covered by remote work, rules for the payment of expenses,  rules for communication and control of work and health and safety issues as well; 
• the employer will have to accept a request for remote work from a pregnant employee, employees bringing up a child under 4 years of age, employees caring for a person with a severe disability - refusal only in strictly justified cases;
• there will be occasional remote working, up to 24 days a year, without paper obligations and costs for the employer.
   

Control of sobriety and for the presence of substances having similar effects to alcohol:

• rationale for control: protection of life and health of employees and other persons or protection of property;
• 2 forms of control: preventive and in case of reasonable suspicion,
• equipment for sobriety tests must be calibrated and have a calibration document;
• without  "0 tolerance" rule: result below 0.2‰ or 0.1 mg means that a person considered sober and theoretically they can work;
• substances that will be covered by the control include: opioids, amphetamine and its analogues, active substance in marijuana;
• employer must regulate the principles of control in work regulations, a collective bargaining agreement or announcement; 
• employer must indicate groups of employees subject to control, manner in which the control is to be carried out, type of equipment and time and frequency of the control; 
• employer must notify employees of introduction of control 2 weeks before its start; 
• new employees must receive information about control before they are allowed to work;
• control also for individuals on civil law contracts - only if the employer is a party to the contract.
   

To do list:

• check the status and rights of your trade union;
• if you don't have a union, check the rights of employees’ representatives or hold an election;
• consider whether you will carry out sobriety/alternative drug tests;
• purchase the appropriate equipment as required by the law and regulation or check the ones you have (remember calibration and calibration documents);
• consult and start work on your documentation;
• remember, if you have a collective bargaining agreement, it will take longer to implement the new regulations - don't put off this decision.