Draft law on collective labour agreements

At a glance

• On 25 June 2024, a new draft law on collective labour agreements was published.
• The bill is still at the consultation stage and expected to come into force on 1 January 2025.

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The Polish government has recently introduced a bill for a new law on collective agreements. The bill is a comprehensive regulation that outlines the rules and procedures for establishing and registering collective labour agreements and collective accords (a mutually agreed contract between trade unions and the employer, focusing on work conditions and remuneration). It is a response to long-standing requests from social partners.

Key features of the proposed legislation

• Simplification of the current complex procedure, which requires the submission of the texts of agreements or correspondence to be exclusively in written form.
• Introduction of a list of issues which can be regulated by collective labour agreements.
• Making the registration process easier by implementing electronic notification to the National Register of Collective Labour Agreements.
• Engagement of a mediator to facilitate the parties' negotiations on the agreement.
• Setting maximum validity periods for collective labour agreements: a company labour agreement can last up to five years, and a multi-company labour agreement can last up to ten years, with the option to extend each for another five and ten years respectively.

The bill is still at the consultation stage and expected to come into force on 1 January 2025.