Controls of employees – changes in the Labour Code

A draft amendment to the Labour Code has just been placed on the list of legislative and programme work of the Council of Ministers, which includes proposed changes enabling employers to check employees for sobriety and the presence of other substances in their bodies more broadly than before. The date of adoption of the draft is expected by the government later this year.

First of all, it is planned to introduce a legal basis for the possibility of preventive control of employees for the presence of alcohol or drugs. The obligation not to allow an employee to work in a situation where the employer has a justified suspicion that the employee is under the influence of alcohol or consumes it at work is to be retained. This regulation will be extended to substances acting similarly to alcohol. The employer will also be able to test the employee’s sobriety and check whether he or she is under the influence of other substances. The provisions will also apply to self-employed persons.

The amendment is also to regulate the currently widespread remote work. According to the definition, this will be work involving the performance of work in whole or in part at a place indicated by the employee and agreed with the employer in each case, including the employee’s home address, in particular through the use of means of direct remote communication. Remote working will be possible to decide on already at the stage of concluding the employment contract or during its duration. Interestingly, the employer will be able, in justified cases (e.g. state of an epidemic emergency), to issue an order to work remotely, after having received a statement from the employee on the possession of premises and technical conditions allowing for the performance of work in this form.