The purpose of this article is to evaluate the anti-crisis regulations from the perspective of the level of the safeguarding of employees’ interests. The authors discuss the instruments of employer support and of labor market in the context of the pandemic crisis and the resulting layoffs. They pay special attention to the situation of administration officials (civil servants) because of the specific solutions adopted regarding this group. The authors also share their reflections on the changing practice in collective labor relations and on the changes in the functioning of the participants in the employment relationship.

With the coronavirus pandemic, remote work, separate from teleworking, has become widely introduced. Similarly, it is work outside the permanent workplace – most often in the employee’s apartment. The legal framework for remote work is the same as teleworking. This is primarily an employment contract, usually concluded before the pandemic. Remote work may involve changes to other contractual provisions outside the workplace, such as the size of employment, working time or remuneration. In addition to the remote employment contract, also the provisions of the labor law, including in particular art. 67⁵–art. 67¹⁷ of the Polish Labor Code. Remote work is performed on the basis of an employment relationship. Its transfer outside the workplace also modifies the traditional features of this relationship. In particular, this may relate to the subordination of an employee, personal performance of work, provision of work tools, employer risk or employee liability.

Access is a key foundation to achieve digital inclusion, however, in many countries, including G20 economies, structural inequalities such as those in income, education and employment opportunities increase barriers to technology access and use, which women are likely to experience more severely.

When promoting policies to facilitate the participation of women in the paid economy, flexible working (including teleworking), is often promoted as a solution. However, studies in several countries show that the digital world of work could further cement traditional gender roles.

The digital gender divide has been recognized as a challenge to achieve gender equality for women, particularly as the 4th Industrial Revolution continues to increase the pace of change of information and communication technologies.

As societies become increasingly dependent on digital technology, women are at risk of losing out on the positive promise of full participation in digital economies.

Reports around the world are showing that during COVID-19 crisis, inequalities are being exacerbated, and so across the world, women are being affected more severely by the socioeconomic impacts of this Pandemic.

Many women are juggling an increase in unpaid care work while also contending with paid work, now in a new form: the Digital World of Work, Teleworking and its implications. The pressure of balancing work and family life is taking a severe toll on women’s well-being.

Before the pandemic of COVID-19, women globally did nearly three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men. But after the Pandemic, the care work at home has really grown exponentially. Besides the direct impacts of the pandemic, the response is also exacerbating inequalities. In particular, the closure of schools and nurseries has revealed the fragility of women’s participation in the paid economy. The school closures and household isolation are moving the work of caring for children from the paid economy ‒ nurseries, schools, babysitters ‒ to the unpaid one.

This really underpins so many of the inequalities that women experience. While both women and men are suffering the economic fallout of the virus across the world, it is women who are being disproportionately more constricted by it.

The right to disconnect, is design to establish boundaries around the use of electronic communication after working hours and to provide employees with the right to not engage in any work-related activities at home. It is often looked upon as an individual right of the employee to not only disconnect but also to not be reprimanded for failing to connect – or rewarded for constantly staying connected.

Because of social and cultural roles and stereotypes, women have more responsibility for their families and homes than men, and may not be able to stay connected after the formal working day ends even if they wanted to. This is particularly the case for single mothers, for whom a right to disconnect could have a proportionally larger positive impact than for other employees. 

We intend to analyze how the structural and sociological phenomenon, that women experience, articulates with the Digital World of Work and the Right to Disconnect, paying special attention to family work balance and fair family responsibilities distribution.

This article discusses the nature of the Dutch COVID relief measures for employers concerning wage costs. The question is raised whether the ad-hoc decrees fit into the general picture of Dutch labour law and respects the two key principles (1) safeguarding employees’ income and (2) requesting employee flexibility with regard to the work in case the exact job does not exist any more or is under serious threat. The contribution finds that the emergency legislation does respect these two main principles, while judges refuse substantial modifications of wages and / or working hours on the basis of reasonableness, also upholding the key principles of employee protection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused various disruptions in the production chains of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). Among other disruptions there is a drop of product sales, often due to lock-down measures, which resulted in last-minute order cancellations, non-payment of the already purchased resources and already made products, and hence terminations of employment contracts. International organisations and nongovernmental organisations have called upon MNEs to take their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and honour the contracts. The aim of this article is to analyse to what extend this moral appeal is also a (quasi-)legal appeal following from international norms on CSR. After an assessment of the main labour law problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an analysis follows on each of the identified problems. The conclusion of the analysis is that MNEs indeed are not only morally obliged to take their responsibility, but also based on the (quasi-)legal international CSR norms.

This article presents an analysis of the group of entities to whom the Polish legislature has granted assistance in the form of the co-financing of employees’ wages from the Guaranteed Employee Claims Fund due to the worsening of the entities’ economic situation as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. This policy has raised serious doubts in terms of interpretation and axiology. Moreover, the list of eligible entities has undergone numerous and dynamic changes, the purpose and justification of which have also been regarded as controversial. The author has carried out a critical analysis of these solutions.

The Italian response to the Covid-19 crisis involved a general lockdown of all nonessential activities, accompanied by significant labour law and social security measures. The overall idea behind the Government’s action has been that of safeguarding, as far as practicable, the employment level and workers/families income, notwithstanding the sharp slowdown of business and professional activities. For that purpose, a temporary block of dismissals for economic reasons has been issued, combined with an almost mandatory use of remote work, whenever feasible, and a massive recourse to short-time work compensation schemes. Other measures have involved financial support for the self-employed, extraordinary leaves for parents to cope with schools closure, and special health and safety measures when work is to be performed within the employer’s premises.

The changing of labour law relations has been accelerated because of recent events. The suddenly occurring pandemic situation has overwritten all the processes of the labour market. We are faced with numerous problems while recovering from the crisis. Basic questions should be asked, and they have to be considered. One thing is sure: nothing will be the same as before. The situation created by COVID-19 is a disaster and probably an opportunity at the same time. It is an opportunity for rebuilding and developing a bit different and maybe a fairer labour market. There are several open questions which should not be answered at once, but we should dare to ask them. Given the initial stage of the epidemic, this study seeks to shed light on the issues that have arisen rather than to give concrete answers to each of the potential problems. The copy of the manuscript submitted for publication was finished in April 2020, so by the time it is published, we may have already received answers to many things, but it is more likely that many questions will remain open.

Infectious diseases have accompanied man for centuries, and the procedure in case of their occurrence is regulated by the letter of the law. The introduction of the „lockdown” in Poland in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic introduced many changes in our lives for which we were not prepared. Due to the progressing epidemiological situation, the legislator introduced more and more restrictions, without any
transitional period (vacatio legis) for which we would have time to prepare. In addition to restrictions on moving, meeting, going to the theater or to the cinema, distance learning, remote work and the obligation to be quarantined by a person exposed to an infectious disease were introduced.
The above-mentioned changes in the scope of limiting interpersonal contacts were a challenge for the society, for employees who were obliged to perform work or people who ran their own business. In connection with the above, this article will present the legal regulations and the consequences of being quarantined by an employee. The subject of providing medical services by a doctor in the event of imposing a quarantine on him will also be discussed, as this issue is extremely important due to the growing need to contact a doctor and receive appropriate medical services.

W dniu 14 maja 2020 r. odbyła się po raz pierwszy na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu Śląskiego w Katowicach I Ogólnopolska Konferencja Naukowa pt. ,,Prawo Pracy w Dobie Kryzysu”.