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In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has found itself at the forefront of NATO’s eastern flank, sharing a border with a country embroiled in a full-scale war. DLA Piper Partner Marta Frackowiak and Dentons Partner Jaroslaw Witek talk about how this geopolitical reality has prompted a significant shift in Poland’s defense strategy.

On July 7, 2023, CEE Legal Matters reported that Wolf Theiss expanded its Polish Corporate/M&A practice with the addition of seven Partners, at the core of a 27-strong team, from Wardynski & Partners. Wolf Theiss Poland Co-Managing Partner Tomasz Stasiak and Wolf Theiss Poland Partner and Co-Head of Corporate M&A team Izabela Zielinska-Barlozek share details about the transition and their plans going forward.

In connection with the implementation of Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, a principle has been introduced into the Polish Labor Code, according to which an employer may not prohibit an employee from parallel employment with another entity. The Polish legislator has established a strict ban on parallel employment with very few exceptions, which is widely criticized by employers.

Poland’s dynamic business landscape is about to transform as it adapts to the European Union’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation dated December 14, 2022 (FSR), which partially came into effect on July 12, 2023. This regulation aims to level the playing field for companies operating in the EU market by scrutinizing financial support from non-EU countries.

The Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) has devoted the last two years to the very important issue of influencers and their online advertising activities. Recent years have seen a significant development of influencer marketing not only in Poland but on a global scale. Across the world, companies and advertising agencies have noticed the growing popularity of celebrity accounts on Facebook or Instagram, and have strategically used them as a new channel to promote products or services.

In the realm of logistics contracts, Polish law does not provide a standardized blueprint. Instead, these contracts are multifaceted, drawing from various specific types and broader civil law principles. This makes it essential to keep an eye on the nuances.

Due to technological progress and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have increasingly turned to online shopping. This was accompanied by the rapid development of new methods of short-term financing, such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, which allow customers to pay for purchases at a later date than the date of receipt. In Poland, financing is interest-free for a certain period, generally 30 days, after which interest charges apply.

The latest amendments to the Polish Code of Civil Procedure regarding interim relief in intellectual property cases, among other matters, entered into force on July 1, 2023. Interim injunction proceedings are crucial when the parties wish to quickly prevent further infringement of their intellectual property rights and obtain protection for the duration of the main legal proceedings. The main purpose of these proceedings is essentially to secure claims, i.e., to obtain a ruling (order) in which the court will order the opposing party to act in a certain way or prohibit certain actions.

An in-depth look at Andrzej Stosio of Clifford Chance covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.

Following its separation from the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova has pitched upon a rigid labor law system defined by overly protective conditions toward employees.

On September 12, 2023, the Czech Parliament adopted an amendment to the Labor Code, which will become effective already from October 1, 2023 (unfortunately, employers will have very limited time to prepare for the new regulation). The main purpose of the amendment is to implement the European directives on the work-life balance of parents and carers (No. 2019/1158) and on transparent and predictable working conditions (No. 2019/1152) which were to be implemented by member states in August 2022. But there are further changes that should address problems in the daily operation of employers.

On September 22, 2023, the amendment to the Polish Code of Civil Procedure entered into force that significantly reinforces the protection of employees who benefit from special protections against dissolution of employment. As a result, an employer can no longer dismiss a specially protected employee until a final judgment is passed, which can, due to lengthy court proceedings, take several years.

Under Hungarian private law, legal relationships aimed at performing various tasks on the basis of instructions are generally based on either employment contracts regulated by Act I of 2012 of the Labor Code (Labor Code) or services agreements governed by Act V of 2013 of the Civil Code.

For more than half a year, Slovenia has been intensively preparing amendments to the Employment Relationship Act (ZDR-1), which is usually called the “little workers’ constitution.” Like any other exemplary EU country, we transpose and implement all EU regulations and directives into our legal order in as timely and effective manner as possible. Unfortunately, this often does not solve the most acute problems of the labor market and the adopted legal solutions do not always help the economy to achieve higher productivity.

In light of the constantly and rapidly changing world climate, there was a need for changes to provisions in labor law that have not been updated for years, namely on minimum wages and payment of salary.

The statutory right to vacation originally arose from the employer’s duty of care for its employees. The Austrian Vacation Act of 1976 is a manifestation of this duty of care. It provides for five – with some seniority six – weeks of vacation for each working year. The law also expressly states that vacation should be used up, if possible, by the end of the year in which it was accrued. However, the employer and employee must agree on the specific leave days. In general, this means that neither the employee can take off for vacation unilaterally, nor can the employer impose it. Therefore, if there is no agreement on the actual use of vacation, this leads to an accumulation of vacation days.

The end of 2022 has brought numerous and substantial updates to employment legislation in various areas, such as adjustments to the minimum content of the internal regulations and to the mandatory template for the employment contract, as well as a whole new piece of legislation regulating social dialogue: Law no. 367/2022 to replace the former Law no. 62/2011.