Poland: fast track legislation comes into force to counter the coronavirus

On 08 March 2020, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda promulgated legislation combatting the coronavirus. It took the country’s parliament less than a week to formulate this legislation, which contains several exceptional measures, and the law was published in the Official Journal the very same day it was signed. The text contains specific provisions for the world of work during the crisis period. Thus, recourse to telework can be made widespread during quarantine and suspected case monitoring situations. If schools are closed then parents can access specific childcare allowances if they are unable to work, albeit the allowance is restricted to a period of 14 days. In addition, in order to anticipate and counter the spread of Covid-19 within a company or business, employers can require staff to work remotely, from home.