When economic pressures mount or organisational restructuring becomes necessary, Polish employers have three powerful legal tools to reshape their workforce without resorting to layoffs. Rather than defaulting to redundancies, employment contract modifications can be an effective strategic workforce management tool.
1. Mutual Amendment Agreements
The smoothest approach involves negotiating directly with employees to modify their contracts. This collaborative method allows both parties to reshape job duties, working conditions, and compensation through mutual consent. Employers can implement temporary or permanent changes, specifying exactly when and where new responsibilities take effect. The key advantage? No formal barriers exist when both parties agree to the changes.
2. Unilateral Notice of Change
When mutual agreement isn’t feasible, employers can issue a unilateral notice of employment and remuneration changes. This powerful tool operates similarly to a dismissal notice but offers employees a choice: accept the new terms or face termination.
Key requirements include:
- Written notice stating clear reasons for the change
- Compliance with notice periods and dismissal protection rules
- Union consultation where applicable
- Explicit proposal of new pay and working conditions
Employees receive half the notice period to consider their options. If they accept (either explicitly or by not objecting), the contract automatically amends when the notice period expires. Rejection transforms the notice into outright dismissal. In practice, this often opens negotiations that lead to mutually acceptable compromises. Important note: Large-scale notices may trigger collective redundancy obligations.
3. Temporary Job Reassignment
The Polish Labour Code permits employers to assign different duties for up to three months per calendar year without formal contract amendments. This flexibility comes with important constraints:
- Must address genuine business needs (not employee health issues)
- Cannot reduce employee compensation
- Must match the employee’s existing qualifications and skills
- Requires no written documentation
Strategic Benefits
These tools offer significant advantages over traditional redundancies. Notice of change provisions help forward-thinking companies weather economic storms while retaining valuable talent. Temporary reassignments provide the agility needed during restructuring, allowing rapid resource reallocation without permanent commitments.
Together, these mechanisms create a comprehensive framework for responsive workforce management. Rather than viewing staff reduction as the only cost-cutting measure, employers can strategically adapt their human resources to meet evolving business needs while maintaining organisational stability and employee relationships.
For employers navigating uncertain markets or structural changes, these alternatives to downsizing represent both legal compliance tools and strategic business instruments that can preserve talent while achieving operational flexibility.
Dariusz Zimnicki, Partner at ZL LEGAL Legal Advisors, contributed to this review.
