600 plus for 100 percent. attendance at work? “May have a negative impact”

Attendance bonus is a monetary gratification for employees intended to motivate them to work 100%. attendance at work. It is mainly used in large workplaces, most often in services, where the absence of employees may disorganize the work process. The bonus of PLN 500 to PLN 600 is intended to encourage employees not to take sick leave or take leave on request.

Attendance bonus illegal?

The use of an attendance bonus raises mixed opinions. On the one hand, there are voices that it is good for motivating and rewarding employees. However, there are many voices that we are dealing with punishing employees who sometimes, for reasons beyond their control, cannot show up for work. The employers themselves reply that there is no question of any penalty, and the bonus is a privilege for people who show 100 percent. readiness and commitment to work. However, some bosses admit that it is also about combating false L4s. There are people who do not want to work and are able to arrange sick leave.

Labor law specialist Dr. Kinga Piwowarska believes that saying that the use of an attendance bonus is illegal is a generalization too far, but an attendance bonus may be illegal. – An employer who has decided to introduce a bonus for no sickness absence must take into account the fact that sick employees will come to work for fear of losing the bonus. This situation may have a negative impact on work efficiency – emphasizes Piwowarska in a comment for infor.pl.

Employers introduce attendance bonuses to discourage employees from taking leave on request. Such leave – as the expert reminds – is one of the basic employee rights, included in the right to annual leave.

– One may ask whether the employer, by paying an attendance bonus for lack of leave on request, discourages the use of leave? And if so, does it violate the basic right to rest and protection of the employee’s health, life and personal good? Perhaps, because it does not seem appropriate to reward people for not exercising their employment rights. On-demand leave serves to provide time off from work, among others. in case of an employee’s personal emergencies. This is a safeguard against sudden circumstances, and employers make remuneration allowances dependent on its absence – explains Piwowarska.

– In turn, when it comes to leave from work for 2 days or 16 hours due to force majeure in urgent family matters caused by illness or accident, if the immediate presence of the employee is necessary, he/she has the right to be absent from work due to the above. reasons. Such a person may also be unjustifiably deprived of 500 plus, 550 plus or 600 plus. After all, no one wants to take such leave from work and no one wants to lose money because of it – he adds.

The expert points out that the provisions of employment contracts and other acts on the basis of which an employment relationship is established cannot be less favorable to the employee than the provisions of labor law.

– Provisions of the contracts and acts referred to above that are less favorable to the employee than labor law provisions are invalid; instead, the relevant labor law provisions apply. Therefore, you need to assess what is less advantageous, e.g. not coming to work due to illness and recovering, or coming in sick but receiving a salary supplement. Answer: it depends. However, it is known that the fear of losing bonuses and, in this sense, not using employee rights will be less beneficial – explains the expert.

– Provisions of employment contracts and other acts on the basis of which an employment relationship is established that violate the principle of equal treatment in employment are invalid. Instead of such provisions, the relevant provisions of labor law shall apply, and in the absence of such provisions, these provisions should be replaced by appropriate provisions of a non-discriminatory nature. – he adds.

The ministry criticizes

Piwowarska summarizes that the law does not prohibit the use of attendance bonuses, but if employees prove that the criterion introduced by the employer, such as 500 plus for 100 percent. attendance at work is discriminatory, the case may end up in court.

– You cannot introduce criteria that you know in advance cannot be met by all employees. Grocery store chains that encourage employees with such workers may therefore have problems with the National Labor Inspectorate. They can also expect lawsuits for compensation due to unequal treatment – emphasizes the expert.

The Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy does not hide his distance from the attendance bonus. Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk said in an interview with “Gazeta Wyborcza” that “in my opinion, bonuses for not being sick should not exist.” The head of the Ministry of Labor emphasizes that sick employees should not come to work.