The four -day work week is getting closer? The government reveals details

The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy has completed analyzes regarding the shortening of the working week. Although the plans remain valid, the implementation of the changes will not take place quickly. According to the information provided to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, the changes will be introduced in stages, and the process will last up to several years.

Shorter work week

The ministry emphasizes that the inspiration is the experience of other countries, such as France, where the lowering working time to 35 hours was extended in time and adapted to various groups of employees. It will be similar in Poland – there is no universal solution. Other rules may apply in industry, and others in the services sector or creative professions.

Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk explained on Thursday at Polsat News that the implementation of the four-day working week must go hand in hand with the current level of remuneration. – This solution is expected, but it must be adapted to the specifics of various professional groups – said the head of the ministry.

Shortening working time in the EU

In Poland, there is currently no legal framework enabling the introduction of a short working week at the level of the whole country. Employers, however, may implement such solutions as part of agreements with employees. According to experts from the Central Institute of Labor Protection, which collaborated with MRPiPS in the development of analyzes, Pandemia Covid-19 influenced the shortening of the working week in many European Union countries in 2019-2022.

In the so -called “Old Union” employees are already working on average an hour shorter a week than in countries such as Poland. Our country has been at the forefront of EU countries with the longest weekly working time for years. The announced changes are to change this gradually.