Familiarising an employee with workplace regulations before they start work

If an employer has workplace regulations in place, the employer must familiarise the employee with their contents before the employee starts work. This is stated by the Polish National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in its guide to hiring under an employment contract.

This guide concerns familiarisation with existing regulations. It does not determine whether a particular sole proprietorship must establish them.

What do workplace regulations cover?

According to PIP, workplace regulations set out the rights and obligations of the employer and employees relating to workplace order and the organisation of work. Familiarising the employee must therefore concern the contents of the regulations, not merely informing them that such a document exists.

When must the employee be familiarised with the contents?

The reference point is when the employee starts work: familiarisation with the regulations must take place beforehand. When planning this step, do not postpone it until after work has started.

Optional organisational checklist

You can use these two points as a planning aid:

• Check whether the employer has workplace regulations in place.
• If so, plan to familiarise the employee with their contents before the employee starts work.

This is an organisational suggestion, not a mandatory form. The checklist does not specify the form of familiarisation or establish a requirement for a signed acknowledgement.

Keep this step separate from other formalities

Familiarising an employee with workplace regulations does not fulfil the employer's other employment-related obligations. Do not treat completion of this step as confirmation that all formalities have been completed.

Separate topics outside this guide's scope include written confirmation of the agreed employment contract terms, information on employment conditions subject to 7-day and 30-day deadlines, and making available the provisions on equal treatment of women and men. Their conditions and implementation are not discussed here.

This guide also does not describe how to establish or amend workplace regulations or assess individual provisions. The key step within its scope is to familiarise the employee with the contents of existing regulations before they start work.