Protection of the personal rights of the person concerned by the whistleblower's notification

W ostatnim czasie obserwujemy zwiększone zainteresowanie przedstawicieli doktryny zagadnieniem ochrony sygnalistów1, co bez wątpienia jest pokłosiem trwających prac legislacyjnych zmierzających do implementacji dyrektywy Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady (UE) 2019/1937 z dnia 23 października 2019 r. w sprawie ochrony osób zgłaszających naruszenia prawa Unii2 (dalej: „Dyrektywa). Zarówno tytuł Dyrektywy, jak również znaczna część jej motywów koncentruje uwagę na ochronie osób zgłaszających, od skuteczności której prawodawca wspólnotowy uzależnia podniesienie efektywności egzekwowania prawa oraz wykrywania naruszeń, które mogą wyrządzić poważną szkodę interesowi publicznemu. Wbrew jednak dostrzeganym w komentarzach prasowych uproszczeniom, Dyrektywa poza mechanizmami ochronnymi osób zgłaszających zawiera cały szereg innych regulacji, o istotnym dla jej właściwego stosowania znaczeniu. W szczególności ustanawia ogólne ramy prawne dla dokonywania zgłoszeń za pomocą wewnętrznych i zewnętrznych kanałów, jak również poprzez ujawnianie publiczne, nie pozostawiając bez ochrony prawnej osób, których dotyczy zgłoszenie. Wnikliwa analiza zarówno motywów, jak i treści Dyrektywy prowadzi do ciekawych wniosków w przedmiocie granic ochrony prawnej sygnalistów w związku z koniecznością zapewnienia ochrony również tym osobom, których dotyczy zgłoszenie.Recently, we have observed an increased interest of representatives of the doctrine in the issue of protection of whistleblowers, which is undoubtedly the aftermath of the ongoing legislative work aimed at implementing the Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (hereinafter: “the Directive”). Both the title of the Directive, as well as much of its motives, focus attention on the protection of whistleblowers, on the effectiveness of which the EU legislator depends to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement and detection of violations that may cause serious harm to the public interest. However, contrary to the oversimplification presented in the press commentaries and mass media, the Directive contains, in addition to the protection mechanisms for whistleblowers, a whole series of other regulations of significance for its proper application. In particular, it establishes a general legal framework for the filing of notifications through internal and external channels as well as through public disclosure, leaving no affected persons without legal protection. A careful analysis of both the motives and the content of the Directive leads to interesting conclusions on the limits of legal protection for whistleblowers in connection with the need to ensure protection also for those affected by reporting who are subject to allegations

Personal data controller in collective employment law

Entering into force of the GDPR was an event that equally affected both employers and trade unions. In the course of practical implementation of provisions of law regarding personal data protection the main focus was put on employers who traditionally are seen as having bigger influence on factual and legal situation of employees. Trade unions seem to have overlooked the fact that they also process wide range of personal data of their members, often of very sensitive character. This article is an analysis of legal position of trade unions in relation of processing personal data with special emphasis put on cooperation with employers and employees in performing their statutory obligations. Clear assignment of position of data controller to trade union creates issues due to the wording of provisions of the GDPR. The same problem is present in case of different tiers of trade unions, especially those of regional or national range. However, function and role of trade unions allow to indicate them as data controllers of their members. In this paper the Author analyses legal bases for processing personal data by trade unions and determines transfers of personal data within trade unions and between trade unions and employers. Finally, the Author verifies documentation used by chosen representative trade unions in Poland in order to determine how trade unions themselves approach the issue of correct establishment of their position in processing persona l data and how they apply provisions on personal data protection in practice

The employer’s liability on account of unjustified or unlawful termination of a contract of employment for a fixed term : conclusions de lege lata and de lege ferenda

The aim of this article is to present comments and suggestions regarding currently existing solu-tions in terms of incorrectnessof termination or dissolution of a fixed-term employment contract.Due to recent legislative changes, the issue of possibility to terminate or dissolve fixed-term em-ployment contracts became actual more than ever before.In this article there are raised concerns regarding the admissibility of analysis of justificationof termination of fixed-term employment contracts, claims of employees’ granted them on the basis of incorrecttermination of a fixed-term employment contract, including restitution claim with a special attention paid to the legal status of employees encompassed with special protection of employment status.Further subjected to the analysis were the rights of employee that arise from unlawful termination of employment contract without a notice by employer and legal character of compensation for incorrecttermination or dissolution of a fixed-term employment contract.Mentioned considerations were supported by the analysis of judicature and state of doctrine with particular emphasis on suggested recommendations on changing currently applicable solu-tions. In the summary, Author presented clear vision of direction, which should be followed by the legislator in order to secure coherence of legal system and improvement of position currently occupied by subjects particularly aff ected by issues connected with adopted regulations in terms of incorrectnessof termination or dissolution of a fixed-term employment contract

The employer's legal obligation to provide the company trade union organization with access to a premises and technical facilities versus processing of personal data on behalf of the controller

Wraz z upływem kolejnych lat stosowania RODO obserwujemy coraz większą świadomość ograniczeń prawnych i wymogów, których spełnienie jest konieczne dla zgodnego z prawem przetwarzania danych. Funkcjonujące od dawna praktyki, wśród których znajdują się nie tylko praktyki zwyczajowe, ale również mające swoje umocowanie w przepisach, wymagają weryfikacji pod kątem ochrony danych osobowych. W niniejszym opracowaniu zwracamy uwagę na zagadnienie przetwarzania danych osobowych w ramach obowiązku pracodawcy udostępnienia zakładowej organizacji związkowej pomieszczenia i urządzeń technicznych.As the years of application of the GDPR continue, there is a growing awareness of the legal limitations and requirements that must be met for lawful data processing. The practices that have been in place for a long time, which include not only usual practices, but also those that are grounded in regulations, need to be reviewed from the perspective of personal data protection. In this publication, we turn our attention to the issue of personal data processing within the scope of the employer’s obligation to provide the company union organization with access to premises and technical facilities

On the loss and recovery of the rights of a trade union organization

The provisions of the Trade Union Act of 23 May 1991 concerning the loss and regaining the rights of a company trade union organization generate numerous interpretative doubts. The author analyses issues concerning the trade union organization's failure to comply with the obligation to provide the employer with information on the number of its members, the trade union organization's failure to timely submit an application to the labor court with jurisdiction over the employer's registered office to establish the number of its members as at the last day of the six-month period, and the organization's restoration of its rights as a result of the submission of an application to establish the number of its members. The author also draws up de lege ferenda postulates concerning the clarification of specific regulations, which should result in avoiding paralysis of the legitimate exercise of trade union rights and privileges by a trade union organization