Remote and hybrid work have become popular choices in the wake of the Covid pandemic. For those employers unable or unwilling to make use of those work arrangements, however, the Polish Labour Code offers another way to make employees’ working time more flexible, i.e. the so-called flexible working hours.
Flexible working hours can be introduced in any working time system and, simply put, provide an opportunity for employees to start work at a different time on each working day.
The system has two variants. In the first it is the employer that sets the employees’ starting hours for each day of the work schedule. The second and the more widely utilized variant allows employees the flexibility of choosing the starting time within a certain range of hours so that the employee’s availability during the core hours is secured. This option may supplement the hybrid work system or may replace it altogether thus providing an alternative for employers who cannot or are unwilling to offer hybrid work.
Flexible working hours may be offered as a collective arrangement agreed with trade unions, and in the case of employers with no trade unions, in an agreement with employees’ representatives selected in accordance with the procedure adopted in their company. A flexible hours arrangement may be also tailored to the needs of individual employees on their written request.
When introducing flexible working hours, it is important to remember that all the rules for daily and weekly rest times must be respected.
