Seasonal worker - what form of employment is best for him?
The seasonal worker is most in demand during the summer. However, due to the fact that the Polish regulations do not contain a definition or rules relating directly to such employees, it is worth finding out how to complete all the necessary formalities.
Seasonal worker - definition
There is no definition of a seasonal worker in the Labor Code. In practice, however, based on the judgment of the Supreme Court of April 3, 1986 (reference number III URN 20/86), it is considered that a seasonal worker is one who works for a specific part of the year, in relation to a specific season, season, and weather conditions. As a rule, such work is temporary and temporary.
Due to the fact that the above definition does not arise directly from the Labor Code, it is assumed that under the labor regulations seasonal employment should be treated in the same way as in the case of regular employment of an employee.
When employing an employee for seasonal work on the basis of an employment contract, employers most often decide on a fixed-term employment contract or a civil law contract. Another option is to use a temporary employment agency.
Fixed-term contract for a seasonal worker
A fixed-term contract is characterized by a predetermined date on which the employment relationship will be terminated. It should be remembered that if the parties have already concluded this type of agreement three times and plan to sign another, fourth document of the same type, it will be necessary to conclude an agreement for an indefinite period. Also, if the total duration of the employment relationship under fixed-term contracts exceeds 33 months, the employment contract is automatically converted into a contract for an indefinite period.
Seasonal worker employed under a civil law contract
An alternative to employment contracts in the case of seasonal work are civil law contracts - commission and specific work. Their advantage is that there is no need to establish a strict working time period, place of employment, and no additional obligations, such as holidays. It is also possible to employ juvenile workers from the age of 13 on this type of contract. What's more, civil law contracts are often an easy way to avoid the need to pay ZUS contributions for employees.
Temporary work - employment agency
A popular form of employing seasonal workers is using the services of an employment agency. In this model, the employment agency is the employer for the employee. The company (client) signs a contract with the selected agency. The subject of the contract is to provide the client with a certain number of employees. The enterprise (client) settles accounts for the work performed with the agency that pays the remuneration and settles accounts with the employed employees. Using the services of a temporary agency does not always mean savings for the company. An employee employed in an employment agency may not earn less than an employee employed in the same or a similar position under an employment contract directly with the employer. If you add the costs related to the agency's services, the cost of such an employee may be higher. However, the company saves on recruitment and does not have to worry about sick leaves and absences.
However, it is worth bearing in mind that not all positions may be employed by temporary workers or they cannot perform certain activities.
Thus, employing a seasonal worker does not differ in practice from employing an employee to work under the usual rules. Also in this case, the employer has the option of using both employment contracts and contracts based on the provisions of the Civil Code.
