Freedom of Employment - Can an Employee Be Hired Exclusively?

Can an employer prohibit an employee from taking on additional work or hire them on an exclusive basis? Under the current provisions of the Polish Labour Code, the freedom of employment is broader than many employers assume. The 2023 amendment introduced clear regulations that protect the employee’s right to take on additional work, leaving employers with only limited possibilities to impose restrictions.

Until 2023, the Polish Labour Code did not explicitly regulate the issue of an employee’s additional employment. Employers often introduced provisions in employment contracts restricting the possibility of working outside the company, referring to the obligation to protect the employer’s legitimate interests. Employees were also frequently required to inform the employer about additional activities, including charity work. In practice, this created numerous legal uncertainties, as case law generally held that an employer could not arbitrarily limit an employee’s additional work and could only do so when justified by the company’s legitimate interests.

Significant Changes in the Labour Code

Since 26 April 2023, following the implementation of EU Directive 2019/1152, employees may take up additional employment or run a business, provided that these activities take place outside their working hours for the primary employer. Such activities cannot be grounds for terminating an employment contract.

Restrictions remain only in situations covered by a noncompetition agreement (Art. 101¹ §1 of the Labour Code), which may be introduced solely in the employer’s interest and must be accompanied by appropriate compensation.

Obligation to Inform the Employer About Additional Employment

The Labour Code does not impose an obligation to inform the employer about additional employment, although in specific cases such information may be justified, for example to protect trade secrets. It is important to remember the rules on employee privacy and data protection – employers may collect only the data for which they have a legal basis or the employee’s consent.

Restrictions in Civil Law Contracts

In the case of civil law contracts (e.g., contracts of mandate, B2B contracts), the principle of freedom of contract (Art. 353¹ of the Civil Code) applies. The parties may freely introduce restrictions on additional activities, except in situations governed by specific regulations, such as competition restrictions arising from antitrust law.

Summary

Employee freedom of employment has been significantly expanded due to the 2023 amendment to the Labour Code. Employers can no longer prohibit employees from taking up additional work outside their working hours, nor can they freely impose exclusivity clauses; such restrictions may be introduced only when the conditions for a noncompetition agreement, as provided for in the Labour Code, are met. In practice, this means that employees now enjoy greater independence, and employers cannot limit this freedom unless justified by legitimate business needs and supported by labour law provisions.