Ensuring occupational safety and protecting employees’ health have been of the utmost importance for many employers over the past few weeks. With the rapid spread of Covid-19, employers were forced to adopt strict preventive measures to ensure a safer working environment within their workplaces. While the most obvious solution was the adoption of home office schemes, not all jobs can be performed remotely. Continue Reading
Czech FDI Screening Bill – Get Ready For New Regulatory Challenges
As we recently observed in many states across the EU, national lawmakers have been coming up with bills that put in place mandatory non-EU FDI (foreign direct investment) approval requirements. The purpose of this legislation is to give state authorities competence to assess risks to national interests arising from such FDI and, if necessary, take protective measures. As of October 2020, national regimes will be further supplemented by a new EU-wide FDI framework represented by the FDI Screening Regulation (EU 2019/452). The FDI Screening Regulation lays down rules for cooperation and sharing of information between EU member states and the Commission and confers new powers to the Commission to issue non-binding advisory opinions. To keep up the pace with Germany, France, Italy and others, on 21 April 2020 the Czech Government submitted to the Chamber of Deputies its bill for the new FDI Screening Act. Continue Reading
Poland: Guidelines for Use of Retail and Hotel Facilities Upon Expected Lifting of Certain Trade Restrictions on 4 May 2020
The Polish government announced that on 4 May 2020, shopping centres, hotels, and DIY and furniture stores will be opened to the public subject to certain conditions and restrictions. Below, we highlight the guidelines published by the Polish Ministry of Regional Development for retail and hotel facilities. Continue Reading
COVID-19: Poland Launches an Official Tracking App
Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate have launched ProteGO, one of EU’s first official COVID-19 tracking applications. The Minister of Digital Affairs, Marek Zagórski, has been quoted as saying that his ultimate objective is for every smartphone user in Poland to use the app. Continue Reading
Polish Competition Authority Shows Areas of Attention During COVID-19 Epidemic
On April 15, 2020, the Chair of the Polish Competition and Consumers Protection Authority (UOKiK), Mr. Tomasz Chróstny, delivered a speech defining UOKiK’s main focus areas amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. In a 90-minute address, Mr. Chróstny defined the areas of particular attention for UOKiK in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Continue Reading
Polish Competition Protection Authority Cracks Down on Late Payments
During a webinar organized by Polityka Insight on April 15, 2020, the Polish Competition Protection Authority (UOKiK) Chair, Mr. Tomasz Chróstny, stressed that UOKiK will now pay particular attention to counteracting payment delays, relying on the powers vested in it by the Act of March 8, 2013 on Counteracting Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions (formerly the Act on Payment Terms in Commercial Transactions) (the Act). Continue Reading
Poland: Shield 2.0 Tolls Bankruptcy Filings Deadlines, but It Does Not Support Enterprise Restructuring
On April 9, 2020, the Polish Sejm (lower House of Parliament) passed the Act on special support instruments with regard to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease caused by it (the so-called Shield 2.0), featuring much anticipated changes to the deadlines for filing for bankruptcy. Continue Reading
COVID-19: Poland Announces Another Support Package For Business
In order to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic and the effects of economic slowdown, the Polish government has announced another PLN 100 billion (EUR 22 billion) support package for Polish business. The main goals of the program are supporting the liquidity of enterprises and maintenance of employment.
COVID-19 and Employment Personal Data Processing in Poland – Q&A
Here are the most frequently asked questions regarding personal data processing in the context of employment which have not been explicitly addressed in the supervisory authority’s statement on data processing in light of the coronavirus pandemic (mentioned in our previous post). Our answers draw on core data protection rules, binding labour law provisions, Chief Labour Inspectorate guidance and the EDPB Chair statement. Continue Reading
Poland: Unclear Rules of Temporary Expiry of Lease Rights and Obligations at Retail Facilities of More Than 2,000 m2
The Polish draft law commonly referred to as the “Anti-Crisis Shield” (adopted by the Sejm last weekend) poses many questions in regard to lease relations between landlords and tenants at retail facilities of more than 2,000 m2. Firstly, due to its ambiguous wording, there are doubts whether it covers all retail facilities or only those offering retail space above 2,000 m2, and whether it covers all lease agreements in effect at such facilities or only those affected by the restrictions.
