I’m about to start my first job. I don’t know much about the formalities associated with employment. What should I remember when hiring for the first time? I am asking for advice.
When starting your first job, it is worth knowing what formalities should be completed. Should the employee undergo medical examinations and health and safety training before starting work? What does the right to holiday leave and paid sick leave look like? Here are the 5 most important things to do when first working!
Medical examination
The first with the 5 most important things for your first job it is obligatory to undergo an initial medical examination prior to commencing work. The obligation to conduct preliminary examinations is regulated by the provisions of the Labor Code. According to Art. 229 § 4, the employer may not allow an employee to work without a valid medical certificate stating that there are no contraindications to perform work in a specific position. Medical examinations are carried out by an occupational medicine doctor on the basis of a referral issued by the employer. Importantly, their cost is covered by the employer. This means that if the employee covers the cost of the research, the employer is obliged to return the funds spent on this purpose. During the employment, the employee is also obliged to appear for periodic medical examinations, which, as a rule, should take place during working hours. In addition, an employee who has been incapable of work for a period of at least 30 days must undergo a medical check-up in order to determine the possibility of further performance of official duties.
Signing an employment contract
From September 1, 2016, regulations came into force obliging employers to sign an employment contract with an employee before being allowed to perform their tasks. When entering into an employment relationship, the employee is obliged to perform the work of a given type for the employer, under his direction and at the place and time designated by the employer. There are 3 types of employment contracts:
- trial-period employment contract,
- fixed-term employment contract,
- fixed-term employment contract undefined.
In accordance with Art. 29 of the Labor Code, the employment contract should contain information specifying the parties to the contract, its type, and the terms of work and remuneration. The terms of work and remuneration should be understood as:
- type and place of work,
- amount of remuneration with indication of remuneration components,
- working time,
- the date of commencement of work.
In addition, within 7 days from the conclusion of the contract, the employer must inform the employee in writing of:
- the working time standard applicable to the employee – daily and weekly,
- the frequency of payment of remuneration for work under the contract,
- the duration of the annual leave due to the employee,
- the length of the period termination,
- the collective agreement the employee is covered by.
If the employer is not obliged to define the work regulations, then he must inform the employee about the applicable night time, place, time and date of payment of remuneration and the method of confirming the arrival and presence at work as well as justifying absences adopted in the workplace.
Health and safety training
Another element from the 5 most important things for the first job, ok which one should remember when starting work (not only the first one but everyone) is the obligation to train in the field of health and safety. Employee training is also an obligation of the employer, which must be fulfilled before starting work. The initial health and safety training should include general instruction and workplace briefing and familiarize the employee with the risks involved in a given workplace. Pursuant to the provisions of the Regulation of the Minister of Economy and Labor on training in the field of occupational health and safety, the initial training should be conducted in the form of general instruction and workplace training.
The general instruction is to familiarize the trainee with the basic health and safety regulations contained in the Labor Code, collective labor agreements or work regulations, as well as with the health and safety rules in force in a given workplace. Moreover, during the general training, participants should learn the principles of first aid in the event of an accident.
During the on-the-job training, the participant learns about the factors of the working environment occurring at a given workplace and the occupational risk associated with performing work in this position, how to protect against risks caused by these factors and how to safely perform work.
The employee confirms the completion of the general and job training in writing on the initial health and safety training card.
First leave
In accordance with Art. 152 of the Labor Code, an employee has the right to an annual, uninterrupted, paid leave. In the first year of employment, an employee obtains the right to holiday leave after each worked month in the amount of 1/12 of the leave entitlement after working a year. In subsequent years, the employee acquires the right to a full holiday leave on the first calendar day of the year. The length of the leave depends on the education obtained and the length of service of the employee. Employees employed for less than 10 years are entitled to 20 days’ leave, while those employed for at least 10 years are entitled to 26 days of leave. A person who starts their first job is therefore entitled to 20 days’ holiday a year. After working each month, you are entitled to 1/12 of the holiday entitlement, i.e. 20 days × 1/12 = 1.67 days.
Example 1.
The employee started his first job on January 1, 2020. will he be entitled to days of holiday leave on April 1, 2020, i.e. after working 3 months?
one month’s leave – 20 days × 1/12 = 1.67 days
leave entitlement after working for three months – 1.67 days × 3 months = 5.01 days
As of April 1, 2020, the employee will be entitled to 5, 01 day of leave.
First sick leave
For periods of inability to work due to illness the employee is entitled to sick pay. It is financed by the employer and paid for a total sickness period of 33 days, or 14 days for workers aged 55 and over. The right to sick pay is acquired after 30 days of uninterrupted sickness insurance, i.e. after the expiry of the so-called waiting period. In addition, an employee is entitled to sick pay if the period of compulsory sickness insurance is at least 10 years or there is no break of 30 days between periods. Also entitled to sick pay are employees who:
- are graduates of a school or university who were covered by sickness insurance within 90 days of leaving school or obtaining a university degree;
- become unable to work as a result of an accident on the way to or from work;
- are MP or senator and subscribed to sickness insurance within 90 days of leaving office.
If an employee falls ill in the first month of employment and is entitled to sick pay, then the basis for sick pay is the wages specified in the contract, if the remuneration is fixed, or the remuneration that the employee would receive if he worked a whole month. Importantly, if the disease occurs in the first month of employment, and the employee is not entitled to sick pay, then the unpaid absenteeism will be shown in the work time records for the period of sickness.
Sick pay is calculated by subtracting the sum of social security contributions from the base of sick pay and dividing the result by 30. In the next step, multiply the amount received by the amount of sick pay (80% or 100%) and multiply the result by the number of days of sick leave.
Example 2.
An employee with the right to sick pay took up employment under an employment contract of March 1, 2020 for a fixed monthly salary of PLN 4,500 gross. In the period from March 16, 2020 to March 20, 2020, the employee was on sick leave. How much will the basis of sick pay and its amount?
Base of sick pay – PLN 4500
PLN 4500 – (13.71% × 4500) = PLN 4500 – PLN 616.95 = PLN 3883.05
PLN 3883.05 / 30 = PLN 129.44
PLN 129.44 × 80% = PLN 103.55
PLN 103.55 × 5 days = PLN 517.75
The basis for sick pay is the amount of the contract remuneration of PLN 4,500 gross . The employee will receive sick pay in the amount of PLN 517.75.
The 5 most important things during the first job – summary
In connection with the commencement of employment, you should remember about the initial medical examination and initial health and safety training. Importantly, the costs of health and safety tests and training are covered by the employer. Before commencing the performance of official duties, the employee should sign an employment contract and receive one copy of it. In the case of the first employment, the right to holiday leave is acquired after working each month, while in the case of sickness in the first month of work, the employee can only count on sick pay if certain criteria are met.
