Category: News

JLSW is happy to announce we will be joining the Legal Netlink Alliance’s Global Meeting in Paris, June 15-18.

Meeting friends and partners from 35 firms across 20 countries to reinforce the common values that unite us and learn from each other is an extraordinary opportunity we are excited about!

Our firms has been a member of Legal Netlink Alliance for 10 years and we have enjoyed the rich exchanges, common projects and cooperation for the benefit of our clients that was made possible by the alliance.

JLSW will be represented by Member Tomasz Janaszczyk.

On 27 April 2023, the President signed the Act amending the Act on duties of entrepreneurs concerning the management of certain types of waste and the product fee. The amendment implements into the Polish legal order the provisions of the Directive 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.

The purpose of the amendment is to introduce system solutions aimed at reducing the impact of waste from single-use plastic products, products made of oxo-degradable plastics and fishing gear containing plastics. These solutions will impose a number of obligations on some entrepreneurs, among others:

• those placing single-use plastic products on the market or their authorised representatives,
• those placing fishing gear containing plastics on the market,
• retailers, wholesalers or catering businesses which offer single-use plastic products, which pack and offer – by means of a vending machine, including those placed in locations other than a retail unit, wholesale unit or catering unit – beverages or food in single-use plastic products,
• entrepreneurs operating waste collection facilities in ports or entrepreneurs operating other equivalent collection systems.

Among the obligations imposed on the above-mentioned entrepreneurs, it is important to highlight a few, the effects of which will be experienced by us, i.e.:

• a prohibition to place on the market single-use plastic products and products made of oxo-degradable plastics such as cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers, balloon sticks and their cups, food containers and beverage containers and cups made of expanded polystyrene will be introduced. The prohibition is effective from 24 May 2023, while products that were placed on the market before this date may be sold or given free of charge to buyers in the national territory or used for own use until the stocks of these products are depleted;
• from 1 January 2024, entrepreneurs will be required to charge a fee for offering buyers disposable plastic products, such as beverage cups and food containers;
• from 1 July 2024, entrepreneurs will also be obliged to ensure the availability of alternative packaging made of either biodegradable or reusable material;
• an obligation will be introduced to label disposable plastic products, such as sanitary towels, tampons, tampon applicators, wet wipes, tobacco products with filters and filters sold for use with tobacco products as well as beverage cups, with a visible, legible and non-removable marking (on the product packaging or on the product itself) informing about inappropriate disposal methods and the harmful environmental impact of these products. This solution is effective from 24 May 2023, while products that were placed on the market before this date may be sold or given free of charge to buyers in the national territory or used for own use until the stocks of these products are depleted;

On 28 March 2023, the Council of Europe adopted a regulation that will ban the sales of new cars with internal combustion engines (petrol and diesel) in the European Union countries. The ban will apply from 2035. An exception to the ban will be made for vehicles powered by carbon-neutral e-fuel.

It should, however, be emphasised that the regulation adopted by the European Union allows for the further use of internal combustion cars by driving them and selling second-hand cars, whereas those who decide to buy a new car after 2035 will only have electric and hydrogen cars to choose from.

The introduction of this ban results from the ‘Fit for 55%’ package adopted in July 2021 by the European Commission. The package is a set of interlinked proposals which together are intended to ensure that the European Union’s ambitious climate policy is achieved by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The European Union regulation on the reduction of CO2 emissions for new cars and vans is one of many acts in this package.

Bearing in mind the climate change and the growing interest in low- and zero-emission vehicles in the west, the Polish government has introduced a range of privileges and benefits for owners of these types of cars, i.e:

• the possibility of obtaining a subsidy for the purchase of a new electric car (up to PLN 27 000 for individuals and PLN 70 000 for entrepreneurs),
• exemption from excise duty,
• higher depreciation limits,
• free parking in cities (based on local regulations),
• the right to drive on bus lanes designated to improve urban transport slowed down by traffic congestions (until 2025).

These benefits have not just been introduced to reward electric car owners for their contribution to reducing CO2 emissions, but are also intended to encourage the citizens to purchase such vehicles in the future.

In the latest edition of the prestigious ranking “The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East & Africa 2023” published on 12 April 2023, JLSW Law Firm has been honoured again.

In 2023, JLSW Law Firm has been recommended as a specialist in construction law for the sixth time. The team has been recognised for its long-standing experience in the public procurement sector, representing clients in court proceedings and providing advice on significant construction projects.

The Legal 500 distinguishes legal service providers from over 80 countries all over the world. The ranking presents an objective and independent opinion on the leading law firms and individual lawyers in the individual geographical areas.

This year’s edition of The Legal 500 constitutes the most comprehensive guide, as more than 15,000 law firms and nearly 40,000 individual legal practitioners participated in it (a 7% growth as compared to 2020).

The listing presents the most up-to-date data on the situation on the legal service market, enabling clients to choose reliable and innovative legal services.

The experience, verified client reviews, progressive solutions and commitment to projects carried out in various areas of law ensure that JLSW is repeatedly ranked as a leading law firm in The Legal 500 international ranking.

For more information on the ranking, please visit the website:

The Legal 500

New Labour Code provisions that will enable employers to check employees’ sobriety at workplaces will come into force as early as 21 February 2023.

The purpose of introducing this long-awaited provisions into the Polish labour law and allowing employers to independently carry out sobriety checks is to increase the safety of employees – to protect their life and health, as well as to protect the employers’ property.

Employers will be entitled to check on compliance with the sobriety obligation or compliance with the prohibition to use any intoxicating substances having similar effect to alcohol. It will be possible to carry out checks in the form of preventive checks (with a set frequency and on agreed, transparent conditions) or intervention checks (carried out whenever there is a justified suspicion that an employee or co-worker has violated the sobriety obligation – coming to work under the influence of alcohol or consuming alcohol or using intoxicating substances during the performance of their duties).

It is of utmost importance that it is the employer who is responsible for not allowing or dismissing from work a person who is under the influence of alcohol or intoxicated (within the meaning of the Act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism) or under the influence of substances acting similarly to alcohol.

If the employer decides that such checks are to be carried out at the workplace, they will be obliged to implement appropriate internal regulations. In these regulations, the employer must specify, in particular: the manner in which the tests are to be carried out, their frequency, the type of a device used and the groups of employees who may be subject to the examination.

According to the new regulations, the checks will be allowed to be carried out using methods that do not require a laboratory test, with a device certified with a valid calibration or verification document.

In addition, it must also be ensured that appropriate measures and rules for personal data processing are applied during the examination process and that the examinations carried out respect the dignity and personal rights of employees.

The employer will be allowed to carry out the first checks after two weeks from the date of informing the employees about the introduction of this legal institution. Given that this amendment to the Labour Code will enter into force on 21 February this year, on which date employers can start implementing these provisions; thus the first inspections may be carried out no earlier than on 7 March 2023.

Importantly, the solutions and procedures introduced in the Labour Code will also be applicable to persons providing work under civil law contracts, including, inter alia, mandate contracts, service contracts or B2B contracts, as well as subcontractors or suppliers – depending on the policy adopted.

Recently, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) issued nine decisions related to cases of payment gridlock, including fines totalling almost one million zloty imposed on three entrepreneurs. The fines imposed were related to the implementation of the amended provisions of the Act on Counteracting Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions, in force since 8 December 2022. The amendment introduced a new type of the act of unfair competition in the form of unjustified extending the payment dates for goods delivered or services performed, which may constitute e.g.: violation of the provisions of the Act on Counteracting Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions. According to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the introduced changes will allow to increase the pressure on timely and fair settlements between large entrepreneurs and their counterparties. The Act grants specific powers to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), including, in particular, the ability to impose administrative fines on entrepreneurs who use practices involving excessive delays in the payment of financial considerations. The intervention of the President of UOKiK will be possible in a situation where the value of financial considerations (remuneration for the delivery of goods or the performance of a service in a commercial transaction) not fulfilled and fulfilled after the due date by these entities in a period of three consecutive months amounts to at least PLN 2,000,000 – whereas a threshold of PLN 5,000,000 applies in 2020 and 2021. The fine will be imposed by the President of UOKiK in an amount equal to the sum of individual fines for each unfulfilled and delayed financial consideration that was due in the period covered by the proceedings, excluding financial considerations for which the due date for their fulfilment expired earlier than 2 years prior to the date of initiating the proceedings.

In the decisions referred to above, the President of the UOKiK ascertained excessive delays in the fulfilment of financial considerations by entrepreneurs. Each of the entrepreneurs on whom the fine was imposed had delayed payments to their counterparties in the amount exceeding PLN 5 million during the three months under investigation:

The first decision was issued to Agata company. In the course of the proceedings, it was established that the entrepreneur had been late with payment for more than 15,000 invoices to 797 counterparties. The largest sum of delayed payments to one of the entities amounted to almost PLN 5 million on account of 223 invoices. The President of UOKiK imposed a fine of over PLN 476,000 on that company.

The second fine of over PLN 280 000 was imposed on Bricoman Polska company. In the course of the proceedings, it was established that the entrepreneur had paid almost 14,000 financial considerations to counterparties past the due date. The largest amount of delays to one contractor exceeded PLN 1.2 million for 260 invoices paid after the due date.

The third fine of over PLN 200,000 was imposed on Silvan Transport & Logistics. The company failed to timely meet its financial obligations to more than 3,000 counterparties, with the largest delayed sum to a single entity amounting to more than PLN 1.2 million for 62 invoices paid late.

In the remaining six decisions, the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) refrained from imposing a fine, as the Act provides that a fine should be waived if the entrepreneur in breach of the Act was itself a victim of payment gridlock in the period under investigation. Such situations occurred in case of the other six entrepreneurs, including IKEA. Therefore, although the entrepreneurs had also been creating payment gridlocks, no fine was imposed on them. Moreover, in the course of the proceedings concerning these entities, it was established that in the period under examination the sum of financial considerations these companies had received late was higher than the payment gridlock they generated.

Under the new powers, the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection may also undertake so-called soft actions, addressing requests to entrepreneurs to change their payment practices. As a result, an entrepreneur receiving such a request will have the opportunity to immediately improve its payment practice towards its counterparties, thus avoiding proceedings and financial sanctions for generating payment gridlock.

Since 1 January 2023, sellers operating both online and in store have been struggling with introducing the changes adopted as a result of the implementation of the Omnibus Directive, whose aim is to strengthen consumer protection. In connection with these changes, the Trading Standards Authority has begun inspections at retail chains to check whether and how traders communicate price reductions. In addition, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has checked almost 40 websites of e-commerce entrepreneurs in various sectors (clothing, cosmetics, footwear, sports equipment, electronic equipment, online platforms).

The most important changes resulting from the implementation of the Omnibus Directive aimed at strengthening consumer protection include: the requirement for transparent information about price reductions, clear rules for offer placement in search results, a ban on implying that published consumer reviews are true if a trader has not implemented mechanisms to secure their reliability. At the same time, the amendment to the consumer law regulations has also introduced new information obligations, such as: providing the telephone number, informing whether and how the trader verifies the reviews provided and, in case of trading platforms, indicating whether an offer comes from a trader or a private person.

NEW OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO PRICE REDUCTIONS

A trader who advertises a promotion or sale must indicate, in a prominent place next to the goods, not only the current price, but also the lowest price of the last 30 days preceding the reduction. The information must be presented in an unambiguous and incontestable manner and allow for comparing the prices. This obligation applies to traders selling in brick-and-mortar stores and to those selling online, as well as to TV and radio advertisements for goods.

If a trader sells goods both in physical stores and online, then, when informing about price reductions, they must indicate the lowest price in force during the 30-day period prior to the introduction of the reduction in the particular means of sale, i.e. the physical or online store.

The obligation imposed on traders is aimed at enabling the consumers to verify the actual price reductions and preventing unfair practices pursued by traders so far – apparent promotions that mislead the consumers.

Consumers can be informed of a price reduction in various ways – by stating the percentage reduction, the discount by a specific amount or a reduction by the VAT amount, by crossing out the old price and stating the new price, or by including the ‘sale’ sign. However, regardless of the form of communication chosen, the lowest price for the goods or services over the last 30 days prior to the reduction must be indicated.

An exception is made for perishable products, in which case traders are obliged to display the current price and the price before the discount was first applied. In case of products which have been on offer for less than 30 days, the lowest price from the launch until the price reduction must be displayed. Traders do not have to display the lowest price before the reduction, if they choose not to announce a promotion or sale when lowering the regular price. Slogans promoting sale offers by comparisons being general marketing statements (e.g. best, lowest prices) and bundles (e.g. multibuys) are also exempt from the new regulations.

In the event of confirming a violation of the collective interests of consumers, the President of UOKiK may impose a penalty of up to 10 per cent of the turnover for an enterprise and up to PLN 2 mln for the person managing thate enterprise.

RESERVATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT OF UOKiK

In connection with the inspections carried out by the Trade Standards Authority and the UOKiK’s verification of the practices applied by entrepreneurs in their online stores, UOKiK has published some practical guidelines on its website on communicating price reductions and listed its observations made as a result of the inspection: ”retailers should indicate the lowest price from the 30-day period preceding the introduction of the reduction in a clear and unambiguous manner. The lowest price may be crossed out (as long as it is still legible). Next to the price displayed as the reference price, traders should indicate that this is the lowest price in the last 30 days preceding the reduction. Presenting this message after the link has been expanded or in a much smaller font than the reduced price, or using illegible colour or low contrast, are examples of bad practice. The information about the lowest price should be presented right next to the current price. If traders lower the price more than once in 30 days, they may additionally inform the consumers about the previous prices. However, this should not mislead the consumers and distract from the lowest price in the 30 days preceding the introduction of the reduction. 

Example: A correct communication of additional prices could be: “PLN 80 instead of PLN 100 (the lowest price in the 30 days preceding the introduction of the reduction). Excluding promotional periods, our regular price in the last X days was PLN 120” (in the same font)”.

Example: if the slogan reads ‘50% less’ and the lowest price in the last 30 days preceding the information about the reduction was PLN 100, the seller will have to present PLN 100 as the reference price from which the 50% reduction is calculated, even though the last sale price was different”.

The information made available on UOKiK’s website shows that the reservations of the President of UOKiK were raised by the following practices:

• stating the current selling price and the crossed-out price without informing what the crossed-out price is,
• stating the current sale price and the crossed-out price, where the message explaining that the crossed-out price is the lowest price of the product in force in the last 30 days before the discount was introduced is available only after expanding it,
• using other reference values than the lowest price in 30 days before the reduction to present discounts (crossed-out prices),
• calculating the amount of discount (e.g. 20%, PLN 150) with reference to the last or standard price of the goods, not the lowest price in the last 30 days,
• using words other than ‘the lowest price in 30 days before the introduction of the discount’, for example: ‘reference price’, ‘previous/last lowest price’, ‘price from 30 days before the promotion’,
• presenting information about the lowest price in force in 30 days before the introduction of the discount in an illegible way: font, colours, contrast.

Loyalty programmes (i.e.: discount cards, coupons entitling to price discounts) are, in principle, exempt from the duty to provide information about the lowest price in 30 days preceding the reduction, if they actually refer to custom price reductions. However, if the price reduction applies to all or part of the customers, then the lowest price in the 30 days preceding the reduction must be indicated.

Example: on a retailer’s website, a consumer sees sees a notice available to the general public that when a particular code is entered, the price will be reduced. In this situation, the retailer must ensure that the ‘earlier’ of all goods subject to the reduction is the lowest publicly available price in the last 30 days preceding the introduction of the reduction.

FURTHER ACTIONS OF UOKiK

In a communication posted on its website, UOKiK informed in the near future it would be checking:

• whether and how online traders who publish consumer reviews inform about the manner of verifying their reliability (if they do not carry out such verification, they should also directly inform consumers about it),
• whether and how trading platforms inform about the main parameters determining the order in which products appear in search results, and whether and how they disclose which offers are paid advertising or get a higher placement as a result of a payment,
• whether and how platforms inform about the status of persons offering goods or services – whether they are entrepreneurs or private persons (in the latter case, they are also obliged to inform about the non-application of consumer protection legislation),
• whether online traders provide telephone numbers allowing for effective contact with them.