Regulating working time in the times of crisis : flexibility, gender and the case of long hours in Poland

On 1 July 2009, the Anti-Crisis Act temporarily amended the working-time provisions of the Polish Labour Code to allow for more flexibility and more efficient deployment of labour during the economic downturn. Following a long-term trend in Polish labour law reform and taking its cue from the European Union (EU) Working Time Directive, one of the key changes the Act introduced was a provision allowing the extension of reference periods for the calculation of average weekly hours to a maximum of twelve months. Long reference periods have become a common feature of many European working-time regimes. As this paper argues, however, Polish specificities make this form of flexibility particularly problematic. In the context of Poland's entrenched overtime culture, insecure, competitive, and unequal labour market, and high level of employment law violations (mainly in connection with working time), the extension of working hours threatens to strain the already difficult working conditions for many Poles. With the existing gender dynamics, insufficient measures for work-family reconciliation, and scarce state provision for care of dependants, what effects will the extension of working time have on the conditions of women workers? This paper examines the post-transition trajectory of Polish working-time reform and questions the sustainability of the working-time regime it attempts to create