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ChapterI.Teconceptandsubject-matteroflabourlaw
3.2.Uniformityanddifferentiationoflabourlaw
Uniformityoflabourlawisusuallydefinedashomogeneityoflegalregulations,equal
treatmentofallpersonsworkinginsimilarconditions(whichshouldbebasedon
theprincipleofequalityinemploymentrelations).Examplesinclude:equalisation(in
theLabourCode)ofrightsofwhitecollarandbluecollarworkers,equalisationoflegal
situationofemployeesinpublicandprivateundertakings,employeesemployedbynatu-
ralpersonsundertheactreferredtoasthegreatamendmentoftheLabourCodeof1996,
andintroductionofprovisionsonequalityandnon-discriminationinemployment.
Differentiationmeansdifferentregulationofoneandthesameissueinrelationto
particularcategoriesofemployedpersons.Differentiationshouldmeanjustifieddif-
ferentiation,otherwiseitimpliesprivilegesorunjustifiedprivileges.Mostoften,
thecriteriaofdifferentiationaredividedintopersonalandmaterialones.Asregards
thefirstcategory,thejustifiedcriteriameanusuallydifferentiationoflegalsituation
ofyoungemployees,women,employeeswithdisabilitiesor-inthecaseofwomen-
pregnantandbreastfeedingwomen.
Asregardsthematerialcriteria,ajustifieddifferentiationinlegalregulationsisthedif-
ferentiationbasedonprofessionorcharacteristicsofwork(suchasharmfulanddifficult
workingconditions).Formerly,explicitreferencewasmadealsototheirvalueanduse-
fulnesstothecommunity(forexample,ofminingindustry,metallurgy,atshipyards).
Thedifferentiationoflegalsituationofemployeeswasconsidereduobjectively”justified
bythesizeoftheemployer.
Theseassessmentschangeovertime,theyareinfluencedbyideological,politicaland
economicconsiderationsandoftenalsobytradition.Despitethefactthattodaytheso-
cialuimportance”ofaprofessionorworkisnotdirectlydeclaredtobethebasisfor
differentiation,suchcriteriaarestillappliedindirectly.Anexampleofrevaluationas
tothereasonablenessofaseparateregulationofemploymentrelationshipsofdiffer-
entprofessionalgroups(forexample,postmen,railwaymen)isabandonmentoftheir
regulationbyseparate,profession-specificlaws.Otherexamplesincludeseparation
ofregulationsgoverningemploymentrelationshipsinlocalandregionalauthorities
andemploymentrelationshipsofcivilservantsfromthepreviousscopeofregulations
governingemploymentofpublicofficialsandsubjectingthemtoseparatelawsgovern-
ingemploymentofspecificcategoriesofemployees.
3.3.Europeanisationoflabourlaw
Inthelastdecade,attentionwasdrawn,althoughinadifferentcontext,tootherspecifics
ofthePolishlabourlaw.AcommonlydiscussedissueistheEuropeanisationofPolish
labourlawassociatedwithPoland’saccessiontotheEuropeanUnion.Therefore,the
B.M.Ćwiertniak