Dr Katarzyna Śliwak
FIDIC commentary on the new contractual conditions
On 5 December 2017 the Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs-Conseils (FIDIC) new contractual conditions were published. FIDIC recently released the first commentary on the new conditions.
Award of a contract co-financed using EU funds by a private entity
A private entity carrying out a project co-financed using EU funds makes use of public money, and therefore is required to comply with rules on fair competition and equal treatment of contractors. Accordance to government guidelines, to do this it should use market research or comply with competition requirements. And if it becomes a contracting authority, it must apply the Public Procurement Law.
How to monitor whether contractors hire workers under an employment contract?
A year ago we reported that an amendment to the Public Procurement Law required contractors and subcontractors to hire workers under an employment contract if they fell under Art. 22 §1 of the Labour Code. But it was not clear how contracting authorities could check whether contractors were complying with this requirement without infringing the personal data of the contractor’s staff. These doubts have now been resolved in a joint opinion issued by the president of the Public Procurement Office (UZP) and the Inspector General of Personal Data Protection (GIODO).
Restrictions on investor’s joint and several liability
The joint and several liability of the investor on a construction project for the fees of the subcontractors under Polish law is particularly strict. Thus owners of construction projects should note the statutory solutions (recourse claims by investors and limitations in subject matter and amount introduced in the amended Civil Code) and the permissible use of contractual clauses to soften this liability regime.
The requirement to hire workers under employment contracts in public procurement
Following the July 2016 amendment to the Public Procurement Law, contracting authorities must indicate which activities during performance of a public contract fall within the definition of an employment relationship under Labour Code Art. 22 §1. They must also require contractors to hire persons performing those activities on the basis of an employment contract and verify that the contractors are in compliance with this obligation.
