The Constitutional Right to Fair Remuneration for Work

Abstract

Abstract This article is devoted to establishing the constitutional foundations of the right to fair remuneration. This right results from acts of international law and the Labor Code, but there is no provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland that would directly guarantee the right to fair remuneration. Therefore establishing this right requires reference to a number of constitutional provisions. Fundamental importance should be attached to the right to minimum remuneration for work (Art. 65 sec. 4 of the Constitution), which, in the context of the Labor Code, is sometimes equated with fair remuneration. However, the constitutional guarantees of fair remuneration are much broader. They result from constitutional principles, including the principle of the social market economy (Art. 20), the principle of equality (Art. 32 and 33), the principle of social justice (Art. 2) and the principle of labor protection (Art. 24), as well as other provisions, including Art. 64 sec. 1–2 (protection of fair remuneration as a property right) and Art. 71 (the principle of family protection). According to the author of this article, the constitutional right to fair remuneration thus constructed may be defined as a subjective right that is subject to judicial protection.