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The present elaboration is dedicated to problem of tackling undeclared work. Sanctions and incentives that can diminish the scope of the grey economy are introduced and analysed. The negative effects of undeclared work and challenges for both European Union and Member States are presented. Among the sanctions, the author focuses on civil, criminal and administrative measures. The possible incentives contain fiscal allowances, appropriate legal frameworks, training opportunities, and are capable of transforming undeclared work into formal employment. In the author's view, an integrated approach and a comprehensive targeted strategy are indispensable, while priority should be given to incentives. Tackling undeclared work should involve the concerted action of all key labour market actors.

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This article presents the assumptions and the first experiences of the functioning of Polish Law of 1st July 2009 on the relief of the effects of economic crisis for entrepreneurs and workers. This legal act modifies labour law regulations applicable to working time and fixed-term employment, and it also provides for granting financial aid to entrepreneurs affected by the crisis and for financing employee training. The basic aim of the Law is to help employers overcome the effects of the economic crisis and to preserve jobs.

The present elaboration is dedicated to one of the aspects of the Matzak judgment, where CJEU ruled that a standby time which a volunteer firefighter spends at home with the duty to respond to calls from his employer within a few minutes, very significantly restricting the opportunities to do other activities, must be regarded as working time under the Directive 2003/88. The position of the Advocate General, who suggested that ‘the degree of freedom enjoyed by the worker’ and ‘the quality of time’ while a worker is on standby duty should be assessed, as well as the Court’s opinion, that the temporal and geographical constraints imposed on the on-call worker are of decisive importance, have been analysed. In the Author’s view, the binary relationship between ‘working time’ and ‘rest period’, as provided by Directive 2003/88, does not always meet the requirements of the current labour market. Moreover, in the digital age the ‘rest period’ does not necessarily amount to genuine free time. The Author examines possible further legislative developments concerning the concepts of working time and rest period, including the newly emerging idea of the right to disconnect, i.e. the worker’s ability to disconnect from work, especially by not engaging in electronic work-related communications during his rest period.