Introduction and objective:
Medical staff may be employed under an employment or a civil law contract. Their working hours are regulated by the Act on medical activity. Their standard working time is 7 hours and 35 minutes in a five-day workweek, however, there is a possibility for it to be extended. The aim of this article is to increase knowledge of medical employees regarding the possible forms of their employment and the related rights.

Review methods:
A review of legal regulations, court decisions and literature was performed using the Polish Legal Information System “LEX”, Google Scholar and the ISAP system.

Abbreviated description of the state of knowledge:
The employment of medical staff is defined by the provisions of the Labour Code or the Civil Code, depending on the type of contract. The daily norm of working hours for medical staff is defined in detail in the Act on medical activity. The legislator has provided the possibility of its extension, if the employee gives written consent to do so, called an “opt-out clause”. The employee’s salary depends on the time of work performed, the number of overtime hours and whether he/she has signed the aforementioned clause. Apart from normal working hours, employees may be required to perform medical duty. On 1 January 2028, it is anticipated that the provisions of Article 96 of the Act on medical activity, allowing the signing of an opt-out clause, will be repealed. The issue of working time for medical employees is very important, especially due to the overwork, that often occurs in this group.

Summary:
The working time of medical staff is a controversial matter. The opt-out clause as an option for extending working hours continues to be a contentious issue among healthcare workers.