Legislative changes and others for Polish employers

Whistleblower Protection Act

On September 25, 2024, the act implementing the Directive on whistleblower protection came into force. Entities employing at least 50 people must establish a procedure and an internal reporting channel that offers entitled persons the opportunity to report legal violations without fear of negative consequences. On December 25, 2024, provisions regarding external reports to public authorities came into force.

What does this mean for employers?

The act introduces new obligations, such as:

• adopting an appropriate procedure and selecting reporting channels through which whistleblowers can report irregularities,
• appointing persons/entities to receive reports of irregularities, conduct investigations, and implement any corrective actions,
• updating GDPR solutions/documentation.

Change in the minimum wage

In 2025, the minimum wage is PLN 4,666 gross (PLN 366 more than in 2024), and the minimum hourly rate is PLN 30.50 gross (in 2024 it was PLN 28.10).

What does this mean for employers?

• employers should check whether they pay employees the minimum wage;
• due to the change in the minimum wage, other benefits resulting from labour law will also change, including e.g. the amount exempt from deductions and the remuneration for downtime.

Sustainable development reporting obligations

Poland has implemented the so-called CSRD Directive. The regulations require reporting on sustainable development, i.e., environmental, social (including human rights), and corporate governance aspects. The first reports for 2024 will be prepared by large companies listed on regulated EU markets that meet all requirements and employ over 500 employees. Then, from 2025, this obligation will cover other large entities (listed or unlisted) that employ over 250 employees and/or have an annual net turnover of at least 40 million euros or total balance sheet assets of at least 20 million euros. From 2026, small and medium-sized enterprises listed on the stock exchange and other entities will report.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers should verify whether their entities meet the ESG reporting requirements and report the required information accordingly.

Christmas Eve as a public holiday

From 2025, December 24 will be a public holiday in Poland.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers should remember the new public holiday when planning their employees' work schedules.

AI Act – obligation to build AI competence

Suppliers and users of AI systems must ensure an appropriate level of AI competence among their personnel and other individuals operating these systems, taking into account their technical knowledge, experience, education, as well as the context and target groups in which the AI systems will be used.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers will need to organise AI training and consider preparing a development plan for AI competence for their personnel and other individuals operating AI systems.

Maternity leave for parents of premature and hospitalised children after birth

Regulations introducing supplementary maternity leave will allow employee-parents to take additional maternity leave in the case of premature birth or hospitalisation of the child after birth. The length of additional maternity leave will be up to 8 weeks or up to 15 weeks, respectively. Parents will be entitled to allowance amounting to 100% of the allowance base.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers should familiarise themselves with the conditions regarding the so-called supplementary maternity leave to respond correctly to employees' requests.

Law on foreigners

The new regulations replace the previous rules regarding the employment of foreigners. They include, among other things, streamlining immigration procedures (e.g., by eliminating the so-called labour market test), reducing the burden on offices, increasing penalties for employers for illegal employment of foreigners (even up to PLN 50,000), and digitising of proceedings.

What does this mean for employers?

• employers should verify the employment status of their foreign employees to avoid penalties for their possible illegal employment;
• the procedure for applying for documents related to the legalisation of stay and work will also change, which employers will also have to adapt to.

Temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens

The stay of Ukrainian citizens who benefit from so-called temporary protection in Poland is legal until 30 September 2025. However, the Council of the European Union has decided to extend the protection until 4 March 2026, so we can also expect a similar solution in Poland.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers should monitor whether their employees who are Ukrainian citizens are staying in Poland legally and submit applications for the appropriate permits.

Blind lawsuits

Legislative work is underway in the Parliament on a draft law introducing so-called blind lawsuits, which will allow a lawsuit to be filed against an unknown person (without providing specific personal data), and then within 7 days, the court will request the intermediary service provider and the telecommunications entrepreneur to provide the data they hold.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers may obtain an effective tool to protect their personal rights and combat online hate, for example, when former employees anonymously post negative comments about them on the Internet.

Quotas in listed companies

Legislative work is underway on the implementation of Directive on improving the gender balance among directors of listed companies and related measures. For large listed companies in the EU, the directive sets a target of 40% of the underrepresented gender among non-executive directors and 33% among all directors.

What does this mean for employers?

Large listed companies will be required, among others, to implement a so-called gender balance policy, which will be defined in a resolution of the general meeting, and to apply selection procedures for directors based on transparent and gender-neutral criteria.

Collective agreements act

In 2025, we can expect an amendment to the act on collective agreements and collective labour agreements. The new regulations aim to streamline the negotiation process between trade unions and employers. The act provides, among others, for simplifying the procedure for concluding and registering collective agreements, the possibility of using a mediator in the event of a dispute, and determining the duration of the collective agreement. The bill is awaiting submission to the Sejm.

What does this mean for employers?

This is important information for employers where trade unions operate, and a collective labour agreement is in force. It is necessary to verify current practices for negotiating with trade unions.

Civil law contracts included in the length of service

The Ministry of Labour is working on a project under which periods of non-agricultural activity, performing a mandate contract or another service contract by a natural person, and performing an agency contract will be included in the length of service.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers will have to determine the length of service of employees, taking into account not only their employment based on an employment contract but also other professional activities, and also apply for relevant certificates to ZUS. This may be particularly important for acquiring certain employee rights, e.g., awarding jubilee bonuses or seniority allowances.

Employees with two employment contracts will be able to use sick leave with one employer and receive full remuneration with the other

It is planned to introduce a change to the current rule, according to which any gainful employment performed for one contribution payer while receiving sick leave benefits from employment with another contribution payer results in the loss of the right to benefits for the entire period of sick leave. The relevant information will have to be indicated in the medical certificate.

What does this mean for employers?

When controlling employees on sick leave, it should be remembered that it will be possible to simultaneously receive sick leave benefits from one title and remuneration for work from another.

All mandate contracts and contracts for specific work will be covered by social insurance

Currently, if an employee has several mandate contracts and pays social insurance contributions from an amount at least equal to the minimum wage on at least one of them, the remaining contracts are not covered by insurance. The draft law has not yet been developed.

What does this mean for employers?

If the regulations come into force, the costs of employing people based on civil law contracts will increase.

Amendment to the minimum wage act

The government is working on a new minimum wage act that implements the minimum wage Directive into the Polish legal system. The new regulations provide for determining the amount of the minimum wage and establishing the minimum wage as basic remuneration (i.e., without allowances such as bonuses). The project is at the consultation stage.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers will have to review their wage payment practices and check whether the basic remuneration of an employee employed full-time is not lower than the minimum wage.

Higher penalties

The maximum fine for non-compliance with labour law regulations will increase from PLN 30,000 to PLN 45,000. The project is at the consultation stage.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers must be aware that in the case of actions contrary to labour law, they will face sanctions in the new amount.

Competition Law in the Labour Market

We would like to draw your attention to important issues related to the application of competition law in the labour market, which are currently under heightened scrutiny by the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). Many employers are not aware that competition law also applies to activities related to the recruitment and employment of staff. This topic is particularly relevant given the increasing awareness among employees of their rights, including protections afforded to whistle-blowers.

Below we highlight the key areas of concern:

Anti-competitive wage-fixing
Employers must not agree on salary levels for employees. Such arrangements can restrict wage growth and constitute a violation of competition law.

No-poach agreements
Any agreements between businesses not to solicit or hire each  other's employees are prohibited. These practices may reduce competitive pressure and limit employment opportunities for workers. 

Other employment terms
Jointly setting employment conditions, such as employee benefits or the number of remote work days, may also infringe competition rules.

Definition of mobbing

The Ministry of Labour is working on a project amending the definition of mobbing. According to it, behaviours involving persistent harassment of an employee will be considered mobbing. Persistence will mean that they are repetitive, recurring, or constant. An employee who has experienced mobbing will have the right to claim compensation from the employer in an amount not less than the remuneration for a period of 6 months or compensation.

What does this mean for employers?

• the employer will be obliged to actively and continuously counteract mobbing by applying preventive measures, detecting and responding appropriately, as well as taking corrective actions and supporting persons affected by mobbing;
• if the employer is not covered by a collective labour agreement or is not obliged to establish work regulations, the principles, mode, and frequency of actions in the area of counteracting mobbing will be determined in an announcement. The content of the announcement should be agreed with the company trade union organisation, and in its absence – with employee representatives selected in the manner adopted by the given employer;
• it is also worth preparing a strategy for counteracting mobbing, including introducing an anti-mobbing procedure in the workplace and planning training to educate employees;
• proper implementation of obligations related to mobbing may, in certain cases, exempt from liability for mobbing.

Reclassification of B2B contracts

The Chief Labour Inspectorate announced that labour inspectors will have the authority to reclassify B2B contracts by issuing a decision. The draft law implementing this idea is not yet available.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers should review the contracts and practices used for persons employed based on B2B contracts to minimise the risk of establishing an employment relationship.

Maximum temperatures in the workplace

The Ministry of Labour is working on introducing regulations that define maximum temperatures in the workplace. According to the draft, the temperature in workrooms should not exceed 35°C, and in open spaces, it should not exceed 32°C, unless technological reasons prevent this.

What does this mean for employers?

According to the draft, employers will need to provide appropriate technical and organisational solutions, consulting them with employees through the health and safety committee or, in the absence of such a committee, with employee representatives, after seeking the opinion of the medic responsible for preventive health care for employees.

Pay Transparency Directive

The Polish legislator is obliged to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive into Polish law by June 7, 2026. Anti-discrimination provisions are already present in Polish labour law, however, there are no effective tools to combat pay discrimination. Currently, legislative work is underway to incorporate the provisions of the Directive into Polish law.

What does this mean for employers?

• employers will have to prepare many documents related to pay transparency, including ensuring employees have easy access to objective remuneration criteria used in determining their pay levels and raises;
• the Directive also introduces numerous informational obligations, such as providing employees with information about their individual pay levels and average pay levels broken down by gender for employees performing the same work or work of equal value, and annually informing employees about their rights;
• the recruitment stage will also undergo a revolution – it will be necessary to provide job applicants with information about the initial salary or its range and ensure that job advertisements and job titles are gender-neutral, and that the recruitment process is non-discriminatory.

AI Act – information obligations and sanctions

Before deploying or using a high-risk AI system in the workplace, employers will be required to inform employee representatives and affected employees that a high-risk AI system will be used in relation to them. Failure to comply with this obligation will result in an administrative fine of up to EUR 15,000,000 or, if the offender is an enterprise, up to 3% of its total worldwide annual turnover for the previous financial year, whichever is higher.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers will need to inform employee representatives and affected employees that a high-risk AI system will be used in relation to them, and in case of non-compliance, they will face severe financial penalties.

Directive on platform workers

On December 1, 2024, the Directive on platform workers came into force. Poland has two years to transpose it into the Polish legal system (by December 2, 2026). The Directive aims to eliminate the (incorrect) classification of platform workers as self-employed by presuming an employment relationship between the platform and the person working through the platform if "facts indicate control and direction of the person working by the platform." It also imposes specific obligations on platforms regarding the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems.

The first discussions with the government on the shape of Polish regulations have already begun.

What does this mean for employers?

• the Directive imposes specific obligations on platforms related to the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems, including oversight of the systems and regular evaluation of their impact on people working through platforms, and the requirement to conduct data protection impact assessments and consult with people working through platforms and their representatives.
• employers will also need to ensure appropriate measures related to health and safety at work and protect platform workers from adverse treatment and dismissal in connection with asserting their rights under the Directive.