Draft amendments to the regulations on workplace mobbing and the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in Poland

The Council of Ministers adopted in mid-February this year a draft amendment to the regulations concerning workplace mobbing and changes to the Act on the State Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy – PIP) in Poland. The current proposals have been submitted for further legislative work.

The changes are intended to:

• clarify and simplify the rules for preventing mobbing in the workplace,
• strengthen the powers of the labour inspectorate in supervising compliance with labour law in Poland.

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Mobbing – what will change?

The draft amendment to the Labour Code in Poland provides for:

• recognising mobbing as persistent harassment of an employee,
• excluding incidental behaviour from the scope of mobbing,
• including physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct within the definition,
• allowing conduct consisting of ordering or encouraging mobbing behaviour to also be recognised as mobbing.

The draft also clearly states that justified criticism or the enforcement of professional duties should not be treated as mobbing. The definition is intended to be more practical and aligned with case law and HR practice in Poland, so as to distinguish real abuses from situations involving legitimate criticism or performance management.

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Liability

The current draft provides for:

• a minimum compensation threshold of six times the statutory minimum wage in Poland as the minimum amount of damages for a person who has experienced mobbing,
• at the same time, it will still be possible to pursue additional compensation, which has no statutory upper limit,
• no possibility for an employer to be released from liability by demonstrating preventive actions.

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Employers’ obligations

An employer in Poland will be obliged to actively and continuously counteract mobbing, in particular through:

• preventive actions,
• detecting mobbing, and
• responding appropriately to mobbing,
• as well as through remedial measures
• and support for persons affected by mobbing.

An employer employing at least 9 employees in Poland will be required to establish, by way of an official announcement:

• rules,
• procedures,
• and the frequency of actions

in the areas of preventing violations of employee dignity and other personal rights, preventing violations of the principle of equal treatment in employment, preventing discrimination and preventing mobbing, if such rules, procedures and frequency of actions are not specified in a collective labour agreement or if the employer does not have internal work regulations in place.

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State Labour Inspectorate – broader powers

Work on the Act on the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in Poland is still ongoing. At the current stage of the legislative process, the proposals include, among others:

• the possibility for labour inspectors to issue administrative decisions confirming the existence of an employment relationship instead of civil-law contracts (e.g. mandate contracts or B2B arrangements), if the inspector determines that the description of the cooperation meets the criteria of employment – which may have significant legal and financial consequences for the employer;
• access for inspectors to data from the Social Insurance Institution (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych – ZUS) and the National Revenue Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa – KAS) in order to more effectively plan and conduct inspections;
• increased sanctions for violations of labour law in fine-based administrative proceedings;
• the possibility of conducting inspections also using remote tools.

Decisions of the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) will be subject to appeal to a labour court in Poland, with the possibility of obtaining interim protection during the court proceedings.

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Order to remedy a violation

If irregularities are identified by an inspector, the draft provides for the possibility of issuing an order to remedy the violation. This may consist of concluding an employment contract or changing the manner in which a civil-law contract is performed.

If the order is implemented – the proceedings will be closed.

If it is not implemented, the inspector may issue a decision confirming the existence of an employment relationship or refer the case to court.

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What should HR consider in practice?

Mobbing

• The updated definition emphasises the need for clear communication and internal HR procedures aimed at preventing abuses in the workplace in Poland.
• The criteria for assessing mobbing are intended to be more closely linked to persistent and long-term harassment rather than individual incidents – therefore it may be advisable to update anti-mobbing policies.

State Labour Inspectorate (PIP)

• The expansion of the powers of the State Labour Inspectorate in Poland may result in more frequent inspections and a higher risk of administrative decisions concerning employment relationships.
• HR and Compliance departments should prepare for greater use of electronic inspection tools as well as the possibility of appealing decisions issued by PIP.
• It is advisable to conduct an audit of civil-law contracts and B2B arrangements to verify their compliance with the applicable regulations in Poland.

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Source: The article was created in collaboration with our cooperation partner – sdzlegal Schindhelm Law Office

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If you have any further questions or require additional information, please contact your business relationship person or use the enquiry form on the HLB Poland website.

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