On 19 June 2026, the Sejm (lower house of the Polish parliament) passed an anti-mobbing act, which is now expected to come into force soon.
The act simplifies the definition of mobbing and increases the minimum compensation for violations. This will lead to more employment disputes and higher claims; the courts will no longer be able to dismiss a claim only because the employee misclassified it (if the facts of the case justify a different claim, the courts will have to hear it).
At the same time, employers will have to move away from a reactive approach to genuine, proactive prevention.
What is changing and how to prepare
Mobbing
- A simpler definition of mobbing. The mobbing need not be prolonged; the key element is persistence – actions that are repetitive, recurring or ongoing.
- Intent and effect no longer determine whether there has been mobbing.
- Short-term but intense actions may also constitute mobbing, whilst isolated incidents have been explicitly excluded.
- An open-ended catalogue of mobbing behaviours has been introduced.
- There is now an explicit range of potential mobbing perpetrators (not only line managers, but also other individuals within and outside the organisation).
- Encouraging or ordering mobbing also constitutes mobbing; justified criticism expressed in an appropriate manner does not.
- A victim can claim damages and compensation, with the minimum amount of compensation being at least six times the minimum wage.
- Recourse against the perpetrator is possible, with greater individual liability and increased pressure to prevent mobbing.
Discrimination
- New forms of discrimination: the concepts of ‘discrimination by presumption’ and ‘discrimination by association’ have been introduced.
- Extension of the concept of discrimination: encouraging or ordering a breach of the principle of equal treatment in employment is now also considered discrimination.
- Permissible differentiation: different treatment does not constitute discrimination if it is objectively justified.
- Minimum compensation: at least the equivalent ofthe minimum wage for a single breach, and at least three times the minimum wage for a repeat breach.
New obligations of employer
- Employers will now be obligated to systematically prevent mobbing and discrimination. This requires a change in approach from reactive to proactive.
New formal obligations of employer
- Employers with ≥ 10 employees must adopt (or update existing) written anti-mobbing and anti-discrimination policies, procedures and measures within their internal regulations (collective agreement, work regulations or notice, as appropriate) and must consult these with the relevant trade unions, or with employee representatives where no trade union is active.
- Employers with < 10 employees don’t have to adopt written anti-mobbing and anti-discrimination policies, but they must inform employees of the applicable rules and procedures for combating mobbing and discrimination, and of their employees’ rights in this regard.
The Act is scheduled to come into force three months being published. Employers will then have a further six months to meet the new requirements.
Bird & Bird is monitoring legislative changes on an ongoing basis, and we will keep you informed of further developments.
For further information, please contact:
Paulina Grotkowska, Partner, Bird & Bird
paulina.grotkowska@twobirds.com
