Newsletter | Employment law in Poland | November 2025

Another stage of the State Labour Inspectorate reform

The Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy has presented the third version of a draft law reforming the activities of the State Labor Inspectorate (PIP) in terms of the inspectors' powers to convert civil law contracts into employment contracts.

The latest draft law provides that an inspector's decision confirming the existence of an employment relationship may cover a period of up to three years retroactively. The draft introduces the possibility of revoking the immediate enforceability of an inspector's decision in appeal or court proceedings and the possibility of bringing a claim against the State Treasury in the event of erroneous decisions by labor inspectors. The draft provides that before issuing a decision or referring the case to the court, the labor inspector will have the authority to issue an order requiring the employer to bring the terms of employment into compliance with the law.

The planned date of entry into force of the new regulations is 1 January 2026. However, the draft law has not yet been submitted to the Sejm.

 

New regulations on collective agreements passed by the Parliament

On 5 November 2025, the Polish Parliament passed a law on collective bargaining agreements. This concluded parliamentary work on a legal Act aimed at implementing the EU directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union. The deadline for implementing the directive into Polish law expired on 15 November 2024.

The new regulations are intended to facilitate the conclusion, registration, and application of collective bargaining agreements. A key change compared to previous regulations is the introduction of electronic notifications of concluded agreements, which will be registered in the National Register of Collective Bargaining Agreements. The Act also expands the group of entities that can conclude a company agreement, allowing a cross-company trade union organization to participate in such an agreement. The new regulation give parties greater flexibility in setting agreement terms – before the expiry of a fixed-term collective bargaining agreement, the parties may decide to extend its term for an indefinite period, which is not possible under the current regulations. In case of a dispute between a trade union and an employer during negotiations on the content of an agreement, the law now provides for the possibility of engaging an impartial mediator to assist in resolving the conflict.

The Act has been submitted to the President for signature. The provisions will enter into force 14 days after their publication in the Journal of Laws.

 

Announcement of the creation of an Employee Rights Ombudsman

The Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy has announced plans to establish an Employee Rights Ombudsman, who would support employed persons, regardless of the form of employment—in particular, those employed under an employment contract or a civil law contract.

The Ombudsman's main tasks would include issuing opinions on draft legislation concerning employee rights, cooperating with trade unions and social organizations, conducting educational activities, and providing legal advice. The Ombudsman would also represent employees in legislative work, intervene with employers, file complaints with the National Labor Inspectorate, and participate in court proceedings. The Employee Rights Ombudsman will be an independent institution appointed for a six-year term by the Prime Minister at the request of the minister responsible for labor.

The project is at a very early stage—a request for its inclusion has been submitted to the Council of Ministers' list of legislative and programmatic work.

 

Transparent recruitment is just around the corner

On 24 December 2025, an amendment to the Labor Code will take effect, introducing the principles of transparent and non-discriminatory recruitment (new Article 183ca of the Labor Code). Below are the key points employers should be aware of::

• candidates must be informed of the proposed remuneration (either the initial amount or the salary range),
• candidates must be informed about the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement or remuneration regulations concerning remuneration (all components) and other work-related benefits that they can expect from their future employer,
• the above information should be provided: (i) in the job advertisement, or (ii) before the interview, or (iii) before the employment relationship is established,
• the above information should be delivered in paper or electronic form, in advance, so that the candidate has time to familiarize themselves with it and ensure informed and transparent negotiations,
• candidates may not be asked about their current or previous salaries; however, the regulations do not prohibit asking about salary expectations.
• job advertisements and job titles must be gender-neutral.

 

Planned changes to authorizations for processing personal data

The Government intends to abolish the requirement for written authorizations for the processing of personal data, currently mandated under regulations such as the Labour Code and the Whistleblower Protection Act. At present, individuals involved in activities such as processing employee and job candidate data, receiving and verifying internal reports, and taking follow-up actions must obtain written authorizations.

After the change, authorizations could be documented in any form, provided that the principle of full accountability is maintained in accordance with the GDPR.

 

New rules for using sick leave

Polish parliament is currently working on a major amendment that provides, among other things, for changes in the rules governing employees' use of sick leave and changes in the rules for employers and the Social Insurance Authority (ZUS) when verifying the proper use of sick leave.

A significant change will be that a person employed by two employers/contribution payer at the same time will be able to ask their doctor to issue only one sick leave certificate instead of two. The entry into force of the new regulations will mean a departure from the current rule applied by ZUS, according to which any gainful employment for one contribution payer during the period of receiving sickness benefits from employment with another contribution payer deprives the insured person of the right to benefits for the entire period of sick leave. Under the new rules, the employee will only be required to inform the employer for whom they will continue working during sick leave from another job about the period covered by the medical certificate, due to the principle of a single benefit period regardless of the number of sickness insurance titles held by the insured person.

Most of the provisions would come into force on 1 January 2026, while the provisions according to which work for one employer will be possible during incapacity for work for another employer are to come into force 12 months after the publication of the act in the Journal of Laws.