In Poland, employers will have six months for anti-mobbing procedures — RMF24
In Poland, changes to labor legislation concerning mobbing, discrimination and equal treatment in employment will enter into force on November 5. Employers will be required not only to respond to employee complaints, but also to systematically prevent violations. Companies will have six months to bring their internal rules into line with the new requirements, RMF24 reports.
The Polish Sejm adopted amendments to the Labor Code and the Code of Civil Procedure on June 19. The document was published in Poland’s official journal of laws on August 4 and will enter into force three months after publication.
Updated definition of mobbing
Following the changes, mobbing will primarily be understood as persistent harassment of an employee. This refers to repeated, recurring or continuous conduct, meaning that a single incident will generally not qualify as mobbing.
To establish mobbing, it will not be necessary to prove the perpetrator’s intent or specific consequences for the victim, including diminished self-esteem regarding professional competence or health problems. The provisions will apply to physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. The perpetrator may be an employer, manager, colleague, subordinate or another person working outside an employment contract.
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Among examples of conduct that may indicate mobbing, the law lists humiliation, intimidation, unjustified criticism, ridicule, obstruction of duties, isolation of an employee or exclusion from the team. At the same time, justified and properly expressed monitoring of an employee’s performance of duties or criticism of their work will not be considered mobbing.
New obligations and compensation
The minimum monetary compensation for people affected by mobbing will amount to at least six minimum wages. Employers will have to organize work in three areas: preventing violations, detecting them, and responding by supporting affected individuals and eliminating the consequences.
Enterprises employing at least 10 people must specify the rules, procedures and frequency of such measures in a collective agreement or internal work rules. If there are no relevant provisions, the employer must introduce appropriate regulations.
The changes also cover discrimination due to association with a person who has a particular characteristic and due to a characteristic mistakenly attributed to an employee. For a single case of discrimination, the minimum compensation will equal the minimum wage, while for repeated cases it will equal three minimum wages. The new rules will also apply to violations that began before November 5 but continued after that date.
