Poland's New Mobbing Rules from 5 November 2026: A Quick Guide for Employers

Author: Alicja Myśluk-Landowska, Attorney-at-law (radca prawny), Partner and Head of Employment and Labor Law, Dudkowiak & Putyra

The Act of 19 June 2026 amending the Labour Code and the Code of Civil Procedure (Journal of Laws 2026, item 1046) rewrites the Polish rules on mobbing – the legal term used in Poland for workplace bullying – and on discrimination. The new rules apply from 5 November 2026. Employers with at least 10 employees must also have written anti-mobbing rules in place by 5 May 2027. This guide summarises what has changed and what employers should do before those dates.

1. A shorter definition of mobbing

Under the amended art. 94³ of the Labour Code, mobbing is persistent harassment of an employee, meaning conduct that is repeated, recurrent or continuous. The statute lists typical forms: humiliating or insulting the employee, intimidating them, understating their professional suitability, criticising them without justification, obstructing their work, isolating them or eliminating them from the team. The conduct may be physical, verbal or non-verbal. A single isolated incident is not mobbing.

Three conditions that previously defeated many claims have been removed:

• Duration. Harassment no longer has to be long-lasting.
• Health disorder. A claim for compensation for harm no longer requires proof that the mobbing caused a health disorder.
• Intent. It is no longer relevant whether the perpetrator intended to humiliate or ridicule the employee.

2. A wider circle of perpetrators

Mobbing may be committed by the employer, a supervisor, a peer, a subordinate or a person engaged on a basis other than an employment contract, such as a B2B contractor or an agency worker. It may be committed by one person or by a group, and ordering or encouraging such conduct counts as committing it.

3. Legitimate management remains lawful

The Act expressly provides that justified conduct towards an employee, expressed in a proper manner – in particular holding the employee to account for assigned tasks and appraising their performance constructively – does not constitute mobbing. Demanding targets, critical feedback, performance plans and lawful restructuring remain available to employers.

4. The burden of proof shifts to the employer

The employee alleging mobbing must make the breach probable. Once they do, the employer has to show that no breach occurred. In practice this means producing the record of what the employer did to prevent mobbing and how it handled any report.

5. Statutory minimum awards

For the first time the Labour Code sets minimum awards, expressed as multiples of the statutory minimum wage (PLN 4,806 gross in 2026 and PLN 4,950 gross from 1 January 2027).

Source: Labour Code as amended by the Act of 19 June 2026.

These are floors. Courts may award more, and claims for proved financial loss can be brought in addition. An employer that pays compensation may seek reimbursement from the person whose conduct caused it, in proportion to that person's fault. Under the amended Code of Civil Procedure, the employee pays no court fee and the case is heard by a district labour court regardless of the amount claimed.

6. Protection against retaliation

An employer may not treat an employee adversely for exercising labour rights, which expressly includes reporting mobbing or discrimination. The protection extends to persons who support the employee making the report.

7. Discrimination: two new forms

The same Act recognises discrimination by assumption, where a protected characteristic is wrongly attributed to the employee, and discrimination by association, where the employee is treated less favourably because of a connection with another person.

8. What employers must do

• Every employer, regardless of headcount, must counteract unequal treatment, discrimination and mobbing systematically: prevention, detection, timely response, corrective action and support for the person affected.
• Employers with at least 10 employees must also set out the rules, the procedures and the frequency of these actions in writing – in the work regulations or in separate regulations under the new art. 94³a – unless the matter is covered by a collective agreement. The content must be agreed with the company trade union or, where none operates, with employee representatives. If no agreement is reached with the unions within 30 days, the employer may settle the content itself.

The new rules also reach conflicts that began before 5 November 2026 and continue after that date. Court proceedings already pending keep the procedural rules that applied when they were filed.

9. Key dates

The six months between the two dates are not a transitional period. From 5 November 2026 claims are assessed under the new rules, whether or not the employer has adopted its written rules.

10. Recommended steps

1. Audit existing policies, work regulations and whistleblowing procedures for wording based on the repealed conditions.
2. Decide the route: amended work regulations or separate anti-mobbing regulations. For foreign-owned employers, separate bilingual regulations are usually easier to maintain.
3. Draft the rules, the reporting procedure, the composition of the panel and the deadlines, and extend the scope to contractors and group staff.
4. Consult the trade union or employee representatives early enough to finish before 5 May 2027.
5. Train managers first, then all staff, and keep attendance records.
6. Document every report and how it was handled. After 5 November 2026 this record is the employer's principal evidence.

A detailed guide, including an employer checklist and the table of contents of model anti-mobbing regulations, is available on the Dudkowiak & Putyra website: Mobbing, workplace bullying and harassment in Poland.

About the author

Alicja Myśluk-Landowska is an attorney-at-law (radca prawny), admitted in 2014, and a Partner at Dudkowiak & Putyra, where she heads the Employment and Labor Law team – eight lawyers who practise employment law only. She advises foreign-owned employers in Poland, runs internal investigations into mobbing and discrimination, and represents employers before the labour courts.

Between January 2022 and September 2026 Dudkowiak & Putyra handled 47 mobbing-related assignments for 28 client companies from 18 countries.