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The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected work organisation, particularly in the services sector, but also in white-collar and administrative/office work. To reduce the risk of infection, where possible, many employees switched to remote working, and business meetings became virtual. This model quickly gained popularity and was gradually implemented more widely, even after the peak of the pandemic had passed.
After numerous comments were made during the opinion process on a draft act about which we wrote in the article Draft new definition of mobbing = new obligations for employers, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy on 5 June 2025 published a new version of the draft on the Governmental Legislation Centre website.
Compared to the previous version, the bill contains several changes to regulations aimed at systematising the definition of mobbing, as well as introducing legal solutions that are new to Polish labour law, such as the employer's right to claims against the perpetrator of mobbing.
In recent years, employers have increasingly made diversity & inclusion (D&I) a part of their HR strategy. Recent changes in the social and political climate might suggest that D&I is losing relevance. Nonetheless, it is important to remember that employment legislation itself plays a significant role in building an inclusive and diverse work environment. Indeed, D&I is not just the domain of soft HR actions: its pillars are embedded in the provisions of the Labour Code.
Rights of trade unions
Under the Act on Trade Unions, the rights of a trade union depend on the level of its membership.
The required levels of membership are:
- at least 10 members for a workplace trade union,
- a total of at least 10 members across all the employers spanned by an inter-workplace trade union (it is sufficient for a given employer to have one employee as a member of an inter-workplace trade union for that union to enjoy trade union rights).
In 2024, Polish courts received a significant number of labour law cases. Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that over 100,000 cases were brought to labour courts in 2024.
Parliament is currently analysing the Report on Activities of the State Labour Inspectorate for 2024. The document contains the latest data on detected and adjudicated misdemeanours and crimes against employee rights. The report also presents trends in the prosecution of perpetrators of acts violating labour rights, in particular information on the effectiveness of inspectors' work and the condition of criminal proceedings in Poland.