Employment law update in Poland
For employers in Poland, key developments concern workplace bullying, National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) powers, work emails and when travel counts as working time.
On 30 July 2026, the President of Poland signed a Labour Code amendment raising minimum compensation for workplace bullying to six times the statutory minimum wage.
On 16 July 2026, the CJEU held in Joined Cases C-258/23, C-259/23 and C-260/23 that work emails may be seized without a prior court order.
On 21 July 2026, the President challenged parts of the National Labour Inspectorate Act before the Constitutional Tribunal, but the provisions remain binding.
In Case C-110/24, the CJEU held that employer-required travel in a company vehicle in both directions may constitute working time.
Employers have until the amendment takes effect
The workplace bullying amendment will enter into force three months after its publication.
Polish businesses should watch the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) practice
The CJEU judgment may affect how Polish authorities and courts approach the seizure of sensitive work emails.
The challenged PIP rules remain effective
Businesses and the National Labour Inspectorate must continue applying the provisions until the Constitutional Tribunal rules otherwise.
Not every commute is working time
Travel to a fixed workplace normally does not count where the employee independently chooses how and by what means to travel.
In this article:
Polish Labour Code amendment on workplace bullying signed by the President
On 30 July 2026, President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki signed the Act of 19 June 2026 amending the Labour Code and the Code of Civil Procedure. The key changes introduced by the amendment include a simplified definition of workplace bullying (mobbing) and greater consistency in the provisions governing harassment. Whether conduct constitutes workplace bullying will be assessed on an individual basis, taking into account the circumstances of each case, including both the nature of the conduct towards the employee and the employee’s particular situation. In addition, the Act raises the minimum amount of compensation for workplace bullying to no less than six times the statutory minimum wage.
The Act will enter into force three months after its publication. This is therefore the final period for employers in Poland to implement the necessary changes.
Landmark CJEU ruling on work emails
On 16 July 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a judgment of significant importance for the powers of regulatory authorities. In Joined Cases C-258/23, C-259/23 and C-260/23, the Court considered whether officials responsible for competition enforcement may inspect and seize employees’ work emails without prior authorisation granted directly by a court. The Portuguese competition authority, while investigating suspected price-fixing arrangements and abuses in the medical and payments markets, seized thousands of messages without obtaining prior judicial authorisation. Among other issues, the Court had to determine whether the absence of prior approval by an independent court infringed the right to privacy under EU law.
In this case, the Court held that national competition authorities may seize emails exchanged between employees and management without obtaining a prior court order.
This does not mean, however, that their powers are unrestricted. Any inspection must be based on clear legal provisions, remain proportionate and focus exclusively on information relevant to the case. If officials seize emails during an inspection without prior judicial authorisation, the undertaking concerned must have a full right to challenge those actions and have them reviewed by a court after the inspection has taken place.
From the perspective of businesses operating in Poland, the judgment means that particular attention should be paid to whether, and to what extent, Polish authorities such as the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and the courts begin applying this approach in practice. It potentially opens the way for authorities to seize sensitive emails and information constituting business secrets without prior review by an independent court.
Amendments to Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate Act challenged before the Constitutional Tribunal
On 21 July 2026, the President of the Republic of Poland submitted an application to the Constitutional Tribunal requesting a review of the constitutionality of the Act of 11 March 2026 amending the National Labour Inspectorate Act and certain other acts. Among the challenged provisions is the rule granting the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) the power to determine, by way of an administrative decision, that an employment relationship exists where a civil-law contract has been concluded or where a person is in fact performing paid work under conditions in which an employment contract should have been concluded. In the President’s view, such a regulation raises serious concerns regarding potential restrictions on the right to work and freedom of contract.
The Constitutional Tribunal will also review the provisions increasing the level of fines for offences against employee rights. The President’s application argues that the increase in the maximum fines appears disproportionate and detached from the current market conditions in which Polish businesses operate. The maximum level of a fine should not be determined in isolation from financial realities and the actual earning capacity of people in Poland. The President’s application constitutes what is known as an ex post constitutional review. This means that the Act has already entered into force and the challenged provisions remain binding and continue to have legal effect unless and until the Constitutional Tribunal rules that they are unconstitutional. A judgment may take anywhere from several months to several years, meaning that businesses and the inspection authority must continue applying the challenged regulations in the meantime.
Working time under CJEU scrutiny
Can travel to work count as working time? The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) considered the case of Spanish field workers who were required to travel from a designated base at a specified time to work in nature reserves using a vehicle provided by their employer. The company counted only the morning journey to the work site as working time, refusing to treat the afternoon return journey to the base in the same way. In its judgment of 9 October 2025 in Case C-110/24, the Court held that where an employer requires employees to travel together to their place of work in a company vehicle from a designated location and at specified times, the entire journey in both directions must be treated as working time. During the time required for the journey, which employees generally cannot shorten, they are unable to use their time freely or pursue their own activities and therefore remain at the employer’s disposal. The judgment does not automatically mean that every daily commute constitutes working time. On the contrary, where an employee travels each day to a fixed workplace and decides independently how and by what means to travel, that journey will not normally constitute working time. The situation is different for mobile workers, where travelling between changing work locations at the employer’s instruction is itself an integral part of the job. In certain circumstances, the time spent on such journeys may therefore be regarded as the performance of work duties.
Source: The article was created in collaboration with our cooperation partner – sdzlegal Schindhelm Law OfficeIf you have any questions regarding this topic or if you are in need for any additional information – please do not hesitate to contact us:
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS DEPARTMENT
ELŻBIETA
NARON-GROCHALSKA
Head of Customer Relationships
Department / Senior Manager
getsix® Group
***
