On 17 February 2026, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft law amending the Labour Code and the Code of Civil Procedure (UD183). The draft provides for a significant change to the current definition of workplace bullying, changes in the area of discrimination and the introduction of a minimum amount of compensation for workplace bullying.
The current definition of workplace bullying
According to Article 943 §2 of the Labour Code, workplace bullying means actions or behaviour concerning an employee or directed against an employee, consisting of persistent and prolonged harassment or intimidation of the employee, causing them to underestimate their professional suitability, causing or aiming to humiliate or ridicule the employee, isolating them or eliminating them from the team of colleagues. This definition is complex and requires a number of conditions to be met in order for a given behaviour to be considered workplace bullying.
Current employer’s obligations in this regard
According to the provisions of the Labour Code, the employer is obliged to prevent workplace bullying. An employee whose health has been impaired as a result of workplace bullying may claim an appropriate amount of monetary compensation from the employer for the harm suffered. An employee who has been bullied or who has terminated their employment contract as a result of workplace bullying has the right to claim compensation from their employer in an amount not lower than the minimum wage. Already, an employee who has experienced workplace bullying can claim compensation and damages on this account.
New definition of workplace bullying
In the opinion of the authors of this amendment, the definitions of offences in the area of workplace violence are currently unclear, which raises many doubts for all users of these legal norms. Sometimes this means that these definitions are treated too strictly and narrowly, which makes occupational health and safety protection insufficient. A new definition of workplace bullying is proposed, defined as persistent harassment of an employee, including repetitive or constant actions. Incidental and one-off behaviours are to be excluded from the definition.
The authors of the draft amendments to the definition of workplace bullying indicate that the perpetrator may be a superior, colleague, subordinate, one person or a group of people. The condition for recognising behaviour as workplace bullying does not have to be the intentionality of the action and the occurrence of a specific effect.
The draft also provides for a change in the definition of harassment and sexual harassment as physical, verbal and non-verbal actions.
A model of a rational victim is also to be defined in order to distinguish actual harassment from events perceived inadequately or excessively subjectively as mobbing.
Changes also in the area of discrimination
The draft also introduces new forms of discrimination:
- discrimination by association – treating an employee less favourably in a comparable situation than another employee is, was or would be treated, even if the reason for this is mistakenly associated with the employee;
- discrimination by assumption – treating an employee less favourably in a comparable situation than another employee is, was or would be treated due to their connection with the person to whom the reason relates.
The employee will only be required to substantiate the violation in the area of violation of the principle of equal treatment in employment, and then the burden of proof shifts to the employer. It will therefore be the employer’s responsibility to prove that such discrimination did not occur.
Minimum compensation
According to the proposed amendments, the minimum compensation for workplace bullying is to be six times the minimum wage.
In 2026, the minimum wage is PLN 4,806 gross, which means minimum compensation of PLN 28,836. In the event of a breach of the principle of equal treatment, the minimum compensation is to be three times the minimum wage, which means minimum compensation of PLN 14,418.
Employers’ obligations
According to the draft, employers will be required to define in their work regulations (or in a notice, if the employer is not required to establish such regulations) the rules, procedures and frequency of actions in the area of counteracting violations of the dignity and other personal rights of employees, the principles of equal treatment in employment, discrimination and workplace bullying.
In the event of violations in the area of workplace bullying, it will be possible to release the employer from civil liability towards the employee for the occurrence of mobbing. The condition is that the workplace bullying did not originate from the employee’s superior and that the employer has implemented effective anti-mobbing prevention measures.
According to the current draft amendment, the changes would come into force 21 days after the date of announcement. The exact date of entry into force is not yet known—the draft is currently at the parliamentary stage.
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The proposed amendment to labour law aims to simplify the definition of workplace bullying, increase the effectiveness of labour law provisions in this area and strengthen employee protection rules. Please feel free to contact the experts at Nexia Advicero. Our labour law team has extensive experience in advising on employee matters.