In 2025, Poland took significant steps towards implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive (the “Directive”) into domestic law. New provisions on pay transparency at the recruitment stage came into force from 24 December 2025. Furthermore, a draft act on strengthening the equal pay rights of men and women for the same work or work of equal value (the “Draft”) was published on 16 December 2025, intended to comprehensively implement the Directive in the remaining scope.

Under the Draft, the new provisions are to enter into force on 7 June 2026, which complies with the EU deadline for transposing the Directive in individual Member States.

This gives employers less than half a year to prepare their organisations for the new standards on pay transparency. Given the complexity and time-consuming nature of the processes required (e.g. job evaluation), there is very little time left to get ready.

Let us, therefore, take a closer look at what lies ahead – both the recruitment-related obligations that already apply as well as the remaining legal requirements on transparency that will become binding soon.

Recruitment under the new rules from 24 December 2025

On 24 December 2025, new Labour Code rules came into force introducing pay transparency at the recruitment stage. The new provisions oblige employers to provide candidates with information on the remuneration applicable to a given position, and to use gender-neutral job titles.

New information obligations on employers

Employers are now required to provide candidates with information on:

1. the starting salary for the position, or its range (pay band), based on objective and gender-neutral criteria;
2. the relevant provisions of a collective bargaining agreement or remuneration regulations (if such instruments apply at the given employer).

The legislator set out three possible moments when this information can be provided:

1. already in the job advertisement;
2. prior to the job interview;
3. or before establishing the employment relationship, at the latest.

The information must be provided in paper or electronic form, and in a way that is clear to the candidate and allows them to conduct informed and transparent negotiations.

Given the purpose of the new provisions, it is recommended that the above information be provided to candidates before the interview at which the remuneration package for the position will be discussed and negotiated.

How should “remuneration” be understood under the new rules?

The amendment refers to the broad definition of remuneration, as contained in Article 18(3c) § 2 of the Labour Code, used for the purposes of equal treatment in employment. This means that remuneration includes all components, regardless of their name and nature, as well as any other work-related benefits – both monetary and non-monetary.

In practice, when providing remuneration information, an employer should include: base salary, premiums, bonuses and awards, salary supplements, private medical care, life insurance, a company car, and any other benefits granted in excess of the statutory minimum.

Gender neutrality and a non-discriminatory recruitment process

The new provisions also introduce additional requirements. Employers are required to:

1. ensure that all job advertisements and job titles are gender-neutral – offers should clearly indicate that the position is open to a person of any gender;
2. refrain from asking candidates about the level of pay in previous jobs;
3. ensure the recruitment process is conducted in a non-discriminatory manner.

Draft act on strengthening the enforcement of equal pay for men and women for the same work or work of equal value

On 16 December 2025, the long-awaited draft act on strengthening the enforcement of the equal pay rights of men and women for the same work or work of equal value was published. The Draft regulates the remaining issues (beyond recruitment) arising from the Directive. It introduces a range of new obligations for employers as well as new rights for employees. We discuss the key points below.

Job evaluations will be mandatory

Every employer – regardless of headcount – will be required to carry out job evaluations for work of a given type or for a specific position.

Evaluations must be based on objective and gender-neutral criteria and conducted in a way that excludes any direct or indirect discrimination. Following the Directive, the Draft introduces four core evaluation criteria: skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

The evaluation process should reflect that each criterion may carry different weightings depending on the position. Employers may also adopt additional criteria and sub-criteria relevant to a specific type of work or position. The criteria and sub-criteria will have to be agreed with in-house trade union organisations. Where there are no trade unions, the employer will determine the criteria independently.

Job evaluations are intended to ensure the right to equal pay for men and women for the same work or work of equal value. Based on the evaluation, the employer will be required to establish categories of employees performing the same work or work of equal value. These categories are to be determined in consultation with in-house trade union organisations (lasting between 5 and 15 days).

The right to equal pay does not prevent employers from paying employees performing the same work or work of equal value differently, provided there are objective, gender-neutral and bias-free criteria, such as performance and abilities.

Based on the above processes, employers should introduce or verify existing pay structures so that they ensure the implementation of the right to equal pay, and allow analysis of whether employees are in a comparable situation.

Criteria for setting pay and a new employee right to information on pay levels

Employers will be required to define the criteria used to determine employees’ pay, pay levels and pay increases. Employees must be granted access to those criteria, with the proviso that employers with fewer than 50 employees will provide information on pay increase criteria within 14 days of receiving a relevant request from an employee.

Employees will also be granted a new right to request information about their individual pay level and average pay levels – broken down by gender – within the category of employees performing the same work or work of equal value.

The pay level means annual gross pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay, excluding uniform pay components received by all employees within a given category at the same level.

An employee who submits a request for pay level information will learn how their earnings compare with those people of the same gender and the opposite gender within their category – whether, compared with others, they earn relatively little, the average amount, or relatively more.

Employees will be able to submit requests personally or via a trade union or equality body. Employers will be required to provide the information without undue delay, no later than 30 days after the date when the request is submitted. If an employee believes the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete, they may request additional, justified explanations and detailed information regarding the data provided.

Employers will also be required to remind employees once a year – by 31 March each year –of the possibility to submit such requests.

Employees will have the right to disclose their pay levels for the purpose of exercising rights under the principle of equal treatment in employment. The Draft expressly prohibits the inclusion of contrary provisions in any contracts or internal acts.

Preparing a gender pay gap report and reporting obligations

Employers will be subject to new obligations relating to the gender pay gap. By definition, the gender pay gap means the difference between the average pay level of female employees and the average pay level of male employees employed by the employer, expressed as a percentage of the average pay level of male employees.

Employers with at least 100 employees will be subject to two new, separate obligations: (i) an obligation to prepare a pay gap report and (ii) an obligation to report such data to the monitoring authority.

The obligation to prepare the report will be annual for every employer employing at least 100 employees. Unionised employers will be required to confirm the reliability of the information contained in the report, after consultation with an in-house trade union organisation, which must be granted access to the methodology used to calculate the pay gap.

The reporting obligation will be periodic and its frequency will depend on headcount. Employers with 100–249 employees will be required to submit the pay gap report every three years, while employers with at least 250 employees will be required to do so annually.

There are also certain transitional provisions. Under these rules, employers employing at least 150 employees will be required to submit the first pay gap report for the period from 7 June 2026 to 31 December 2026 by 7 June 2027. This means the second half of 2026 will be the first reporting period for the largest employers. Employers with 100–149 employees will submit their first report by 7 June 2031 for 2030.

Information on the gender pay gap by categories of employees (known as the adjusted pay gap) will also have to be provided annually – by 31 March each year – to employees and in-house trade union organisations. The adjusted pay gap may indicate actual pay inequalities within specific categories. If, in any employee category, the gap amounts to at least 5%, this will trigger the need to take remedial measures and may even require conducting a joint pay assessment in cooperation with employee representatives.

New offences

Employers should take these new rules seriously. The Draft introduces a number of new offences punishable by fines ranging from PLN 3,000 to PLN 50,000.

Offences include:

1. failing to conduct a job evaluation;
2. failing to make information on the criteria adopted for setting pay, pay levels and pay increases available to employees (including a failure to provide pay increase criteria upon request);
3. failing to provide an employee with information on pay levels;
4. failing to prepare a pay gap report;
5. failing to provide specified pay gap information;
6. failing to conduct a joint pay assessment;
7. failing to apply remedial measures;
8. including provisions in an employment contract, or elsewhere, prohibiting the disclosure of pay levels.

In addition, three new offences will be added to those listed in the Labour Code: requestinig personal data from a candidate beyond what is legally permitted in the Labour Code; failing to provide the candidate with information on pay and relevant provisions of internal regulations; and failing to use gender-neutral job titles in job advertisements. These offences will be punishable by a fine from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000.

Read more about Polish HR law – PRO HR Year Book 2025