PRO HR July 2026

An amendment to the Labour Code adopted on 19 June 2026 introduces two new concepts: discrimination “by assumption” and discrimination “by association”. Once signed by the President, the amendment will enter into force three months after it is published.

This follows from the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 15 January 2026 (case No II FSK 541/23). The court confirmed that an initiative organised by a company in order to acquire new employees may qualify as a competition within the meaning of tax regulations.

The amendments adopted by the Sejm changing the definition of mobbing may indirectly affect criminal liability. Although no new criminal offence is being introduced, the definition of mobbing clearly refers to stalking (Article 190a of the Criminal Code). It is worth remembering who can be held criminally liable and for what actions in connection with mobbing.

Certain rights of trade unions depend on the number of members they have. For example, the number of people covered by special protection against dismissal, and the number of hours of time off work available for trade union activities.

New regulations on the prevention of mobbing have been adopted by the Senate and will soon be submitted for the President’s signature. Therefore, employers should already be analysing whether their existing organisational procedures and practices need to be adjusted to the proposed changes.

An employer may require an employee to remain available outside normal working hours and ready to perform work if required (on-call duty). However, on-call duty time cannot be unlimited. In particular, an employer may not require an employee to be “available by phone” at all times outside their normal working hours.

Expenses related to benefits provided to anyone rendering services under B2B agreements may be recognised as tax-deductible costs of a company, as long as they constitute part of the remuneration resulting from such agreements.

The most important changes include:

  1. Decisions confirming the existence of an employment relationship
  2. Broader scope of remote inspections
  3. Interpretations concerning civil law contracts
  4. Exchange of data between PIP, ZUS and KAS

On 10 July 2026, the occupational health and safety regulations were amended.

Authors

Dominika Dörre-Kolasa, PhD

Attorney-at-law / Partner

Since 2004, she has been an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Labour Law and Social Policy at the Jagellonian University. She is a well-regarded lecturer among students at the post-graduate courses of study in labour law at the Jagellonian University, the University of Warsaw and the University of Wrocław, where she lectures on personal data protection in employment, discrimination and selected aspects of collective labour law.

She supports clients in the field of labour law, including in particular the protection of personal rights, with special focus on mobbing and discrimination, and personal data protection in employment.

She advises multinational corporations and Polish employers.

Katarzyna Serwińska

Tax Advisor / Partner

Since 1992, Katarzyna has been supporting clients in the People & Culture area, in particular in the field of employee taxes and social security.

In particular Katarzyna specialises in:

  • taxation and social security contributions for foreigners working in Poland and Polish employees working abroad,
  • optimising the labour costs of management board members and senior managers,
  • implementing tax-optimal structures for the employment of employees in Poland (e.g. 50% copyright costs, B2B, civil-law contracts, etc.),
  • assessing the tax implications of granting cash and in-kind benefits to employees and non-employees, including share-based incentive schemes,
  • capital gains taxation.

 

Damian Tokarczyk, PhD

Advocate / Of counsel / Doctor of law

Damian has been dealing with criminal procedure law since 2013, representing suspects/defendants and victims before law enforcement agencies and courts. He has been working with Raczkowski since 2016.

In particular, Damian specialises in business criminal law (including criminal labour law) and other procedures of a similar nature. He also deals with other areas, including:

  • whistleblower protection and internal investigations,
  • administrative criminal proceedings,
  • misdemeanour proceedings,
  • inspections by the State Labour Inspectorate and other services,
  • prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing,
  • prevention of sexual offences.

Rafał Jaroszyński

Attorney-at-law / Senior Lawyer

Since 2003, Rafał has been supporting clients in the area of People & Culture, particularly in matters of individual and collective labour law and social security.

Rafał specialises in particular in:

  • relations with trade unions,
  • supporting clients in mediations and negotiations with employee representatives,
  • collective labour agreements,
  • the Company Social Benefits Fund and other forms of employee benefits,
  • designing internal sources of employment law (by-laws, procedures, agreements),
  • workforce restructurings, including collective redundancies,
  • preventing bullying and discrimination,
  • working time,
  • social security,
  • preventing bullying and discrimination.

Katarzyna Wilczyk

Attorney-at-law / Senior Lawyer

Since 2012, Katarzyna has been supporting clients in the People & Culture area, in particular in the field of labour law and social security.

In particular Katarzyna specialises in:

  • individual labour law;
  • countering mobbing and discrimination, including investigating mobbing and other undesirable behaviour in the workplace;
  • ongoing support for employers in the field of Compensation & Benefits;
  • workforce restructuring, including collective redundancies;
  • employee transfers;
  • conducting labour law litigation;
  • conducting legal due diligence on companies.

Katarzyna Soboń

Advocate / Senior Lawyer

Since 2015, Katarzyna has been supporting clients in the People & Culture area, in particular in the field of labour law and social security.

In particular Katarzyna specialises in:

  • workforce restructuring, including collective redundancies,
  • hiring and firing of managers,
  • implementation of rules of procedure and other company regulations,
  • litigation,
  • conducting internal investigations,
  • training on labour law.

Tomasz Kret

Senior Lawyer

Since 2005, Tomasz has been supporting clients in the People & Culture area, in particular in the field of social security and personal income taxation.

In particular Tomasz specialises in:

  • the tax treatment of employees, including cross-border workers,
  • taxation of income from incentive plans,
  • taxation of income from intellectual property rights,
  • effective executive remuneration structures,
  • social security for cross-border workers.

Joanna Stolarek

Tax Advisor / Senior Lawyer

Since 2004, Joanna has been supporting clients in People & Culture, with a particular focus on personal income tax, social security and health insurance.

Member of the Tax Council of the Polish Confederation Lewiatan. Joanna serves as a Board Advisor of the „Remuneration Institute” Association, of which Raczkowski Law Firm is a strategic partner.

Monika Czekanowicz

Attorney-at-law / Lawyer

Since 2013, Monika has been supporting clients in the People & Culture area, in particular in the field of labour law and social security, and occupational health and safety.

In particular Monika specialises in:

  • implementation of occupational health and safety management systems,
  • implementation of fire protection projects,
  • development of accident prevention, in particular premedical first aid procedures,
  • supporting diversity in the workplace,
  • countering mobbing and discrimination,
  • workforce restructuring, including collective redundancies.