PRO HR October 2026

Trade Secrets – The Scope of Protection

Each business determines for itself what constitutes a trade secret. Trade secrets include any information that is not generally known, has commercial value and is subject to reasonable steps taken by the business to keep it confidential. This does not require detailed security measures, including IT safeguards. It is sufficient to specify the types of information that are covered by trade secret protection.

To date, the Chief Labour Inspectorate (Główny Inspektorat Pracy, GIP) has issued 19 interpretations. The ratio of positive to negative interpretations is virtually 50/50. Most concern contracts of mandate (umowa zlecenia) and are generally negative, including an interpretation relating to students under the age of 26. Several concern B2B relationships, including three in the IT sector, and only one of these is negative.

In dealings with an employer, members of trade union governing bodies and individuals authorised to represent a trade union enjoy special protection against the termination of their employment. The individuals covered must be expressly identified in a resolution of the trade union’s governing body, subject to statutory limits based either on the number of union members or on the number of managerial employees employed by the employer.

As of 30 October 2026, under the amended Trade Unions Act, trade unions will be able to request information about the number of managerial staff from an employer electronically or in documentary form, for example by email. Upon receiving this information, a representative trade union may grant special protection to an equivalent number of individuals. Until now, trade unions have had to request this information from employers in writing.

The deadline for transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive to Polish law passed on 7 June 2026. After that date, employees may seek to rely on its provisions in court, though whether they can actually do so depends on the type of employer and the specific provision in question.

A foreign employer does not create a permanent establishment in Poland simply because its employees work remotely from a location that the employer does not use or control. This conclusion follows from the judgment delivered by the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) on 22 January 2026 in case No. II FSK 556/23.

On 5 November 2026, amendments to the Polish Labour Code will enter into force that significantly change the provisions governing workplace bullying (mobbing).

Unpaid internships are set to become a thing of the past. A new draft law on internships provides that the monthly remuneration for an internship must be at least 65% of the minimum wage, excluding additional payments such as those for night work or overtime.

 

 

Authors

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Karolina Koprowska

Junior Lawyer

At the Firm, Karolina focuses on People & Culture matters, particularly those relating to individual employment relationships. She also supports employers in English.