Draft changes to the Labour Code on the definition of mobbing | PRO HR August 2020

2020.08.10

In early July a draft amendment to the Labour Code was submitted to Sejm which extends the definition of mobbing to differentiate the amount of pay on account of sex.

According to this bill, the following is deemed to be mobbing: 

  • actions or behaviours relating to an employee or directed against an employee, 
  • persistent and long-lasting harassment or intimidation, or
  • differentiation of pay based on an employee’s sex,

resulting in lowering his/her professional adequacy evaluation, causing or intending to cause humiliation or derision of the employee or his/her isolation or elimination from a team of co-workers.

At present, the differentiation of pay is examined from the vantage point of discrimination on account of sex. After this amendment is enacted, employees will be able to exercise more rights in interactions with their employers. This will therefore entail not just damages for the violation of the principle of equal opportunity but also distinct claims for mobbing in the form of damages or general damages in cash if mobbing leads to an employee suffering a loss of health.

The foregoing changes should enhance the respect for women’s equality when it comes to pay for the same work or work of the same value. According to the drafter of this bill, the instruments currently in place are ineffective.

According to the bill’s underlying assumptions, the amendment of the Labour Code should come into force 30 days after the date of its announcement. We will monitor on an ongoing basis the progress of the legislative work and advise you of the solutions that are enacted.

More in the HR law newsletter - PRO HR August 2020.