On 28 August this year, the President of Poland signed the Amending Act of 7 July 2023 which amends the Civil Procedure Code, the Law on the System of Common Courts, the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as certain other acts. It introduces, among others, changes in how court costs are regulated in employment cases.
In an employment case, if the value of the dispute exceeds PLN 50,000, only an appeal fee will be charged, and in addition, only on the part of the value of the dispute that exceeds PLN 50,000. The fee will be collected under the rules of Article 13 of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases.
Therefore, following the amendment, employees will be completely exempt from paying a fee for the lawsuit (as well as for complaints or cassation [last resort] complaints), even if their claims significantly exceed PLN 50,000. This may lead to a significant increase in the number of lawsuits filed, or higher levels of claims.
Until now, in cases where the value of the dispute exceeded PLN 50,000, a proportional fee was charged (as a rule, 5% of the value of the dispute) on all chargeable pleadings.
The amendments will enter into force 14 days after the publication of the new regulations in the Journal of Laws.
Text of the act: >>>