Gender-neutral recruitment without fines, but with a risk of claims for compensation
In his last statement, the Chief Labour Inspector Marcin Stanecki has emphasized that The National Labour Inspectorate does not have authority to impose fines for job advertisements that breach the principle of gender neutrality. However, that does not mean that employers bear no responsibility emphasises Marcin Stanecki, Chief Labour Inspector.
A candidate who considers a job advertisement or a recruitment process to be discriminatory can claim in a labour compensation. The minimum compensation cannot be lower than the statutory minimum wage, which in 2026 is PLN 4,806, regardless of the actual extent of harm.
From 24 December 2025, pursuant to Article 18[3ca] § 3 of the Labour Code, employers must ensure that job titles and recruitment advertisements are gender-neutral and that the entire process of recruitment is non-discriminatory. Gender neutrality means no suggestion of preference of the sex of a candidate.
The Labour Inspectorate’s indicated that it does not regularly monitor job advertisements, but an inspector can after a complaint request an employer to amend the content of an advertisement. As Marcin Stanecki announced, after the EU gender equality directive is implemented the authority of the inspectorate in that area could be expanded.
We explain more about gender neutrality in recruitment here.