MPs have tabled a new anti-hate bill

A second draft bill amending the Civil Procedure Code, called the “anti-hate law”, has been placed before the Sejm (lower house of Polish parliament). The bill will enable employers to not only sue individuals who publish illegal content online (including those with unknown identities), but also to file lawsuits against online platform providers that fail to remove such content from their portals.

Failure to promptly report an absence from work as a valid reason for disciplinary dismissal

The District Court in Szczecin ruled that failure to immediately inform the employer of an absence from work was a legitimate reason for a termination of employment without notice following the employee’s return from sick leave (despite the absence being justified). According to the court, the employee’s failure to inform the employer of the absence constituted gross negligence on the part of the employee, which exposed the employer to losses.

We have more about the verdict at our portal.

Changes are coming to the definition of mobbing

The Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy announced that a draft amendment to the Labour Code modifying the definition of mobbing or bullying will be published within a month. The change is intended to make it easier to assess whether this undesirable behaviour has occurred, which should improve the legal position of victims. The ministry has not yet published the details of the change, but the aim is to make the definition clearer and more precise.

Social Insurance Institution increasing inspections of sick leave

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) is more frequently and effectively checking people holding L4 sickness certificates. In Q3 2024, more than 115,000 checks were carried out of persons with a certificate of temporary inability to work (an increase of nearly a thousand on the previous year). As a result, 9,200 decisions were issued withholding further payments of sickness benefit (an rise of more than 2,000), while the total amount of benefit withheld due to this doubled, reaching nearly PLN 160 million.

Increase in the minimum wage for young workers

The Central Statistical Office (GUS) has announced that the average monthly salary in the national economy in Q3 2024 was PLN 8,161.62 (an increase of more than 13% on the previous year). Consequently, from December, the minimum wage of juvenile employees will change to PLN 652.93, PLN 734.55 and PLN 816.16 (in the first, second or third year of education, respectively). While the remuneration of juvenile employees undertaking an apprenticeship for a specific job will total at least PLN 571.31.