Looking Ahead 2024: Poland
After a year of intense changes in labour law, 2024 promises to be a quieter year for employers and employees in terms of the number and scope of new regulations. Nevertheless, it is important to be prepared for several novelties.
New minimal pay
Those working on a minimum wage contract starting in January will receive an increase. The new minimum monthly salary will increase from the current PLN 3,600 gross to PLN 4,242. The hourly rate for those working on a civil law contract will also be increased to PLN 27.70. Further increases await employees starting in 1 July 2024. At that time, the minimum monthly salary will rise to PLN 4,300 and the hourly rate to PLN 28.10.
Whistleblowers act
All indications are that we can expect a law on so-called whistleblowers to be enacted this year. This will be a belated implementation of EU Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers.
So far, several drafts of the whistleblower law have been presented. Each of them introduced additional legal protections for whistleblowers and disclosures of violations of EU law. Such protection can be expected to apply to employees and those employed under civil law contracts in the public and private sectors.
Directive on Equal Pay and Pay Transparency
The directive of 10 May 2023 introduces minimum requirements to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women. It will impose additional pay transparency and reporting obligations on employers in all sectors.
Its implementation will oblige employers to, among other things:
- use remuneration structures that guarantee equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; and
- ensure the right to information on a starting salary or a range of salaries for job applicants.
The time for implementation has been set for June 2026, but employers should already start aligning internal arrangements with the requirements of the act between 2024 and 2026. The gradual changes will allow for a more structured and easier implementation of the act.
