Poland: Second Draft of the Pay Transparency Project
On May 4, 2026, the Government Legislation Centre published the second version of the draft act on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value.
The project implements the EU Pay Transparency Directive and significantly expands upon previous assumptions. It also introduces a definition of “pay structure” and changes the approach to determining the pay gap, the detailed rules of which are to be specified in a separate regulation.
Planned changes include:
- introducing a mechanism for applying uniform evaluation criteria to all positions or types of work.
- establishing criteria in agreement with trade unions, in the absence of an agreement, the employer may apply them unilaterally.
- pay structure defined as ordered pay ranges for positions or types of work, resulting specifically from an evaluation of the value of work.
- clarifying rules for employer responses to employee requests regarding salary levels.
- expanding employer information obligations regarding pay gap reporting, including a standardized calculation method.
- maintaining a 30-day deadline for responding to employee requests concerning remuneration.
Alongside the bill, a draft regulation was published detailing how to calculate pay gap indicators. The regulations are planned to enter into force 6 months after their announcement in the Journal of Laws, rather than on the originally assumed date of June 7, 2026.
