The repercussions of workplace mobbing can impact various aspects of an employer’s operations, notably its reputation, employee morale, and financial matters.

It is important to bear in mind that, for any behavior to be classified as mobbing, it must meet specific legal criteria, which encompass persistent and enduring actions or conduct such as harassment or intimidation directed towards an employee, resulting in a diminished professional evaluation, aimed at or causing degradation or humiliation, isolation, or exclusion from the team of coworkers. This implies that not every undesirable behavior in the workplace can be termed as mobbing. Conversely, a prompt and efficient response by the employer should help curb undesirable behaviors before they can be characterized as long-lasting and persistent.

Polish labour law provides regulations that allow an employee to pursue a claim in the event of mobbing or discrimination in the workplace. In addition to the concepts of discrimination and mobbing, the Labour Code mentions unequal treatment. The distinction between these phenomena is very important in the case of litigation and the issue of the allocation of the burden of proof, which is why in today’s blog post we will analyse an extremely important resolution of the Supreme Court of August 24, 2023, ref. III PZP 1/23, which undoubtedly served to clarify emerging doubts about the interpretation of the regulations.

Mobbing and discrimination are problems that affect society on many levels, both in the workplace and in everyday life. The fight against these phenomena does not rest only on the shoulders of individuals or employers. Society as a whole, supported by NGOs and their initiatives, is taking active steps to raise awareness and counter mobbing and discrimination. In this article, we will take a look at these activities and see if and what steps society is taking to combat these negative phenomena.

According to the Labour Code, an employee is obliged, among other things, to take care of best interests of the employer’s establishment and protect its property, which is usually further specified in the company’s work regulations. In practice, this means that employees, based on labour law provisions, should, among other things, inform the employer about observed violations, damages to the workplace property, and other identified risks. To some extent, we can expect provisions strengthening this obligation based on the implemented directive on the protection of whistleblowers, which we have been dealing with since its adoption. Recently, another project of the long-awaited law on the protection of persons reporting violations of the law has emerged.

In the pages of our blog, we very often cover topics related to various aspects of discrimination and mobbing, which only proves how important these issues have become in the world today, and how strongly the need for awareness of the dangers and ways to protect against them is increasing. Today’s post will focus on what is at stake for an employee who has engaged in mobbing behavior against a co-worker.

Although we talk a lot about mobbing, often our attention is focused only on vertical mobbing, that is, that which is exerted by an employer or supervisor on an employee. Intuitively, we associate the concept of mobbing with just such a situation, forgetting that pathological behavior can also be directed in other directions – from an employee to an employer or supervisor and from an employee to another employee. In the former situation, we then speak of so-called staffing. Spreading rumors among employees about the supervisor, undermining his competence in front of co-workers or unfounded criticism of the supervisor’s behavior or instructions are just some examples of mobbing actions taken to harass or intimidate the supervisor.

On our blog, we have recently discussed the topic of changes in the labour law in 2023, and also leaned into the very important subject of discrimination and mobbing in the workplace, touching on its aspects from the perspective of both sides of the employment relationship. We will devote today’s post to outlining the possibilities of the so-called Hearing Commission on mobbing and discrimination (hereinafter referred to as the “Commission”) as a body within the employer’s structure.

The middle of the year is behind us, and discussions about this year’s labor law changes have not quieted down. Not surprising, given the number of changes made in one year. Employers are often the ones who ask us what to look out for, which changes are the most important, and which can be ignored. I feel that while it is difficult to summarize the entire six months in one article – it is possible to isolate the key areas and the concerns that constantly arise. So let’s try to isolate those key areas that employers must face in 2023.