Until 2006 unions provided the only legally constituted representation for employees at the workplace. However, legislation implementing the EU directive on information and consultation provides for the creation of works councils, which, following a decision by the constitutional court, must be elected by the whole workforce. However, their influence is limited and most of the works councils that were set up initially have ceased to exist.

Workplace representation in Poland is primarily through the workplace trade union organisations. Under the 1991 Trade Union Act, unions are required to “represent the rights and collective interests of all employees regardless of their trade union membership”. Local unions can be set up with as few as 10 members and a survey by the national statistical office GUS shows that there were 12,200 local union organisations in Poland in 2018 – 9,800 operating in a single company or workplace and 2,400 operating in more than one company.[1]

However, the relatively low level of union membership in Poland means that most employees are in workplaces where there is no union presence. The CBOS survey on union membership published in 2019 (see section on trade unions) found that in September 2019, 18% of respondents were employed in workplaces with one union and 17% in workplaces with more than one. However, 53% were employed in workplaces where there was no union and 12% did not know whether there was a union or not.[2] The CBOS survey identified a major difference between publicly owned institutions and companies, where 77% of respondents reported the presence of at least one union, and purely private companies, where only 12% of respondents said that one or more unions were present. In companies owned jointly by public and private sector bodies the proportion reporting one or more unions was 18%.

An important change in unions’ right to represent workers at the workplace was introduced with a change in the law on trade union which came into effect on 1 January 2019. Workplace unions can now recruit and organise not just employees but also workers on other contracts who have worked for the organisation for six months.

In addition to representation through the local union, legislation introduced in 2006 provided for the establishment of works councils in companies with more than 50 employees. This legislation was introduced to implement the EU directive on providing a national framework for information and consultation (2002/14/EC) and the powers of these works councils are limited to receiving information on economic issues and being consulted on employment and work organisation issues – entirely in line with the directive. The Polish legislation implementing the directive specifically provided that where an existing binding agreement providing a comparable level of information and consultation was in force before the law came into effect, there was no need to set up a works council. However, in other cases the legislation potentially created a new representative structure in Poland.

When first passed, the legislation left the choice of the members of the works council in the hands of the unions. However, following a decision by the Constitutional Court in 2008, that this this breached the right of equal treatment and the right of employees not to join a union, this was changed. The new legislation, which came into force in July 2009 requires the works councils to be elected by the whole workforce (for details see section on elections below.)

In the years immediately after the initial legislation was passed, a large number of works councils were set up, and, by the end of 2009, 3,031 had been established. However, many were not renewed after their first four-year term, and currently there are fewer than 500.[3] Some of the reasons for this sharp fall were identified in a survey of 242 works councils in 2015.[4] This found that in a number of cases, where unions were strong, it was felt that their strength meant that works councils were not necessary; in others it was difficult to find candidates; and in others organisational problems or the limited powers of the works council had led to the works council not being renewed.

Whatever the reason for the fall in the numbers of works councils in Poland, the around 500 which are currently operating represent only a small proportion of the around 19,000 companies in Poland with 50 or more employees, the threshold for setting up a works council.[5] There are no figures on the number of employees covered by works councils.

Other pieces of legislation also refer to the possibility of setting up non-union representative structures. This is the case, for example, of the law on large-scale redundancies passed in 2003. This states that, where there is no union, the right to consultation is given to “representatives of employees appointed in accordance with a procedure adopted by a given employer”. There is a similar procedure where employers are seeking to suspend contractual rights other than those in collective agreements. However, here, in contrast to the situation for works councils, the legislation does not lay down any further rules as to how these representatives should be chosen.

There are also “workers’ councils” in some state-owned enterprises, theoretically with wide powers (see section on board level representation). In practice the main role in these companies is now played by the unions and the number of bodies covered by this legislation continues to fall.[6]

The overall extent of employee representation at the workplace is indicated by the results of Eurofound’s 2013 European Company Survey. These show that, in 2013, around a quarter (24%) of establishments in Poland with at least 10 employees had some form of official employee representation, either through the union, a works council or a similar body in the public sector. This is below the EU28 average of 32%. As elsewhere in Europe, larger organisations were much more likely to have such a structure than smaller ones. The survey shows that 82% of establishments with more than 250 employees had representation, and 61% of those with between 50 and 249 employees. In smaller workplaces in Poland, those with between 10 and 49 employees, the survey indicates that just over one in six (18%) had employee representation.[7]

Numbers and structure

It is up to the union to decide most of the details of its workplace organisation and structure, which are determined by its statutes. However, the legislation does cover the number of union representatives who are released from normal duties and the number of union representatives who enjoy protection against dismissal, based on the number of union members (see below).

The right to set up a works council depends on the number of workers employed. Works councils can be established in all companies and organisations with economic activities with 50 employees or more, other than state-owned companies with workers councils (see above). Different workplaces can be counted together, provided they belong to a single employer. The calculation is based on those working with an employment contract and therefore excludes those working on the basis of civil contracts, who may be doing very similar work. It is a headcount figure – full-time and part-time employees count the same – based on an average over the previous six months, unless the organisation has not existed for that long. Agency workers are not included in the calculation, other than in the agencies where they work.

However, crucially, a works council can only be set up at the written request of at least 10% of the workforce.

The size of the works council depends on the number of employees, as set out below. All works council members are employees.

Number employed	Number of members
50-250	3
251-500	5
More than 500	7

The works council should meet for the first time within 30 days of its election, but otherwise the legislation does not state how often it should meet. The legislation also states that the works council must elect a chair from among its members and draw up its own rules of procedure, but again does not go into details.

In practice, the 2015 survey of works councils, referred to above, found that fewer than a third of works met as often as once a month, while some only met twice a year. They typically reached an agreement with the employer on how they would be informed and consulted.[8]

Tasks and rights

The legislation states that the rights of workplace trade union organisations cover: matters concerning individual employees, employees’ collective rights and interests, the observance of employment law provisions, co-operation with the labour inspectorate and the position of former employees who are now pensioners. Trade unions also have the exclusive right to sign collective agreements and to organise industrial action.

The union’s information rights cover the transfer of the business and actions likely to lead to changes in employment conditions and information relating to working conditions and the rules on pay. For bargaining purposes unions also have rights to information on the economic situation of the business (in particular the information provided to the Central Statistical Office - GUS).

Where there is a danger to health the workplace union organisation can inform the labour inspectorate and ask the employer to act. The employer should respond to the request within 14 days.

Workplace unions, or some other representative body (see above), should be consulted in the case of large-scale redundancies and ideally the employer should reach agreement with them. However, if agreement cannot be reached, the employer should take account “where possible” of the unions’ proposals.

Rules on pay and bonuses should by law be agreed with the unions, as should the rules for payments made from any internal social fund. Changes affecting employment conditions should also be negotiated with the unions, although the employer can act without an agreement after 30 days.

In practice many of these rights are ignored by employers particularly in smaller companies.

The works council’s rights are limited to the information on “recent and probable development of the employer’s activities and economic situation” and information and consultation on “the situation, structure and probable development of employment”, as well as measures planned to maintain staffing levels, together with “measures likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation”.

Information should be provided in a way and at a time which allows the works council to analyse the information and prepare for consultation. And consultation should take place in “good faith” and with the aim of reaching agreement between the employer and the works council.

This is in line with the EU framework directive on information and consultation but does not go beyond it.

In practice, the 2015 survey finds that information is most frequently provided on the current financial situation of the company (in 85% of cases) and less frequently on expected changes in work organisation, company development strategies and expected changes in employment (all 69%). Only in half the cases (50%) is the works council informed on expected changes in wages. Consultation happens less frequently. In just over half the cases is the works council consulted on changes in work organisation (55%) and expected changes in employment (52%), and even less frequently on rules on remuneration, changes in the company’s structure and company development strategies (all 38%).

These figures may overstate the situation, as it is likely that only the more active works councils responded to the survey.

Election and term of office

The election and term of office of local trade union representatives is not fixed in the legislation and is up to the union to determine. Within NSZZ Solidarność, the term of office is four years.

An election to chose members of the works council must be called by the employer, once 10% of the workforce have requested this

All adult employees, including senior management staff, can vote in the election. However, to stand as a candidate, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least a year, unless the organisation has not existed for that long. Senior management staff, such as the chief accountant and main legal adviser are also prevented from standing. In companies with between 50 and 100 employees, 10 employees must propose the candidates, and in companies with more than 100, the threshold is 20 employees. Unions have no specific nominating rights. The cost of the election is borne by the employer.

In practice, the 2015 survey of works councils indicates that, among those responding, 55% were union members.

The term of office is four years. However, members can be removed from their position on the works council if at least 50% of the workforce with at least six months’ service request this.

Protection against dismissal

Some trade union representatives, who are members of the executive committee of their local union organisation (which must have at least 10 members), have protection against dismissal and a unilateral worsening of their pay and conditions. This cannot take place without the approval of the local union body.

This protection lasts during their period of office and for a maximum of a year afterwards. But the number protected depends on the number of members and whether or not the union is a “representative” trade union in the workplace. A representative trade union in this case is a union that has at least 15% of the employees as members, or 8% if the local union organisation belongs to one of the three nationally representative unions, NSZZ Solidarność, OPZZ and FZZ, or, if no union meets these requirements, is the union with most members among the workers.

Unions must provide the employer with their membership numbers and the 2019 legislation requires unions to provide these more frequently and gives employers the right to ask a court to verify the figures.

For representative unions the number of executive committee members with protection against dismissal are as follows (although the total cannot be larger than the number of members of management):

Fewer than 21 members	2 representatives
21 – 50 members	2 plus 1 per each 10 members
51– 150 members	2 plus 1 per each 20 members
151– 300 members	2 plus 1 per each 30 members
301 – 500 members	2 plus 1 per each 40 members
500 plus members	2 plus 1 per each 50 members

Union that are not representative have the right to have one member of their executive committee protected against dismissal and a worsening of conditions.

There is also specific protection against dismissal when a union is first founded in a workplace. The founding committee can identify three members who have this protection for six months after the founding committee is established.

Finally, protection against dismissal also extends to employees who hold an elected office in the union outside the workplace and who are released from their normal work on a paid or unpaid basis. This lasts during the period of their release from work and for a year afterwards.

In practice there have been a number of cases where trade union representatives have been victimised by employers, because of their position.

Works council members also have protection against discrimination by the employer. They may not be dismissed nor have their pay or conditions unilaterally worsened unless the works council agrees.

Time off and other resources

All employees have a right to be released from normal duties to fulfil their trade union functions, although it is not required that this be paid except where it is a temporary activity which cannot be undertaken outside work time.

In addition, members of the executive committee of a “representative union” at company or workplace level have time off rights as set out in the table below, during their period of office. The trade union can request that this leave is paid.

As with protection against dismissal, a representative union at this level is either a union organisation belonging to one of the three nationally representative unions (NSZZ Solidarność, OPZZ and FZZ) with at least 8% of the workforce in membership, or a union organisation outside the three main unions with at least 15% of the workforce in membership, or the largest union in the workplace or company.

The number of individuals entitled to time off and the amount of time off provided both depend on the number of members and the number of individuals is subject to the limit that the total entitled to time off cannot exceed the number of management staff. The details are as follows:

Less than 150 members	1 representative with the same number of hours per month, as there are members
150 – 500 members	1 representative – full-time
501 – 1,000 members	2 representatives– full-time
1,001 – 2,000 members	3 representatives– full-time
2,000 plus members	3 representatives – full-time plus one for each additional 1,000 members

The changes to trade union law, which came into effect in January 2019, allow for collective agreements on time off for trade union duties. However, the practical implications of this are unclear.

The workplace union organisation is also entitled under legislation to “the necessary premises and technical facilities required for carrying out its activities”, although the employer may request payment for this.

Works council members have the right to paid time off to carry out their duties if these cannot be undertaken outside working time and the individual concerned is not already benefiting from other time-off rights.

Works councils also have the right to be assisted by a specialist, although the legislation does not specify who should pay.

Training rights

There are no specific training rights. This is the case both for members of the executive committee of the local union organisation and for members of the works council

Representation at group level

The law allows for unions to be set up which cover several employers, and the executive members of these organisations have protection against dismissal and rights to paid time off on a comparable basis to that provided to local union organisations in a single workplace or company.

However, there is no works council structure above that of a single company.

[1] Partnerzy dialogu społecznego - związki zawodowe i organizacje pracodawców, GUS, 27.08.19 https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/gospodarka-spoleczna-wolontariat/gospodarka-spoleczna-trzeci-sektor/partnerzy-dialogu-spolecznego-zwiazki-zawodowe-i-organizacje-pracodawcow-wyniki-wstepne,16,1.html (Accessed 08.06.2020)

[2] Związki zawodowe w Polsce, Nr 138/2019, Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej (CBOS), November 2019 https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2019/K_138_19.PDF (Accessed 07.05.2020)

[3] In fact, there are likely to be fewer than 484. This is the total number of works councils that had been set up from the start of 2016 to 1 April 2020, as published by Department for Dialogue and Social Partnership in the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. Works councils set up before 2016 would have ceased to exist by April 2020, unless they had been renewed. Dane dotyczace rad pracownikow http://www.dialog.gov.pl/dialog-krajowy/informowanie-i-konsultowanie/rady-pracownikow/ (Accessed 24.06.2020)

[4] The failure of a new form of employee representation: Polish works councils in comparative perspective by Katarzyna Skorupińska, in European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2018, Vol. 24(2) 163– 178

[5] Company numbers for 2017 from Eurostat: Annual enterprise statistics by size class

[6] For further details on workplace representation see i.a. The influence of EU Law on Employees’ Involvement in Poland by Skupien D., in R. Blanpain, M. Tiraboschi (eds) The Global Labour Market: From Globalization to Flexicurity, Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations 65/08. L. Mitrus, Works Councils in Poland: Problems of Informing and Consulting Employees in: Workers’ Representation in Central and Eastern Europe. Challenges and Opportunities for the Works Councils System, ed. R. Blanpain, N. Lyutow, Alphen aan den Rijn 2014.

[7] Eurofound (2015), Third European Company Survey – Overview report: Workplace practices – Patterns, performance and well-being, Figures for Table 44

[8] The failure of a new form of employee representation: Polish works councils in comparative perspective by Katarzyna Skorupińska, in European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2018, Vol. 24(2) 163– 178

There is no right to board-level employee representation in privately owned companies in Poland. However, Polish legislation provides for employee representatives at supervisory board level in companies in the process of being privatised, as well as even greater powers in fully state-owned enterprises.

Poland has undergone a major process of economic restructuring since 1989 with successive governments privatising the bulk of previously state-owned enterprises.

The influence of employees at board or management level reflects the different stages that individual enterprises have reached in that process. In general terms, the more privatisation has advanced, the less the extent of employee involvement at board level. However, the government has in the past stated it was considering reducing or eliminating the involvement of employees at board level, even in some companies that are still owned by the state.

In enterprises which are entirely state-owned, and where the privatisation process has not started, the 1981 Act on workers’ self-management still applies. This provides for 15-member “workers’ councils”, elected by all employees. All employees have a right to nominate members of the workers council and to vote in the elections. However, only employees who have worked there for at least two years can stand as candidates and members of senior management are excluded. The term of office is two years and individuals may not serve for longer than two terms.

These workers councils have substantial powers, at least on paper. These include choosing the manager and the right to object to decisions taken by management – conflicts are solved first through conciliation and then by the labour court. In addition, an assembly of all employees must agree a range of issues, including rules on the operation of the business. However, privatisation and industrial restructuring has greatly reduced the number of companies in this situation and many of those which remain are in severe economic difficulties, substantially reducing the freedom of action for the workers’ councils.[1]

The next group of companies are where the process of privatisation has begun. These enterprises have been transformed into companies, but the state remains the sole or majority shareholder – under the Polish terminology, they are known as commercialised companies. In these cases, employees are entitled to two-fifths of the seats on the supervisory board, and in most circumstances, if the company has more than 500 employees, to a member of the management board as well. (The Polish system provides for supervisory boards in public limited companies to oversee the management board, which runs the company on a day-to-day basis.) The employee representatives on the supervisory board are elected by a secret ballot of all employees. The rules and procedure by which employees choose the member of the management board are determined in the statutes of the company.

The final stage in the process of privatisation is where the state still holds some shares but is no longer the majority shareholder. Here the employees are entitled to around one third of the seats – two seats on a board of six, three where the board has seven to 10 members, and four where the board has more than 10 members. The right to a seat on the management board is maintained in these circumstances.

Employee members of the supervisory board are protected against dismissal or other forms of disadvantage during their period of office and for one year after that.

In all these cases the employee representatives have the same rights as other board members.

Employees have no right to seats on the supervisory boards of companies which are entirely in private ownership and in many cases the completion of the privatisation process resulted in the abolition of employee representation at board level.[2]

[1] For more details see D. Skupien, ‘Board-level employee participation in Polish limited-liability companies’, in Arbeitnehmerbteiligung in Unternehmensorganen im internationalen Vegleich, ed. G. Loeschnigg, Wien 2011

[2] For more information see, for example, Polish Labour Law: From Communism to Democracy, by M. Sewerynski, Warsaw 1999

In most cases the union or unions choose the Polish representatives for the bodies linked to European Works Councils or European Companies. The exception is board members, who are to be elected by all employees.

European Works Councils

Polish members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for an EWC are appointed by the representative union in the company. (A representative union for this purpose is defined as having at least 10% of the employees as members, or 7% if the local union organisation belonged to one of the three nationally representative unions, Solidarność, OPZZ and FZZ.) If there is no representative union the members are elected by the workforce in a secret ballot. If there are several representative unions and they cannot agree, the members are elected by the workforce from candidates nominated by the unions. The legislation does not specify whether non-employees may be chosen.

The procedure is the same for Polish members of an EWC appointed under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive.[1]

European Company

Polish members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for a European Company are appointed by the representative union in the company. (A representative union for this purpose is defined as having at least 10% of the employees as members, or 7% if the local union organisation belonged to one of the three nationally representative unions, Solidarność, OPZZ and FZZ.) If there is no representative union the members are elected by the workforce in a secret ballot. If there are several representative unions and they cannot agree, the members are elected by the workforce from candidates nominated by the unions. The legislation specifically states that trade union representatives who are not employees may be included in the SNB, although it also states that employees must make up a majority of the SNB.

The procedure is the same for Polish members of an SE representative body appointed under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, although here they must be employees.

Employee representatives from Poland taking seats on the board under the fall back procedure in the annex to the directive must, in contrast, be elected by secret ballot at a meeting of all employees.

[1] For further details see European Works Councils. Poland, by Dagmara Skupien, in International Encyclopaedia of Laws, Suppl. 319/2007 R. Blanpain (ed.),

Employers should consult with employee representatives, chosen by the union if there is one, on health and safety. In companies with more than 250 employees a joint health and safety committee should be set up, and where a union is present, so-called social labour inspectors can be elected who have extensive powers.

Basic approach at workplace level

The employer is responsible for health and safety at the workplace but should consult with employees or their representatives over all actions connected with health and safety.

Employee health and safety bodies

Employers with more than 250 employees should set up a joint health and safety committee (komisja bezpieczeństwa i higieny pracy – komisja bhp) to provide advice and views on health and safety issues.

In addition, where there is a union organisation at the workplace, employees have the right to elect an employee with particular responsibilities for health and safety, who is known as a social labour inspector (społeczny inspektor pracy – sip). Where there are no unions present this position does not exist.

Numbers and structure

Legislation does not specify the number of members of the health and safety committee. However, it should contain an equal number of representatives of the employer and the employees. The employer’s representatives should include those in the employer’s occupational health service and, where there is one, the doctor providing preventative health services to the employees. The employees’ representatives should include the social labour inspector (sip). Guidance from the National Labour Inspectorate suggests that an effectively functioning health and safety committee should contain 10 to 15 people.[1]

There can be social labour inspectors at the level of the whole company (company social inspectors), at departmental level and within smaller organisational units. There are no set employment thresholds, although the number of employees does affect how they are elected (see below).

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2014 found that 26% of workplaces in Poland had health and safety representatives and 17% had a health and safety committee. These figures are both below the EU-28 averages, which are 58% for health and safety representatives and 21% for health and safety committees. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.)[2]

Tasks and rights

In addition to the general obligation on employers to consult employees or their representatives about health and safety, there is a particular requirement to consult them on a number of issues. These are:

• changes in work organisation;
• the introduction of new technological processes and chemical substances, which could be dangerous to health;
• the evaluation of risks;
• the setting up of the occupational health service or its provision by external bodies;
• first aid arrangements, fire precautions, and evacuation procedures;
• the provision of protective equipment, including clothes and shoes; and
• health and safety training for employees.

Employees or their representatives have the right to present proposals to the employer to eliminate or limit workplace hazards. Based on a justified proposal from employees or their representatives related to threats to health and safety, the state labour inspectorate can inspect and impose the appropriate penalties.

Where there is a health and safety committee the rights described above can be transferred to the employee members of this committee. In addition, tasks of the health and safety committee include inspecting working conditions, periodically assessing the state of health and safety, expressing a view on the measures taken by the employer to avoid accidents at work and occupational diseases, formulating proposals to improve working conditions and cooperating with the employer in the carrying out of his or her duties in the area of health and safety.

The tasks and rights of social labour inspectors are more precisely defined and potentially more extensive. They have a right to:

• monitor the state of the buildings, machinery, technical equipment and sanitary facilities from a health and safety perspective;
• monitor compliance with labour laws and collective agreements, in particular in the area of health and safety;
• participate in the monitoring of the compliance in the workplace with laws on the protection of the natural environment;
• participate in determining the causes of accidents at work;
• participate in the analysis of the causes of accidents and occupational diseases and their control through the appropriate preventative measures;
• participate in surveys of working conditions;
• express a view on plans to improve health and safety conditions and monitor the carrying out of those plans; and
• arrange for the active participation of the workforce in creating the appropriate conditions for health and safety.

In carrying out these duties, social labour inspectors have the right to enter the premises at any time and to be given documents relating to the issues they deal with. They should inform the employer where health and safety requirements are not being met and they can ask for employees who do not have the appropriate training to work in a safe manner to be withdrawn from that work. They also have powers to recommend to the employers that specific hazards be removed, and, in the case of a direct threat to workers’ safety and where the employer fails to act, they can require that a particular process or piece of equipment be halted. The ability to request employer to halt a particular process or stop machinery is limited to the company social labour inspector (the most senior), who must communicate the decision to the local trade union organisation. The employer can appeal against the decision to the National Labour Inspectorate.

Social labour inspectors, provided the workplace union organisation agrees, can call on the National Labour Inspectorate to carry out an inspection of the employer and they have the right to participate in that inspection.

Frequency of meetings

Where there is a health and safety committee it should meet at least once every three months.

Election and term of office

Employee representatives on health and safety issues, including those on the health and safety committee, where this exists, are elected by the local union body. Where there is no local union organisation, they are elected by all employees according to workplace procedures.

The rules for the election of social labour inspectors are more detailed. They can be either union members or, if the union chooses this, non-union members, but they may not have a managerial position and they should be experienced – normally at least five years in the industry and two years in the company for the company social labour inspector. In companies or departments with up to 300 employees, both the company social labour inspector and the departmental social labour inspectors are elected by the whole workforce. In large companies and departments, they are elected by the lower level social labour inspectors. In smaller organisational units they are elected directly by the workforce in that unit.

The rules for the elections of social labour inspectors in companies or departments with more than 300 employees are set by the workplace union organisation, although national unions can determine generally applicable rules.

The term of office is four years.

Resources, time off and training

Consultation with employee representatives on health and safety issues should take place in “appropriate conditions” and during working time; employees should be paid. The meetings of the health and safety committee should also take place during working time and employees’ representatives should be paid.

The health and safety committee has the right to make use of an external expert in carrying out its duties, provided this has been agreed with the employer. The cost of the expert is borne by the employer.

The costs of the activity of the social labour inspectors are borne by the employer but in principle their work should take place outside working hours. However, where the activity does take place during working time, they should be paid. In addition, where the duties of social labour inspectors are particularly onerous, they can be for paid for 30 or in some cases 60 hours. In addition in very rare cases where there is a constant and ongoing threat to workers’ health and safety, for example in a steel works, they can be on permanent paid release.

Protection against dismissal

Employee representatives on health and safety issues, including employee members of the health and safety committee, should not be disadvantaged as a result of their health and safety activities.

Social labour inspectors may not be dismissed during their period of office or in the following year without the agreement of the workplace union organisation.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

An employer with more than 100 employees must create an occupational health service (służbą bhp), which has an advisory and monitoring tasks. Small employers (with up to 10 employees or 20 if the health and safety risks are low) can carry these tasks out themselves, provided they have the appropriate training. (Legislation being considered in 2018 is likely to increase this threshold from 20 to 50 in lower risk workplaces.) Employers with fewer than 100 employees can entrust these tasks to an employee, who also has other responsibilities. Those with between 100 and 600 employees must set up an occupational health service with at least one post, although this can be part-time. Those with more than 600 employees must have an occupational health service with at least one full-time post, with an extra full-time post for each additional 600 employees. If an employer does not have any employees with appropriate qualifications to undertake this role, he or she can contract an external body to provide this service.

National context

The ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej). The National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy – PIP) is the body responsible for ensuring compliance with Poland’s health and safety and general labour laws.

Trade unions and employers are able to influence health and safety policy through their membership of the tripartite Social Dialogue Council (Rada Dialogu Społecznego – RDS), although this is the principal forum for social dialogue, and it deals with a wide range of issues, as well as health and safety.[3]

The Polish Labour Code, the key piece of legislation on health and safety, does not specifically refer to psychosocial risks. However, following an amendment in 2003 it does contain a requirement for an employer to act against bullying at work (Article 94.3).

Key legislation

Labour Code: Section X Work safety and hygiene

Law on Social Labour Inspection 24 June 1983

Kodeks pracy: Dział dziesiaty Bezpieczeństwo i higiena pracy

Ustawa z dnia 24 czerwca 1983 r. o społecznej inspekcji pracy

[1] Poradnik społecznego inspektora pracy, by Tomasz Rutkowski, Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, 2006

[2] Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2016

[3] For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – Poland by Małgorzata Pęciłło , OSH Wiki https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_Poland

Trade union density is low at around 10% of employees and there are a large number of trade union organisations. But the vast majority (around 85%) of union members are in organisations linked to the three main union bodies, NSZZ Solidarność, OPZZ and the somewhat smaller, FZZ. 1

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Union density and structure

The latest figures from the national statistics agency GUS, published in 2023, show that there were 1,443,400 trade union members in 2022. 2 GUS also estimates union density (the proportion of employees who are union members) at 14.8%, based on workplaces with at least 10 employees.

This is slightly higher than estimate included in the widely used figures from the OECD, which show density at 13.4% in 2017. 3 One reason for this is likely to be that smaller workplaces (below 10 employees) are not included in the GUS figures, and union membership levels in small workplaces are low, for both organisational and legal reasons (see Legal framework).

Using the GUS figure of 1,443,400 trade union members and adjusting it to exclude 125,100 union members who were retired and another 6,500 who were working under a so-called “civil contract” and therefore not employees, produces a figure of 1,311,800 trade unionists who were employees in 2022. With 13.37 million employees in Poland in the third quarter of 2022, 4 this suggests a union density figure of 9.8%.

This is close to the density figure published by the by the polling organisation CBOS, which regularly asks about union membership. Its latest detailed survey, for 2021, estimated union density at 10.5%. 5

The GUS survey indicates that the vast majority of union members (85.3%) are in three national union umbrella bodies, which are considered to be nationally representative and have specific rights. These are NSZZ Solidarność, OPZZ and FZZ.

The development of each of the three organisations has been different. 6

NSZZ Solidarność grew initially from the strikes in the Gdansk shipyard in 1980 at the time of the communist government. After a period of illegality following the imposition of martial law in December 1981 it re-emerged as a legal organisation in 1989. It played a direct political role in the years that followed, but it is now a trade union rather a political movement.

Figures provided to the European Trade Union Confederation show that NSZZ Solidarność had 543,587 members in 2019, 7 while Eurofound’s 2023 survey of national union confederations list it as having 522,961 members. 8 The 2021 CBOS survey indicated that it was the largest trade union body in Poland, with 4.1% of Polish workers in membership.

OPZZ was founded in 1984 after a period of martial law when all trade unions were banned and has remained in being throughout the political and economic transformation of Poland.

It states on its website that it has 450,500 members (July 2025) 9, although Eurofound’s 2023 survey lists it as having 350,000 members. The CBOS survey in 2023 found that 3.1% of Polish employees stated that they were in unions which belong to OPZZ, making it the second largest confederation in Poland.

FZZ is smaller than the other two confederations and largely consists of unions which were previously independent or have left the two larger confederations. It was formed in 2002, when the rules for an important new tripartite commission (see Joint employer/union body at national level) required that only union confederations with at least 300,000 members would be included. Several previously independent unions, with a membership total above this threshold, grouped together to form FZZ and secure a place in the commission. Eurofound’s 2023 survey lists it as having 300,000 members and the 2021 CBOS survey indicated that 1.7% of Polish employees were members of FZZ unions.

In addition to the three main union bodies, the 2021 CBOS survey also showed that 1.3% of employees were in unions not affiliated to the main union confederations. And the GUS survey of trade union membership estimated that there were 204,600 union members outside the three main bodies. Some are members of the smaller confederations, such as Związkowa Alternatywa, which was founded in 2019, or OZZ IP, which was founded in 2002. However, very many are in local unions, which are not affiliated to national confederations. A union can be legally founded by ten employees (see Legal framework) and the 2023 GUS survey found that there were 2,111 union organisations not affiliated to the three main union bodies – most (1,781) operating at the level of a single company or workplace.

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Individual unions

The organisational structures of the three main union groupings are different. While both OPZZ and FZZ are confederations of union federations (see below), NSZZ Solidarność has a unitary structure, with members belonging directly to it.

OPZZ has 88 union federations and individual unions affiliated to it, divided into seven industry-level groupings. The largest grouping, in terms of the number of federations and unions involved covers public services, with 20 affiliated union bodies, but there are also 17 affiliated organisations in energy and mining and 16 each in manufacturing industry and transport. 10 However, by far the largest single union affiliated to OPZZ is the teachers’ union ZNP, which states it has 200,000 members. 11

FZZ has 61 national-level union organisations that belong to it – it started with 17 in 2002 – as well as local organisations that belong to its regional structures. 12 Its largest affiliate is the nurses’ and midwives’ union OZZPIP, which states it has around 80,000 members. 13

Both OPZZ and FZZ are built up from individual company or workplace unions, plus organisations operating across several companies. These company and multi-employer union organisations come together in federations, that affiliate to the confederations, although the larger multi-employer unions may affiliate directly.

The 2023 GUS survey indicates that these local union bodies are numerous but small. In total, there are 2,143 multi-company unions and 7,120 single-company unions affiliated to the three main confederations, and on average the multi-company unions have 188 members and the single company unions have 85.

These figures relate to union bodies affiliated to the three main union bodies. The average figures for non-affiliated local unions are 192 for multi-employer unions and 65 for single company unions.

NSZZ Solidarność is structured differently. It is a unitary organisation with both a regional and industrial structure. There are 14 industry secretariats sections plus separate sections for young workers, women, blind workers and workers with disabilities. Each industry secretariat has several sections. 14 The basic organisational building block at local level is the single employer organisation or the multi-employer organisation, where the group covers more than one employer.

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Political position

The differing histories of NSZZ Solidarność, which emerged as the main opposition to the communist government in the 1980s, and OPZZ, which was the official union confederation in the same period, help explain the ongoing differences in their political positions. 15

NSZZ Solidarność is close to the socially conservative PiS party of Jarosław Kaczyński. In February 2025, it signed an agreement with Karol Nawrocki, the PiS supported and ultimately successful candidate in the 2025 presidential elections, promising its backing in return for Nawrocki’s agreeing to its policy demands. 16 It did the same for the Andrzej Duda, the PiS candidate in the presidential elections in 2015 and 2020.

The OPZZ, on the other hand, which supported the left-wing SLD party in the past, has a more limited direct involvement. However, the Left party (Lewica) which is part of the coalition government elected in 2024, has said that OPZZ is an “important partner”. 17

FZZ emphasises its political independence.

These differing political positions mean that relationships between the main union confederations are sometimes tense, particularly between NSZZ Solidarność abd OPZZ. However, this may be more obvious at national than at local or workplace level. 18

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Legal framework

Trade unions rights are guaranteed in two separate articles of the Polish constitution. 19 Article 12 states that Poland will “shall ensure freedom for the creation and functioning of trade unions”, as well as other voluntary associations, and Article 59 sets out these rights in greater detail, Including the right to bargain and conclude collective agreements and the right to strike. The constitution also makes clear that in certain circumstances the right to strike may be limited “for the protection of the public interest”.

More detailed regulation of trade unions is set out in the Trade Union Act, which was passed in 1991, although it has subsequently been revised. 20

In broad terms the legislation does not interfere with the internal organisation of trade unions, although they are required to register with details of their name, location and statutes. However, it is for the unions themselves to determine these statutes.

Employees, including the police, boarder guards and prison officers can be union members and in 2018, in a significant change, following a ruling by the constitutional court, individuals working under civil contracts rather than employment contracts gained the right to form and join trade unions.

Unions can only be set up through a resolution of at least 10 individuals with a right to form a union. The employer can require that this membership information is verified with the involvement of the local labour court.

Unions have rights relating both to the whole workforce and to individual employees. In defending and advance collective interests they represent the whole workforce. In individual cases they represent their members, although they can choose to represent non-members if they are asked to do so. 21

There are sanctions in the legislation which can be imposed on anyone who tries to hinder the creation or operation of a trade union or discriminates against trade union members.

The legislation also covers unions’ negotiating rights, time off rights, and protection against dismissal.

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Membership trends

Union membership has declined sharply since the early 1990s as a result of industrial restructuring and privatisation and a growth in employment in smaller companies in private services. Based on surveys conducted by CBOS, the proportion of employees in unions has fallen from 28% in 1991, to 20% in 2000, 15% in 2010, 12.9% in 2019 and 10.5% in 2021. 22

The 2021 CBOS figures show that union membership is much higher in public institutions, where 24% of employees are union members, than in private sector and state-owned companies, where the figure is 8%, or in the private sector, other than agriculture, where the figure is 4%. Large workplaces are much more likely to be unionised than small ones (13% where there are 250 or more employees compared with 5% where there are fewer than 50).

Unions are making efforts to increase membership. However, how they are doing this reflects their different structures. NSZZ Solidarność has a section of news on its website, called “union development” where it reports on local successes in increasing membership and organisation. 23 OPZZ, on the other hand, has a section where it sets out how to set up a company union and link it to OPZZ, or just how to link it, if the company union already exists. 24

Both NSZZ Solidarność and OPZZ also pushed hard to gain the right to organise workers employed under so-called “civil law contracts” rather than employment contracts. However, although this changed in January 2019 and these workers can now join union, the GUS figures indicate that only 6,500 have done so, 0.5% of all trade union members. 25

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Women

The GUS survey shows that just under half (48%) of union members are women. 26 NSZZ Solidarność regularly responds to the ETUC’s gender audit and the 2019 report indicates that 40.0% of its membership is female. The most recent comparable figure for OPZZ is from 2010, when women made up 48.0% of its membership. There are no figures on FZZ’s female membership. 27

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Only a minority of employees in Poland are covered by collective bargaining, which takes place largely at company or workplace level. This means that where there are no unions to take up the issue, pay and conditions are set unilaterally by employers – subject to the national minimum wage, and the minimum conditions set by legislation. There are, however, proposals for significant legal changes. 28

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Collective bargaining coverage and structure

Collective bargaining in Poland can take place either at the level of a single company or workplace or at a multi-employer level, as set out in Section 11 of the Labour Code. However, in terms both of numbers covered and impact, it is collective bargaining at individual company level that is more important, although overall the impact of collective bargaining is very limited.

The very limited extent of multi-employer collective bargaining (see below) makes any discussion over the relationship between company-level and multi-employer bargaining largely theoretical but the basic principle that applies is that workers’ terms are set by the agreement which is most beneficial to them. 29

There are no official national figures, but the OECD database estimated collective bargaining coverage in Poland at 13.4% in 2019, one of the lowest percentages in the EU. 30

There are very few agreements at multi-employer level. The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, with which they must be registered, states on its website that currently there are only 61multi-employer agreements, along with 202 additional protocols (the usual mechanism for renewing agreements) still in force. This is only around a third of the 174 multi-employer agreements which were registered in the past. The others have either been terminated by one of the parties (99 agreements) or are effectively defunct as one of the parties no longer has the authority to sign the agreement (14 agreements). 31 A 2022 study on collective bargaining prepared for the Polish government found that only 13 multi-employer agreements were concluded by employer organisations operating outside the public sector, and that the majority were signed by local authorities and covered non-teaching staff in schools. 32 It also found that, the fact that many agreements were signed without an end date, meant that there had been no movement since 2014.

In an interview quoted by Eurofound, one of the authors of the report concluded that “there are practically no collective bargaining agreements at the multi-employer level”. 33

Collective agreements at the level of individual companies or workplaces are more numerous, but still only cover a limited number of employees. These agreements must currently be registered with the local labour inspectorate, and the national labour inspectorate (PIP) includes the number of agreements registered in that year in its annual report. These figures indicate a low level of activity. In 2024, there were that 29 new collective agreements (covering 6,826 employees) and 979 additional protocols registered, following 46 (covering 16,497 employees) in 2023 and 50 (covering 19,952) in 2022. 34

Figures on the total number of agreements and their coverage are only published intermittently. The most recent information, set out by the head of the PIP in a discussion in November 2024 indicated at that point there were 7,931 valid agreements covering 1.5 million employees. 35 However, he went on to say that the actual figure might be somewhat lower as “as not all employers regularly inform the Inspectorate of the termination of an agreement or organisational changes that affect its continued validity”. With 14.0 million employees in Poland in the third quarter of 2024, 36 having 1.5 million covered by collective agreements indicates a coverage rate of 10.7%.

Even if multi-employer agreements are included, the level of collective bargaining coverage in Poland is far below the 80% threshold set out in the EU’s adequate minimum wage directive ((EU) 2022/2041) below which EU member states should establish an action plan to promote collective bargaining.

To respond to this situation and increase coverage, the Ministry of Family Labour and Social Policy in June 2024 produced draft legislation setting out many changes to the existing rules. 37The initial draft has been amended and the implementation date – initially the second quarter of 2025 – has been pushed back, but the potential changes include:

• requiring all employers with at least 50 employees and at least one union present in the company to conduct collective bargaining once every two years, as a minimum;
• extending the range of issues that can be covered by collective bargaining;
• placing limits on the length of time agreements can last – five years for company-level agreements and 10 years for multi-employer agreements;
• changing the arrangements for registering agreements, moving registration from the labour inspectorate (PIP) to the ministry of labour, as well as making the procedure for registering easier so that written documents are no longer required;
• making it easier for an employer to withdraw from a multi-employer agreement in cases of economic difficulty;
• making it easier to extend multi-employer agreements, with the ministry of labour taking the decision after consultation at the request of an employers’ association or at least two trade union organisations or two employers;
• providing for greater use of mediators in disputes; and
• allowing for collective agreements to be challenged on the basis that they do not comply with employment law.

If these changes were all enacted they would make a substantial difference to collective bargaining in Poland, but it is unclear whether this will be the case and when any changes might take effect.

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Extending agreements

The Polish Labour Code provides for the possibility of the government extending these multi-employer agreements to other employers with similar operations where there is “an important social interest” in doing so (Article 241 38). This power has been rarely, if ever, used but the legislative proposals first launched in June 2024 (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure) potentially make this easier.

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Allowing local variations

Currently, it is difficult for individual employers covered by a multi-employer agreement to opt-out of it. They can only withdraw from it if the other signatories to the agreement (both unions and other employers) agree to an additional protocol which removes them from the deal.

The legislative proposals first launched in June 2024 (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure) would make this easier allowing companies in difficulties to withdraw on the basis of a written declaration setting out their reasons for doing so.

The greater ability to withdraw from multi-employer agreements would be in addition to the existing possibility for employers to suspend collective agreements and other elements of their contractual obligations towards their employees, such as the remuneration regulations (see Subjects covered in agreements) for up to three years.

Employers in financial difficulties have been legally able to do this since 2002, with the agreement of the trade union organisation in the workplace that initially signed the agreement. The 2024 report from the labour inspectorate states that there were 45 cases where a suspension of this sort was registered – higher than in the two previous years (2022 – 23 and 2023 – 21). 39

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Who negotiates?

Agreements at the level of the individual company or workplace are negotiated between the individual employer and the local trade union organisation. The Labour Code states that where there is more than one trade union organisation within the company the union organisations should negotiate jointly (Article 24116 and 24128). This frequently occurs in practice, as relations between members of the different union confederations are often better at workplace than at national level.

The agreement should be reached with all the unions in the workplace or at least all the “representative” unions in the workplace – these are defined as having at least 15% of the workforce in membership – or 8% if the union organisation concerned belongs to one of the three nationally representative union bodies, NSZZ Solidarność, OPZZ and FZZ (see Trade unions). If no union represents at least 10% of the workforce, then the agreement should be signed with the largest union in the company.

These rules were changed through amendments to the trade union law, which came into effect on 1 January 2019. The changes raised the thresholds for the definition of representative unions from 7% to 8% for nationally representative unions and from 10% to 15% for other unions. Unions were already obliged to provide the employer with their membership numbers, and the 2019 legislation requires unions to provide these more frequently and gives employers, and other unions, the right to ask a court to verify the figures.

There is currently no obligation on the employer to negotiate at company level. However, this may change in companies with at least 50 employers where there is a union, if the legislative proposals first launched in June 2024 are implemented (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure).

Multi-employer agreements are negotiated between an employers’ association and unions, which either have representative status (meaning that belong to one of the three nationally representative union bodies, or represent at least 10% of the employees and have at least 10,000 members in the companies to be covered by the agreement or are the largest union in the companies being covered.