Draft legislation published to implement Gender Pay Transparency Directive

At a glance

• The draft bill to implement the Gender Pay Transparency Directive (Directive) has now been published. While its provisions may be amended before it passes into law, it is intended to take effect on 7 June 2026.
• The bill largely replicates the provisions set out in the Directive but with some notable key points.
• These points include the fact the employers with fewer than 50 employees will be required to provide employees with pay progression infromation at an employee's request.
• Also, information on individual pay levels and average pay levels, broken down by gender, for categories of employees performing the same work or work of the same value will have to be provided within 30 days of an employee request (rather than simply a 'reasonable' time not exceeding two months).
• Further, employers will have a set deadline of eight months from the submission of explanations / information arising from a joint pay assessment to implement any required remedial measures in respect of their gender pay gaps.

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On 16 December 2025, the Government Legislation Centre published a bill on strengthening the application of the right to equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value, implementing Poland's outstanding obligations under the Directive.

Overview

The bill follows the amendment of the Labour Code regarding pay transparency at the recruitment stage, which will enter into force on 24 December 2025. The planned date of entry into force of the new legislation is 7 June 2026. It is a separate standalone piece of legislation.

NB the legislative process is still ongoing and the bill may be amended before it is passed into law.

The bill specifies: 

• The rules and procedure for creating pay structures.
• Measures to ensure pay transparency.
• The rules and procedures for monitoring employers' compliance with the principle of equal pay.
• The tasks of the bodies provided for in the bill.
• Legal protection measures.

The new provisions will apply to all employers, regardless of the number of employees they have, although employers with fewer than 100 employees will be exempt from certain obligations, namely (1) the obligation to prepare a gender pay gap report; (2) the obligation to submit the report once every three years to the monitoring body (discussed in more detail below); and (3) the obligation to submit the first report by 7 June 2031. 

It is worth noting that the bill explicitly provides for the possibility (on a voluntary basis) for employers with fewer than 100 employees to take these measures.

Employers with 150 or more employees will be required to submit their first pay gap report for the period from 7 June 2026 to 31 December 2026 to the monitoring body by 7 June 2027. This means that, in principle, they should take appropriate measures before 7 June 2026 to have the appropriate pay structures in place by that date to enable them to prepare the report for that period. 

Key points of difference with the Directive

The bill basically repeats the provisions of the Directive. However, there are some key points to note, including: 

• Reporting obligations: The bill does not impose a reporting obligation on employers with fewer than 100 employees.
• Providing employees with information on the criteria for pay increases where an employer has fewer than 50 employees: The Directive provides for the possibility of an exemption from this obligation; however, the bill provides for an obligation to provide this information within 14 days, at an employee's request.
• The deadline for providing information on individual pay levels and average pay levels, broken down by gender, for categories of employees performing the same work or work of the same value: The bill stipulates that the information must be provided within 30 days, whereas the Directive stipulates a reasonable period of time, not exceeding two months.
• The obligation to inform employees of their right to request the above information by 31 March each year: The Directive requires the information to be provided annually but does not prescribe a date.
• The deadline for employers to take remedial measures if the relevant authority finds that gender pay differences are not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria: The Directive provides for a reasonable deadline, whereas the bill  provides for a deadline of eight months from the submission of explanations / information on the joint pay assessment (see below).
• Fines ranging from PLN 3,000 to PLN 50,000: These penalties will apply if the employer fails to comply with its obligations under the new law (imposed on individuals acting on behalf of an employer that is not a natural person).

In some respects, therefore, the bill contains more extensive regulation than required by the Directive. However, the converse is also true. For example, the Directive provides that in proceedings concerning a claim for equal pay, the competent authorities or national courts may order the defendant to disclose any relevant evidence in their possession; however, the bill does not explicitly include such a provision. 

Job evaluation

In relation to job evaluations, employers will be required to assess the value of work of a specific type, or in a specific position, and to categorise positions.

According to the bill, employers will establish and apply the criteria and sub-criteria referred to in Article 18^3c § 3 of the Labour Code, in an objective and gender-neutral manner, excluding any direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender, with due regard to soft skills. 

It should be noted that the bill amends Article 18^3c § 3 of the Labour Code insofar as it relates to the criteria for assessing work of equal value, adapting them to the requirements of the Directive. Work of equal value is to be work whose value is comparable, assessed on the basis of the required skills, effort, scope of responsibility and working conditions, and possibly on the basis of other additional criteria or sub-criteria established by the employer, which are relevant to a specific type of work or a specific position.  

Importantly, if a trade union is operating in a given employer, the employer is obliged to establish all the criteria and sub-criteria in consultation with that trade union and, if more than one trade union is operating in the employer, in consultation with all of them. 

However, this regulation does not prevent employers from setting different levels of pay for employees performing the same work or work of equal value, provided that this is justified by neutral, objective and unbiased criteria.

To help employers implement the new requirements, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy plans to create and make available to employers a universal guide / instruction manual to assist in assessing the value of positions and types of work. Importantly, the proposed solutions are only intended to serve as examples, and the final choice of valuation methods will be up to the employer.

Pay transparency

The second key point of the bill is the issue of pay transparency. In this regard, employers will be required to introduce transparent criteria for determining pay, pay levels and pay increases, so that they are determined in an objective and gender-neutral manner and exclude any direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of gender. 

In addition, employees will be given the opportunity to request information from their employer about their individual pay level and average pay levels broken down by gender for categories of employees performing the same or equivalent work. Employees may request this information in person or through a trade union or equality body (see below), and the employer will have to provide the information in writing, no later than 30 days from the date of submission of the request.

Pay gap reporting

In addition, the bill imposes a reporting obligation on employers regarding the pay gap between female and male employees. As mentioned above, employees that have at least 100 employees will be required to prepare a pay gap report, while for employers with fewer than 100 employees, it will be optional.

Employers with 250 or more employees will have to submit a report annually, and employers with between 100 and 249 employees will have to submit a report every three years, by 31 March of the relevant year. 

If the pay gap report shows that the gap is at least 5% and is not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria, the employer will be required to take effective remedial action within six months of the date of submission of the pay gap report. The bill does not specify what the measures should consist of in practice.

It is worth noting that, in addition to the obligation to submit a pay gap report to the monitoring body, pursuant to the bill the State Labour Inspectorate and the equality body will also be able to request that the employer provide them with information from the report. 

Further, these authorities may request from the employer additional detailed explanations regarding the pay gap report, including differences in pay based on gender. The employer will then have 14 days from the date of receiving the request to respond. If the explanations provided by the employer show that the gender pay gap is not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria, the employer will have eight months to take remedial action, counting from the date of responding to the request of the relevant authorities.

Joint pay assessments

The bill also introduces the concept of a 'joint pay assessment' with employee representatives in situations where the following conditions are met:

• the pay gap report shows a gender pay gap of at least 5% in any category of employees; and
• the employer does not justify the gender pay gap on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria; and
• the employer fails to take effective remedial action against the unjustified gender pay gap within six months of the date of submission of the pay gap report.

If these conditions are met, the employer should conduct a joint pay assessment in consultation with the trade union operating in the employer (and, if there is more than one trade union operating in the employer, with all of them). In the absence of trade unions, this should be done in consultation with employee representatives who have been elected in accordance with the employer's procedures.

According to the bill, the purpose of conducting a joint pay assessment is to identify differences in the pay of female and male employees that are not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria, and to take effective measures to address and prevent them. The bill also provides examples of issues that should be analysed as part of a joint pay assessment.

As in the case of the pay gap report, information on the results of the joint pay assessment should be provided to the monitoring body (and the trade unions) within 14 days of the completion of the assessment. Here, too, the State Labour Inspectorate and the equality body may request that the information be provided to them.

When implementing measures resulting from a joint pay assessment, employers will be obliged to take effective remedial action within eight months of the date of providing the information from the assessment to the monitoring body.

Protection and sanctions

The bill also addresses instruments for protecting the right to equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value. In this regard, a new competence of the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) is envisaged – namely, with the written consent of the employee or job applicant,  PIP will be able to file a lawsuit on their behalf in cases relating to a violation of the rights and obligations concerning equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value. If the employer has violated these rights or obligations, the employee will be entitled to compensation or damages of an amount not lower than the statutory minimum monthly wage. 

The bill also imposes a fine of between PLN3,000 and PLN50,000 on employers, or entities acting on their behalf, if they fail to fulfil certain obligations under the law, including (1) failure to assess the value of individual jobs or types of work in accordance with the law; (2) failure to provide employees with access to information on the criteria for determining pay, pay levels and pay increases in an objective and gender-neutral manner, excluding any direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex; (3) failure to provide information on the individual pay level of an employee and average pay levels broken down by gender in relation to categories of employees performing the same work as that employee or work of equal value to their work; (4) failure to prepare a pay gap report; (5) failure to carry out a joint pay assessment; and (6) failure to implement remedial measures.

The limitation period for claims arising from a breach of the rights and obligations concerning equal pay for men and women for equal work, or work of equal value, will be interrupted by: 

• Any action before the competent authority appointed to settle disputes.
• The recognition of claims under the new law.
• The filing of a complaint with the employer.

Following the Directive, the bill also establishes the monitoring body, which will have a number of powers to enforce the new regulations. Its role will include receiving the pay gap reports, collating the information from them, and then publishing the information. Importantly, at this stage, the bill does not specify which body will perform this function in Poland. It is highly likely that it will be the State Labour Inspectorate.

In addition to the monitoring body, the bill also establishes the equality body, which will carry out tasks related to enforcing the right to equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value, in cooperation with the State Labour Inspectorate, the monitoring body and social partners. It is not known at this stage who will be entrusted with this role.