The provisions of the Polish law, the Labour Code and the so-called Equal Treatment Act in particular, impose specific obligations on employers aimed at ensuring the protection of the equal treatment principle in the workplace, including on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. This protection covers both persons employed under employment contracts as well as persons cooperating with employers under civil law contracts or self-employment. An employer who implements appropriate internal equal treatment policies, containing effective complaint mechanisms, has tools enabling early identification of violations and counteracting them thus limiting the risk of costly and time-consuming court proceedings. In turn, employees are entitled to demand from their employer to provide them with an adequate protection against such violations and – if protection proves to be ineffective – refer their case to a court.

Our experience:

– conducting trainings on counteracting harassment (mobbing) and discrimination for employers and employees in private and public sector, including universities, companies, non-governmental organizations;
– analyzing internal regulations aimed at protecting the equal treatment principle in the workplace and advising on strengthening such protections;
– introducing comprehensive anti-discrimination and anti-harassment (anti-mobbing) policies in the workplace, including effective complaint mechanisms;
– providing advice and trainings for members of committees established to examine discrimination and harassment (mobbing) complaints;
– first successful litigation in Poland concerning a violation of the equal treatment principle on the basis of gender identity [more about the case].