In a slightly different mode than many expected, the UE Transparency Directive has just begun the implementation process in Poland. In December 2024, a parliamentary bill proposing changes to the Labor Code regarding one of the two main areas of regulation of the Directive - provisions on salary transparency - was submitted to the Sejm.

Just to remind, the second area is the calculation and limitation of the gender pay gap. The concept of separating these two areas is interesting. Perhaps it was simply recognized that it is worth starting the implementation of the Directive with "easier" things, leaving the fight against pay discrimination for later? The project was submitted by the main coalition partner of the ruling parliamentary majority - the Parliamentary Club of the Civic Coalition. As predicted, Polish regulations do not go beyond the minimum imposed by the Directive. As a result, the provisions are short and understandable, but that does not mean that they do not raise doubts. At this point, two potential problems can be mentioned.

The first is the lack of a definition of the term "work of equal value". This is a key issue for the future application of the new provisions, as the new law is supposed to guarantee employees access to information on the average salaries of employees performing "the same work as them or work of equal value". It is obvious that proper grouping of employees will be crucial for the practice of applying these provisions. However, the Directive itself is not entirely precise in this regard and leaves considerable room for interpretation as well.

The second interesting issue is the narrowing definition of the obligation to disclose the amount of remuneration in recruitment processes. In this respect, according to many lawyers, the UE Directive itself was very general, indicating only that a job applicant should have access to information about the remuneration (its range) offered for a given position. The Directive did not define how this information should be provided to such a person. In Polish regulations, however, there is talk of "publishing information" which should include the amount of the proposed remuneration. Perhaps we interpret it mistakenly and narrowly, but the phrase "publishing information" immediately brings to mind a job advertisement.

And finally, the most important thing - the key obligations of the employer resulting from the new provisions. The draft law stipulates two main areas of regulation. The first is the obligation of the employer to provide the employee (at their request or at the request of their “representatives”) with information on the average levels of remuneration, divided by gender, for employees performing the same work or work of equal value. The employer will have 14 days to do so (the Directive mentions 2 months). The second, no less important, area of regulation is to ensure employees' access (without a "request") to the "criteria used to determine the levels of remuneration and remuneration progression." In practice, this will mean widely understood principles of remuneration, criteria for promotion, conditions for granting bonuses and rewards, etc. Bonuses and rewards, because the definition of remuneration adopted in the regulations is very broad and, in addition to the basic salary, includes the value of employee benefits, plus "variable components". And it is worth adding that employers employing fewer than 50 employees would be exempt from this second obligation. But beware - this is only an exemption from the obligation to implement this paragraph. The remaining requirements will apply to all employers. The law would come into force six months after its announcement.

The project in this form was submitted to the Marshal's Office on December 5, 2024. In the coming weeks, we will find out in what procedure (and how quickly) it will be processed. At that time, it will also be possible to indicate the likely perspective of the implementation of these regulations.