Polish opposition proposes removing gender-neutral language requirements from job ads as government defends EU anti-discrimination measures.
New Recruitment Rules Effective December 2025
From December 24, 2025, Poland’s labor market operates under a new legal regime enforced by an amendment to the Labor Code. The new regulations require employers to ensure recruitment processes are free from discrimination based on gender. In practice, this means the need to formulate job advertisements and position names in a neutral manner, intended to form the foundation for fighting the gender pay gap.
Opposition Attempts to Repeal Provisions
In a bill submitted to the Sejm, opposition lawmakers propose repealing the controversial provisions, primarily arguing against excessive bureaucracy. In the view of the proposers, effective protection against discrimination should be based on enforcing existing legal tools, not multiplying formal language obligations. PiS also raises the argument of the specificity of the Polish language and claims that EU law leaves member states full freedom in the forms used in advertisements.
According to the authors of the bill, the current wording of the Labor Code leads to interpretative ambiguities that could result in an avalanche of disputes between employees and employers.
Ministry Defends Gender-Neutral Requirements
However, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy distances itself from these demands and accuses the authors of the bill of inconsistency. The Ministry reminds that the current Article 18³ca § 3 of the Labor Code directly implements EU Directive 2023/970, which was supported in April 2023 by the then government of Mateusz Morawiecki.
Moreover, during parliamentary work, PiS deputies did not resist, and the legislative process was finalized with the signature of President Andrzej Duda.
No Current Plans for Labor Code Changes
From the position of the Ministry, conveyed to DGP, it is clear that no legislative work is currently underway to change the existing solutions. The Ministry emphasizes that any modification of the law would have to be preceded by an in-depth legal analysis and broad consultations with social partners, which is not currently on the horizon.
The government’s priority at this time is ensuring the stability of labor law and the comprehensive implementation of other transparency mechanisms for remuneration resulting from the mentioned directive.
For employers, this means the obligation of gender neutrality in recruitment will remain a permanent part of the Polish legal system. The Ministry stands firm that these provisions are part of broader standards of equal treatment, from which Poland cannot and should not withdraw.
