From 24 December 2025 notices of recruitment and names of posts are to be gender neutral. Employers come to mind, as the legislator meant, because the legislature did not even try to define the concept. According to lawyers, by then companies should review all internal documents and adapt them to new requirements. For some, this may mean starting talks with unions to amend remuneration rules and collective agreements.
On Christmas Eve, the Act of 4 June 2025 amending the Act – Labour Code (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 807, Next: k.p.), which introduces a new Article 18(3ca). This provision obliges employers to inform applicants of, inter alia, the remuneration referred to in Article 18(3c) section 2 k.p. (i.e.
almost equal pay for equal work or work of equal value), its initial amount or its range, based on objective, neutral criteria, in particular in terms of gender.
In addition, according to section 3, The employer shall ensure that job vacancy notices and job names are gender neutral and that the recruitment process is conducted in a non-discriminatory manner.
The problem is that the legislature has not been tempted to define this concept. The words "sex neutrality" are also not in the explanatory memorandum to the project, although in its original version, strongly imperfect and practically rewritten by the Subcommittee of the Sejm of the Extraordinary Commission on codified changes (segment printing no. 934), the gender-neutral criteria for wages were mentioned.
What does gender-neutral mean – or is it just about the use of feminists?
Even at the stage of work in the Sejm and in the Senate, employers' organisations attempted to show the doubts that these rules were causing and what problems might arise in their application. e.g.
at a joint meeting of the Senate Legislative Commission and the Family Committee, Senior and Social Policy on 13 and 28 May 2025, Szymon Witkowski, the main legislator of the Polish Employers, pointed out that in connection with the sound Article 18(3ca) section 3 The question is whether this is actually about feminists - to name the "director" in relation to a given position, or whether it is supposed to be, for example, a "director".
Should we come up with some new vocabulary in this regard so as not to point at gender in any way? That is an additional doubt that is also being raised.
We are talking about a name which is completely gender neutral, so I fear that it is not enough to replace the names "director" and "director", to mention the names of any other position in both male and female form," Witkowski said.
Mr Witold Zembaczyński, the originator of this bill, assured that, contrary to what the employer's organisation said, it is very simple.
If we are looking for a waitress, today we cannot formulate this announcement in this way because it is discriminatory, so we simply write that we are looking for a person to serve the guests of the restaurant. It's really not hard. It is also the same with the amendment of the provisions under collective agreements or remuneration rules.
It is really a matter of simple words of a few words – said Mr Zembaczyński at a joint meeting of Senate committees.
In principle, linguistic interpretation is important, that is to say, what is written in the text of a legislative act, and only helpfully applies the experiential interpretation, that is, what the legislator meant. The wording of the rules is such, and we believe that it is not entirely understandable. Hence, we fear that there will be interpretation problems in this area,” Simon Witkowski reposted.
Gender neutrality – according to MRPiPS and the Council of Polish Language
Sebastian Gajewski, Deputy Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, addressed the issues of names of positions that should be gender-neutral and feminist. I think that this provision should be interpreted in the context of the principle of equal treatment already present in the Labour Code, including regardless of gender.
If we interpret this obligation to give names of posts, i.e.
in a gender-neutral way, we will find that the idea is that the names of posts, in particular given that they are to be included in job notices, are not formulated in such a way that the recipient of this notice feels that the employer is formulating preferences for a particular person on the basis of gender, i.e.
he is looking for candidates rather than candidates, rather than candidates. It seems that here we are moving in a space designated by the rules of Polish language, as well as by the laws of ≪", said Deputy Minister Gajewski.
He went on to point out: "Let us remember that the names of the posts are present not only in collective agreements, but also (...) in laws, regulations.
The intention of the legislator is absolutely not to make these changes, but to formulate these names in such a way that no one feels favored, no gender, that is, for example, we are not looking for waitresses, we are looking for waiters, we are not looking for lathes, we are looking for people to work a lathe.
Well, I'm giving you examples. I think you could make those names better, but that's the intention. The point is that no one thinks that the ad is addressed only to a person of particular gender - he argued.