Six real legal changes that may affect your business in Poland, each with its legal reference so you can verify it at the source. Not all of them fall within my safety-consulting services — if you're not sure where to look for help, just ask and I'll point you in the right direction. Legal status: 1 October 2026.
Fire safety · deadline passed 30 June 2026
Smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors in accommodation venues
A Ministry of the Interior regulation of 21 November 2024 (Journal of Laws 2024 item 1716) requires accommodation venues — hotels, guesthouses, agritourism and short-term rentals — to fit standalone smoke detectors, plus carbon-monoxide detectors wherever there is a fireplace, stove or gas appliance. The compliance deadline passed on 30 June 2026, so a venue without detectors is already in breach. It is one of the most common gaps found during fire-service inspections of small venues.
Journal of Laws 2026 item 447 · in force since 2 Apr 2026
New chemical exposure limits — old measurements may no longer pass
A regulation of 26 March 2026 lowered the occupational exposure limits (NDS and NDSCh) for a further set of chemical agents, implementing EU Directive 2024/869. The new limits apply from 2 April 2026, and from 9 April 2026 for lead and diisocyanates, with further tightening in stages until 2029. The consequence is simple: if chemical agents are present at your workplace, the measurement results and the occupational risk assessment need to be reviewed — a reading that complied with the previous limit may now be an exceedance.
Journal of Laws 2026 item 1046 · in force from 5 Nov 2026
New definition of workplace bullying, higher damages
The Act of 19 June 2026, published on 4 August 2026, takes effect on 5 November 2026. From that date bullying ("mobbing") means persistent harassment of an employee — with no need to prove that it lasted a long time or caused a health impairment, which used to be the main evidentiary barrier. Minimum compensation is six times the minimum wage. Employers with at least 10 employees must adopt an anti-bullying procedure in their internal work rules, with a deadline of 5 May 2027. An employer who has put real prevention in place can rely on it as a defence.
Journal of Laws 2026 item 927 · in force from 11 Jan 2027
Maximum workplace temperatures — now confirmed
The regulation of 9 July 2026 amending the general health and safety rules introduces Poland's first temperature thresholds: work must be suspended at 35°C indoors and at 32°C for strenuous outdoor work. Those are not the only thresholds, though — already at 28°C indoors (or 25°C for strenuous work and outdoor work) the employer must introduce measures reducing exposure, agreed with employees or the health and safety committee: extra breaks, reorganised work, ventilation or air conditioning. The rules apply from 11 January 2027, so summer 2027 is worth planning and budgeting for now.
Journal of Laws 2026 item 456 · in force since 17 Apr 2026
Electronic occupational-medicine certificates
A Ministry of Health regulation of 20 March 2026 allows pre-employment, periodic and follow-up certificates to be issued electronically, in which case they go into the national medical information system and the patient's online account. The data set on the certificate has changed as well, and the physician may attach health recommendations. For employers this means updating referral templates and the way certificates are filed in section B of personnel records.
Journal of Laws 2026 item 473 · in force since 8 Jul 2026
The Labour Inspectorate can treat a B2B contract as employment
The amended Labour Inspectorate Act has applied since 8 July 2026. The decision confirming that an employment relationship exists is issued by the regional labour inspector — not by the inspector running the audit — and only after the employer fails to comply with an earlier order to remedy the breach. The decision can be appealed to the district labour court within one month, and filing the appeal generally suspends its enforcement. For 12 months, until 8 July 2027, an employer who voluntarily converts a civil-law contract into an employment contract is not held liable for earlier breaches.
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