It’s been two months since Poland’s president Andrzej Duda signed a new Act covering pay transparency in the recruitment process. With the Act going live in six months, this coming December, we investigate what this means for HR and talent people, and why HR must act now.
In countries like the United Kingdom, salaries have been published next to online job advertisements for over twenty years. The same is the case in many other EU countries. Poland, however, has been an exception. What has this meant for candidates?
“How much are you currently earning?” or “What salary are you looking for in your new role?” These are standard questions that HR and talent professionals ask potential employees in Poland every day. Some candidates answer truthfully, whilst others push for more. So far everybody found a way to work with this situation. But, come December 2025, everything changes.
How can HR prepare for the new Act?
Leading law firm Addleshaw Goddard summarized the new requirements under EU Directive 2023/970 (which Poland’s new Act is turning into legislation). It explains what information will need to be provided by employers during the recruitment process.
First candidates must know what the remuneration is for the position they are applying for. This needs to include bonuses, employee benefits and all other elements that add up to the employment package. This needs to be in writing.
Secondly, candidates need to see the remuneration package details during the whole process of recruitment. In the job advert itself, before the job interview, and before the employment agreement is signed.
Finally, HR and talent teams need to ensure that all job adverts and titles are gender-neutral and that the recruitment process is not discriminatory. Most importantly, it is no longer allowed for employers to ask potential employees what their current (or previous) remuneration package is.
Can you ignore the new legislation?
The consequences for ignoring the new Act can be difficult for employers. Accace Legal, a Polish consultancy firm specializing in legal, tax and HR, explained in a recent story how the Polish Act is limited to the recruitment stage only. This means that if a candidate is asked the wrong question or if they are discriminated against during the interview process and they have some proof of this, then the employer could face difficulties.
Candidates can claim compensation if employers violate the law. The burden of proof is with the employer. Candidates can claim compensation of no less than the statutory minimum wage.
The new Act becomes obligatory on December 24, 2025.
What are HR and talent people doing to prepare?
Before we look at what needs to be done, it’s important to analyze the level of popularity that the new Act is getting from the market. According to a LinkedIn post by Witold Jarzynski from late 2024, the majority (90% of 555 votes) support the idea of adding salaries to job advertisements. Media outlets also call the new Act a ‘revolution for job adverts, the end of salary secrecy.’
The main problem isn’t about whether HR and talent people need to prepare. The issue will be with the leading job portals. A quick look at leading Polish portal pracuj.pl shows that the job portals are still in the process of preparing for the new legislation. Current online job adverts rarely show salaries:
Elsewhere, Glassdoor, a very popular alternative to pracuj.pl is having the same challenge. As of today, there is no information about salaries in several samples we looked at. Praca.pl, on the other hand, has several roles on its front page with salaries added.
Pracuj.pl did add a podcast on the topic of salary transparency to YouTube one year ago. It has had over 30,000 views. The topic is clearly in the mainstream, but there are still very few job ads with information about salaries on the site.
If you are looking for a recruitment partner to help you navigate legislative change in Poland, then Verita HR can help.
Does your recruitment partner keep up to date with market trends? Do you want to talk to the HR projects co-ordinators at Verita HR to find out more? Visit our website or write to info@veritahr.com.
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Author: Andy Samu
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