New Anti-Mobbing Regulations 2026: Employers Have Six Months to Adapt Their Organizations

New Definition of Mobbing

One of the most significant changes is the modification of the definition of mobbing. Under the new regulations, mobbing will be understood as persistent harassment of an employee involving repeated or continuous conduct. Such conduct may take physical, verbal, or non-verbal forms and may originate from supervisors, co-workers, subordinates, or groups of individuals operating within an organization.

An important element of the amendment is the clear distinction between mobbing and the legitimate exercise of managerial authority. The legislator emphasizes that justified criticism, performance evaluation, enforcement of work duties, and issuing business instructions do not constitute mobbing.

Strengthened Protection Against Discrimination

The amendment also introduces significant changes to the provisions on equal treatment in employment. The objective is to provide employees with broader protection against all forms of discrimination.

Protection will apply not only where an employee actually possesses a protected characteristic, but also where the employee is wrongly perceived, stereotyped, or assessed by others as having such 
a characteristic. Protection will also extend to individuals who are treated less favourably due to their relationship or association with persons belonging to specific social groups.

Greater Employer Responsibility

The amendment extends organizational obligations related to prevent mobbing to smaller employers as well. Under the new regulations, employers with at least 10 employees will be required to define anti-mobbing principles, procedures, and measures either in their work regulations or, where no work regulations are required, in a formal workplace notice.

The new provisions impose more specific obligations on employers regarding the prevention of mobbing and discrimination. Merely having a formal procedure in place will no longer be sufficient. Employers will be required to take genuine preventive actions and respond appropriately to incidents of misconduct.

In practice, this means the need to:

• implement anti-mobbing and anti-discrimination procedures,
• establish rules for reporting inappropriate conduct,
• conduct investigations following the receipt of a complaint,
• provide support to individuals affected by mobbing or discrimination,
• carry out educational and awareness-raising activities.

Employers will have six months from the entry into force of the Act to prepare and implement the required procedures and internal regulations.

Higher Compensation for Victims

An individual who has experienced mobbing will be entitled to seek compensation for non-material damage in an amount not lower than six times the statutory minimum wage. It will also remain possible to pursue damages under the general civil law principles.

In cases involving violations of the principle of equal treatment, employees will be entitled to seek compensation or damages under the rules set out in the amended provisions of the Labour Code.

Protection Against Retaliation

The amendment also provides enhanced protection for individuals reporting violations of labour law. Protection will cover employees acting in good faith, as well as persons supporting victims.

The purpose of these measures is to create a safe environment for reporting irregularities without the risk of retaliation by employers or co-workers.

Consequences for Employers

Although the new regulations do not introduce a separate financial penalty solely for the absence of an anti-mobbing procedure, employers who fail to adapt their organizations to the new requirements face significant legal and financial risks.

In practice, the main threats include employment disputes, court proceedings, substantial compensation awards, legal representation costs, and reputational damage to the organization.

Time to Prepare the Organization

Although the new regulations will enter into force three months after the publication of the Act, namely on 5 November 2026, employers should not postpone compliance measures until the last moment.

In practice, implementing the new obligations may require not only updating work regulations, anti-mobbing procedures, and anti-discrimination policies, but also reviewing existing processes for receiving, investigating, and documenting reports of mobbing, discrimination, and other inappropriate workplace conduct.

Many organizations will also need to provide training for managers, HR departments, and individuals responsible for conducting internal investigations, ensuring that the new procedures become more than a formal requirement and instead serve as an effective tool for preventing violations of employees’ rights.

Author: Anna Sadowska, Payroll Project Manager in the HR and Payroll Outsourcing Department at Forvis Mazars.