Collective dismissal – notification

A Kraków-based logistics company decides to restructure its warehouse operations. Within days, the HR director realises that terminating 25 employees triggers a formal procedure most managers have never encountered. The rules are strict. The timelines are unforgiving. Missing a single step can invalidate every dismissal in the batch.

Polish law on collective dismissals requires employers to notify the District Labour Office (Urząd Pracy, UP) and consult employee representatives before issuing any termination notice. The procedure applies when an employer with at least 20 employees plans to dismiss defined thresholds of staff within 30 days. Failure to follow the notification and consultation sequence renders the dismissals legally defective and exposes the company to reinstatement claims or compensation awards.

This guide walks through each step of the procedure – from identifying when the rules apply, through the consultation and notification sequence, to the most common errors that derail restructurings. Three business scenarios illustrate how the same framework plays out differently for a manufacturing plant, an IT services firm, and a foreign investor's Polish subsidiary.

When does the collective dismissal procedure apply?

The threshold question is straightforward, but employers regularly miscalculate it. Under Polish employment legislation, the collective dismissal regime applies to any employer with at least 20 employees who plans to terminate employment for reasons not attributable to individual employees within a rolling 30-day window. The headcount trigger is 10 employees if the workforce is below 100; 10% of employees (minimum 10) if the workforce is between 100 and 299; and 30 employees if the workforce is 300 or more.

Counting correctly matters enormously. The 30-day window is not a calendar month – it begins on the date of the first termination in the batch. Employers must count all terminations made for organisational or economic reasons, including mutual termination agreements concluded at the employer's initiative. (This last point surprises many HR teams: a "voluntary" departure offered by management still counts toward the threshold.)

Fixed-term contracts, probationary contracts, and agency workers are counted differently depending on the circumstances. A manufacturing client in Małopolska (winter 2025) discovered mid-process that its headcount of 98 had been miscalculated – agency workers had been excluded, pushing the true figure above 100 and changing the applicable threshold from 10 to 10% of the workforce. The procedural restart cost six weeks.

Employer has at least 20 employees on the date the plan is formed
Terminations are for reasons not attributable to individual employees
The planned number meets the threshold within any 30-day window
Mutual agreements offered by the employer count toward the threshold
Agency workers may be included depending on the engagement structure

Foreign investors should note that Polish employment legislation applies to all employees working in Poland, regardless of the employer's country of incorporation. A German investor's Warsaw subsidiary is fully subject to the regime. For a broader comparison of how collective dismissal rules operate across jurisdictions, see our employment practice page for France, which highlights key differences in consultation periods and severance obligations.

What are the consultation and notification steps?

The procedure has two parallel tracks: consultation with employee representatives and notification to the District Labour Office. Both must begin before any termination notice is issued. The consultation period lasts a minimum of 20 days from the date the employer delivers written information to employee representatives. No dismissal notice may be served during those 20 days.

The written information delivered to employee representatives must cover the reasons for the planned dismissals, the number and categories of employees affected, the criteria for selecting employees for dismissal, the planned timeline, and the proposed severance terms. Incomplete information resets the consultation clock. Courts have consistently held that vague references to "restructuring" do not satisfy the information requirement.

The notification to the District Labour Office must be filed simultaneously with the start of consultation – not after the consultation ends. The notification includes the same content as the information given to employee representatives, plus a copy of that document. The office then has 30 days to mediate or propose alternatives. Actual termination notices may not be served earlier than 30 days after the UP notification, even if the 20-day consultation period expires sooner.

We secured reinstatement protection for an IT sector employee in Mazowieckie (spring 2025) after the employer served termination notices on day 28 – two days before the mandatory 30-day UP notification period had elapsed. The dismissals were declared ineffective. The employer ultimately paid compensation equivalent to three months' salary per affected employee, in addition to legal costs.

If the employer reaches an agreement with employee representatives during consultation, the agreement supersedes the statutory minimum severance formula. If no agreement is reached, the employer may proceed unilaterally after the consultation period, but must document the failure to agree and record the reasons in writing.

How is severance calculated and when must it be paid?

Statutory severance under Polish employment law is calculated by reference to length of service and capped at 15 times the minimum wage. The scale is: one month's pay for service under two years; two months' pay for service between two and eight years; three months' pay for service exceeding eight years. In 2026, the minimum wage in Poland is PLN 4,666 gross per month, setting the statutory severance cap at approximately PLN 70,000.

Severance must be paid on the date the employment relationship ends – not at the end of the notice period if the employee is released from the obligation to work during notice. Delayed payment triggers statutory interest. Employers who fail to pay on time also risk claims before the Labour Court (Sąd Pracy), which can award additional compensation.

Three scenarios illustrate the economic stakes. A manufacturing plant with 250 employees dismissing 30 workers with average service of five years pays two months' average salary per head – a predictable cost that can be modelled in advance. An IT services firm dismissing 15 developers (each earning well above average) must check whether the 15-times minimum wage cap applies, since individual severance could otherwise exceed PLN 100,000 per person. A foreign investor's subsidiary conducting a cross-border restructuring must also consider whether any bilateral social security treaty affects payroll obligations during the notice period.

Employers sometimes attempt to reduce costs by classifying dismissals as performance-related rather than organisational. This approach carries serious risk. If a court finds that the real reason was economic restructuring, the employer loses the benefit of the simplified individual procedure and faces collective dismissal claims retroactively – forfeiting the procedural protections that come with following the correct route from the outset.

What are the most common mistakes employers make?

The most frequent error is starting consultation too late. Employers often begin internal planning, communicate informally with managers, and only then engage employee representatives – by which point some employees have already been informally notified. Courts treat any communication that could reasonably be understood as a decision to dismiss as triggering the consultation obligation. The 20-day consultation period must run from formal written notification, not from the date the employer considers the process "officially" started.

A second common mistake involves the employee representation structure. If a company has a trade union (związek zawodowy), consultation must be conducted with the union, not merely with a works council. Where no trade union exists, employees must elect representatives specifically for this purpose. Consulting the wrong body – or failing to facilitate the election of representatives in time – invalidates the consultation. Employers have a maximum of 10 days to organise representative elections if no standing body exists.

A third mistake is treating the UP notification as a formality. The District Labour Office is entitled to request additional information and to propose alternative measures. Employers who file incomplete notifications or ignore office correspondence risk having the 30-day waiting period reset. This is particularly damaging when the restructuring has a fixed business deadline.

For companies with employees holding a work permit Poland or an EU Blue Card, collective dismissal creates an additional compliance layer. The work permit or Blue Card is tied to a specific employer. Termination triggers obligations to notify the immigration authority, and the employee's right to remain in Poland is affected from the date employment ends. An employment lawyer Warsaw familiar with both labour and immigration rules is essential in these situations. For compliance guidance applicable to international employers, see our article on employment law compliance for Spain companies in Poland.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Does the collective dismissal procedure apply if the employer offers voluntary redundancy packages?

A: Yes. Under Polish employment legislation, mutual termination agreements concluded at the employer's initiative count toward the dismissal threshold. An employer who offers voluntary departures to 30 or more employees within 30 days triggers the collective dismissal regime even if no forced terminations occur. The notification and consultation obligations apply in full, and severance must meet at least the statutory minimum.

Q: How long does the entire procedure take from start to first termination notice?

A: The minimum timeline is 30 days from the date the District Labour Office receives the employer's notification – which must be filed on the same day consultation with employee representatives begins. In practice, preparing the required documentation, facilitating representative elections (up to 10 days), and completing the 20-day consultation period typically extends the total process to six to eight weeks before any termination notice can lawfully be served.

Q: Can a whistleblower who reported misconduct be included in a collective dismissal?

A: A whistleblower Poland is protected under Polish whistleblower legislation from retaliation, including dismissal. Including a protected whistleblower in a collective dismissal is not automatically prohibited, but the employer must demonstrate that the selection criteria are objective and that the dismissal is not connected to the report. Courts examine the timing closely. If the dismissal follows shortly after a protected disclosure, the burden shifts to the employer to prove the selection was genuinely independent of the whistleblowing activity.

What should employers prepare before starting the procedure?

Preparation determines whether the restructuring proceeds on schedule or stalls in litigation. Employers who assemble the required documentation before initiating consultation avoid the most common procedural resets. The checklist below reflects the documents and decisions that must be in place before the first formal step.

Updated headcount list confirming the employer meets the 20-employee threshold
Draft written information for employee representatives covering all statutory elements
Confirmation of which employee representation body exists or a plan to organise elections within 10 days
Severance cost model based on current minimum wage (PLN 4,666 in 2026) and individual service lengths
Immigration status check for any employees holding work permits or EU Blue Cards

For employers acquiring a Polish business and inheriting an existing workforce, the preparation stage should also include a review of any collective agreements in force. Collective agreements may provide severance entitlements above the statutory minimum. Missing this review is a recurring source of cost overruns in post-acquisition restructurings. Our guide on buying property in Poland touches on related due diligence considerations that apply in asset-heavy transactions.

Specific situations require tailored analysis. A company facing a collective dismissal with a fixed business deadline – a contract expiry, a facility closure, or a merger condition – cannot afford procedural errors that push the timeline past that deadline. The consequences are not merely inconvenient. Dismissals served before the 30-day UP notification period expires are legally ineffective, and employees may claim reinstatement with full back pay.

To receive an expert assessment of your restructuring timeline and documentation requirements, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.

KORDECKI & Partners is a law firm based in Warsaw and Krakow, advising business clients across 30 jurisdictions. Our team combines expertise in Polish and international law with a practical approach to employment restructuring, collective dismissal procedures, and workforce compliance. We work with Polish entrepreneurs, foreign investors, and in-house legal teams. To discuss your situation, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.