Paweł Zyskowski for Rzeczpospolita: “Mass layoffs under special protection”
Group layoffs of at least 50 employees within a three-month period impose additional obligations on employers – they must prepare a comprehensive support plan for the dismissed employees. In his article for Rzeczpospolita, associate Paweł Zyskowski writes about the updated regulations on monitored layoffs, which came into force on June 1, 2025. Read the article in Polish here!
Monitored layoffs are a tool designed to mitigate the effects of mass redundancies by providing dismissed employees with support in finding new jobs and upgrading their skills. This solution, already in place in other EU countries, is intended to increase employer accountability and strengthen cooperation with public employment services.
Conditions for applying monitored layoffs
The obligation to carry out monitored layoffs arises when three conditions are met together: the scale of the reduction (at least 50 employees within a three-month period), a reason independent of the employees (such as restructuring or job eliminations), and the collective nature of the dismissals. In such cases, the employer must agree with the local labor office on a support program that includes, among other things, job placement, career counseling, and training.
The support program may be financed from the employer’s own resources, subsidies from the local labor office, the regional government, or other entities. Although the law does not provide for strict financial penalties, failure to comply may result in inspections and employee claims related to procedural breaches.
When must an employer apply the monitored layoffs procedure? What obligations does the Act on monitored layoffs impose on employers? What funding sources are available for support programs for dismissed employees? Paweł Zyskowski addresses these and many other questions concerning the new monitored layoff regulations in his article published in Rzeczpospolita.
