The experience of being bullied affects not only the work situation, but the whole life of the person who faces it. Currently, legal regulations are insufficient and often cause difficulties in asserting one's rights in court.

A bill has been drafted at the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to clarify the legislation, adjust the definition of bullying to modern realities and, as a result, better protect victims of bullying. We have requested that the draft be included in the government's legislative work list.

Why do we need new regulations on bullying?

In the current definition of bullying, there are several elements that must occur together for the behaviour to be considered bullying. As a result, it is very difficult for victims to pursue their rights through the courts. Moreover, the definition of bullying has not been changed for more than 20 years and does not necessarily correspond to today's realities.

We need a clear and understandable definition and a better understanding of the law by both employees and employers. There also needs to be a unification of jurisprudence, i.e. greater consistency in the actions of the courts in bullying cases.

What are the main features of the bill authored by the Ministry of Labour?

Under the bill, the basic characteristic of bullying is to be the persistent harassment of an employee. The proposed definition of the phenomenon assumes making the determination of the existence of bullying independent of the intentionality of the perpetrator's action or the occurrence of a specific effect, and excludes incidental and one-off behaviour.

The project also involves:

- the need to set out anti-bullying and anti-discrimination rules in work regulations,

- placing an obligation on the employer to use preventive measures, to detect and respond to bullying and to support victims of bullying,

- exemption from civil liability of the employer if the bullying did not originate from the employee's superior and appropriate preventive measures have been implemented,

- establishing a minimum threshold for compensation for bullying of six monthly salaries.

We say no to a culture of bullying

The perpetrators must be severely punished and the victims protected. Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy, spoke about the need to amend the legislation on bullying and the ongoing work on the draft law at the November Co-Congress on Culture in Warsaw.