Labour discrimination in Poland. He said he had a British passport twice his salary

On social media there was a recording of a man who shared his experiences with an interview in 1 of the Warsaw corporations. His relation attracted large interest and led to discussions about wage inequality in Poland. The event in question sheds light on the problem that workers in global companies operating on the Polish marketplace are increasingly facing.

Pay discrimination or corporate reality?

The man who published the movie on social media described the situation that occurred during the interview. Initially, he was offered a wage of PLN 8,000 gross, which is the average rate on the Polish labour marketplace in any sectors. However, erstwhile he informed recruiters that he had British citizenship and pulled out an English passport, there was an unexpected return on the stock.

– I was just having a occupation interview with 1 of the Warsaw corporations – reports a man on the video. – They offered me a certain amount, let's face it, the Polish average of 8 1000 gross.

The situation changed erstwhile the interviewer revealed his British citizenship. After this information, the company's president, being British, decided personally to participate in the conversation and yet offered the candidate twice as much salary.

– If you want to work for me, I'll offer you more than any another Pole, offer you twice their salary. – the manager said.

Unit case or bigger problem?

Although the man yet did not accept these conditions and published his experiences on social media, his communicative sparked an avalanche of comments. Is this practice an individual case, or is it a wider problem concerning the labour marketplace in Poland?

In the context of Polish labour law, the differentiation of salaries on grounds of nationality can be considered discrimination, which is incompatible with the applicable rules. Article 18(3a) The Labour Code makes it clear that the employer is obliged to treat workers equally, regardless of their nationality or nationality. The rule of equal treatment means that all workers should receive equal pay for equal work.

It is worth recalling here the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (TEU) in Case C-303/06, where it has been established that the differentiation of employment conditions and remuneration solely on grounds of nationality is contrary to the EU's principles of freedom of movement of workers.

Real differences in the labour market

However, despite these provisions, in fact the differences in wages can arise from many factors, specified as skills, experience, wage negotiations or the employer's marketplace position. In global corporations, it is frequently the case that abroad workers are better paid, which can be the consequence of the wage standards adopted in their countries of origin.

In addition, employers sometimes offer higher salaries to Western citizens to attract talent from abroad. However, this is not a practice that should be accepted if it is done at the expense of inequality with another workers in the same position.

Are Polish regulations sufficient?

Although Polish labour law explicitly prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality, this situation shows that there are inactive gaps in its enforcement. Workers may feel powerless in dealing with specified situations, especially erstwhile they concern large corporations with a strong position on the market.

Both public institutions and NGOs, specified as the State Labour Inspection and the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation, aim to combat discrimination on the labour market. However, in practice, many cases stay unresolved due to deficiency of evidence or difficulties in proving infringements.

Summary

The communicative of a man who, during the interview, received an offer of twice the wage after the disclosure of British citizenship is an interesting case. It points to a problem that may affect the wider labour marketplace in Poland, where abroad workers can be better rewarded than their Polish colleagues, which may constitute a violation of the rule of equal treatment. However, without concrete evidence and more specified cases, it is hard to find clearly whether this is simply a common phenomenon or an individual incident.

There is no uncertainty that in this case, there was a violation of labour law by an entrepreneur who recruited the character of this recording. Where a Pole recruiting for specified a establishment meets during the recruitment process. In the light of labour law, specified practices as the character of the recording of the criteria of unauthorised discrimination and are prohibited.

The provisions on unequal treatment can be found in Article 183a 1 of the Labour Code (K.p.). He says that the employer is obliged to treat candidates for work equally and not to discriminate against them on grounds of gender, age, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation or disability. It is besides worth noting that the prohibition of discrimination referred to above is already in force at the phase of establishing an employment relationship, and so applies to all recruitment phases, including the earliest of them, employment notices.

It is worth knowing that if an employer violates a ban on equal treatment in the recruitment process, they are entitled to compensation of no little than the minimum wage for work. The Labour Code does not specify the maximum amount of specified compensation – it is precisely established by the labour court, according to the circumstances of the case.
Any worker can read the Labour Code with the rights. It is besides possible to order legal advice from our law firm on this subject. For this, delight contact us by sending a message to: Contactlegartis.pl