Employer’s liability for breaching the employee's personal rights

However, this list is open-ended. The case law and legal practice show that the employee's personal rights may be violated by unlawful actions such as:

Personal rights may also include information about the salary, which the employer cannot disclose without the employee’s consent, as well as the employee’s right to family life. 

The law obligates the employer not only to respect the employee’s personal rights but also to prevent violations and take appropriate measures to protect those rights. Therefore, to escape liability, the employer must demonstrate that he has taken specific actions or has actionable procedures to detect and abolish unlawful practices. Thus, the employer is liable for violations even if he himself does not act unlawfully. Accordingly, if the violator is another employee, superior or a person who assesses the claimant’s work at the employer’s request, a lawsuit has to be filed also against the employer. Nevertheless, the employer’s liability is limited to the damage caused by a third party’s actions while performing employee duties. 

If any of the above-listed rights are violated, Article 24 of the Civil Code grants the employee claims for cease and desist from the violation, removal of its effects as well as for damages or payment of a certain amount to a public cause. Furthermore, the employee may demand a public statement to be issued by the violator. Notwithstanding the damages, the employee may also terminate the employment contract for reasons attributable to the employer. He or she is then entitled to damages in the amount equal to compensation for notice period and in the case of a fixed-term contract – compensation for the remaining contract duration, but no more than for notice period. 

In order to seek cash damages from the employer, it is necessary to identify the violated right and determine whether the employer's actions have been unlawful. The employer’s actions are unlawful in such a case if the right is violated in contravention of standards of law or social norms. Importantly, the claim for violation of the employee's personal rights differs from claims for workplace bullying. The employer’s actions carry the hallmarks of workplace bullying if they meet all of the criteria set out in Article 943(2) of the Labour Code. It defines workplace bullying as: 

Therefore, not all violations of the employee’s personal rights meet the criteria of workplace bullying. Still, this does not rule out the employer’s liability under the laws protecting the employee’s personal rights. The employee’s dignity may suffer in particular. As a consequence, every case of workplace bullying violates the employee's personal rights, but not every violation of the employee's personal rights is workplace bullying. 

Remember also that not every action against the employee’s personal rights may underlie claims based on the Civil Code. Whether there has been a violation depends on objective criteria, and not only the alleged victim’s feelings (which is a subjective criterion). There must also be an action against legal order and social norms (objective criterion). Case law also indicates that not all actions, even those unwelcome by the citizenry, justify a claim for protection. As a consequence, the court may refuse to award compensation if the injured person's suffering or ailment inflicted by the employer’s actions is insignificant. The court determines the amount of damages taking account of the severity of the violation, its duration and persistence, the entirety of facts and circumstances, as well as the extent of injury. The perpetrator's culpability also influences the amount of damages. Still, there are no statutory criteria for determining the damages, so the court judges have considerable leeway here. The damages requested in a lawsuit must represent some economic quantifiable value and correspond with the suffered injury. Nevertheless, the monetary damages cannot be overstated so much as to be only punitive and deterrent, out of proportion to the sustained injury. The main function of the damages is to compensate the injured for the damage suffered. Still, the amount of damages is up to the court. 

Proceedings for violation of an employee's personal rights follow a separate procedure, prescribed to labour law cases. If an employee seeks monetary damages only, the district or regional court of proper venue will depend on the amount in controversy, which is the amount of damages sought in such a case. If it exceeds 100 thousand zloty, the lawsuit has to be submitted to a regional court. Moreover, damages trigger an indefinite liability, so they become due once the debtor is called upon to fulfil it. Yet, be mindful that claims for violation of personal rights become time-barred three years after the day on which the injured learns about the violation and the person obliged to remedy the damage. ​