Business representatives and linguists warn that the lack of clear guidelines may lead to chaos and misunderstandings. Karol Wagner from the Tatra Chamber of Commerce (TIG) does not hide his concerns. In his opinion, the regulations may “ridicule employers and cause confusion.”
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Will the ads be misleading?
Wagner points out that Replacing traditional job titles with descriptive terms may mislead potential candidates. An example is replacing the word “lifeguard” or “lifeguard” with the term “person responsible for maintaining safety at the swimming pool”. He emphasized that such formulations may suggest that no specialized competences or certificates are required.
The TIG representative also notes that gender-neutral names are sometimes perceived by candidates as a signal of waiving the requirement of experience or qualifications. He pointed out that the hotel and catering industry traditionally used feminine names, such as “waitress” or “receptionist”, or masculine names, such as “pizzer” or “grillman”.
— Formal and legal guidelines should be respected, even if they cause confusion, Wagner emphasized, warning against a possible increase in the number of claims from candidates, especially against small companies.
Linguists criticize the lack of guidelines
Similar doubts are raised by Dr. Artur Czesak, a linguist, who criticizes the lack of official guidelines regarding gender-neutral names of professions. — The Ministry transferred an obligation to employers that it did not define itself. There is no catalog of neutral names or consistent guidelines on how to create them, he noted.
Dr. Czesak reminds that the updated classification of professions published in November still includes terms such as “financial director” and “medical secretary”. In his opinion, the lack of appropriate patterns may lead to legal disputes. — If someone believes that the “financial director” imposes a male vision of the profession, he or she may go to court. Similarly with “medical secretary”, which may be interpreted as implying gender, he warned.
The expert also drew attention to potential complications in official documentation. — Employers will create their own terms, such as “waiter person” or “waiter service person”. Later, there will be problems in reports to the Central Statistical Office or in pension calculations in ZUS, because today each profession name has an assigned code, he explained.
The ministry is not planning any guidelines
The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy (MRPiPS) announced that the new regulations will be enforced on general principles. The National Labor Inspectorate may take action both on its own initiative and on the basis of complaints. The Ministry emphasized that the Labor Code explicitly requires the use of gender-neutral job titles in job advertisements.
— Using one form of the job title in the advertisement will be considered a violation of the regulations — said the ministry. At the same time, the ministry emphasized that it does not plan to issue official guidelines or examples of neutral terms.
The new regulations apply only to the content of job advertisements and the recruitment stage, and not to other documents, such as employment contracts or internal regulations. For violating the regulations, the National Labor Inspectorate may impose a fine of up to PLN 2,000. PLN, and in the event of repeated infringement – up to PLN 5,000. zloty.
Gender neutrality and salary transparency
The changes to the Labor Code are part of the first package of regulations implementing the EU directive on pay transparency. In addition to the requirement to use neutral language in job advertisements, there is a ban on asking candidates about their previous remuneration. In the future, employers will also be required to report the wage gap. These obligations will apply to all companies, regardless of their size.
