Think the Whistleblower Act Doesn't Apply to You? Check Before 1 July

The 50-person threshold under Poland's Whistleblower Act includes not just employees — contractors and B2B workers count too. The next verification date is 1 July 2026.

Poland's Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers of 14 June 2024 has been in force since 25 September 2024, and for many business owners the topic seems settled. What is worth knowing is that this obligation is not a one-off check — the employment threshold must be verified twice a year, and the next reference date is 1 July 2026.

What Does the Obligation Involve?

Under Article 23(1) of the Act, the obligation to establish an internal reporting procedure applies to any legal entity for which, as of 1 January or 1 July of a given year, at least 50 persons perform paid work. The two reference dates mean the headcount is assessed on a rolling basis: a company that had 47 persons on 1 January 2025 but reaches fifty on 1 July 2026 becomes obliged on that very date and cannot wait until the following year.

Who Counts Towards the 50-Person Threshold?

This is where the most common misunderstanding lies. Under Article 23(2), the count includes not only employees on employment contracts. It also covers:

• employees calculated in full-time equivalents, and
• persons performing paid work on a basis other than an employment relationship — including contractors, persons working under task contracts, and B2B collaborators, provided they do not themselves employ others for that type of work, regardless of their employment basis.

For companies where B2B arrangements are the norm — IT, marketing, consulting — the actual number of "persons performing paid work" is often significantly higher than the headcount on payroll. Crossing the threshold without realising it is a real risk.

Exception: the Financial Sector

The 50-person threshold does not apply (Article 23(3)) to entities operating in the area of financial services, products and markets, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, transport safety, and environmental protection. Those entities must implement the procedure regardless of the number of persons performing paid work for them.

What Are the Consequences of Non-Compliance?

The Act provides specific penalties for those responsible for establishing the internal reporting procedure:

• failure to establish a procedure or establishing one with material defects (Article 58) constitutes a petty offence punishable by a fine.

What to Do Before 1 July?

Business owners should verify their headcount as of the reference date in the broadest sense — employees, contractors, and B2B collaborators combined — as well as any planned staffing decisions in the near term. If the number of persons performing paid work is 50 or more, it will be necessary to prepare an internal reporting procedure, a reporting channel and a register, in compliance with the consultation requirements under the Act. If you are close to the threshold, treat the matter seriously — a single additional person can be enough to trigger the obligation.