Criticism of an employee – is this already mobbing?

The 3rd Labor and Social Insurance Division of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw in its judgment of October 24, 2019 (reference number III APa 10/18) stated that even unfair but incidental criticism of an employee cannot be classified as mobbing. The very feeling of an employee that the actions and behavior taken towards him or her are mobbing is not a sufficient basis for stating that he actually occurs.

Pursuant to Art. 943 § 2 of the Labor Code, mobbing means actions or behaviors concerning an employee or directed against an employee, consisting in persistent and long-term harassment or intimidation of an employee, causing him to underestimate his professional suitability, causing or aimed at humiliating or ridiculing the employee, isolating or eliminating him from team of associates.

In this case, the court emphasized that the employee’s opinions and feelings are his subjective opinion, and when assessing whether a given behavior meets the conditions for mobbing, an objective measure should be used, thus eliminating the cases of excessive sensitivity of the employee. By the way, the Court added that it is worth bearing in mind that, according to the views expressed in the jurisprudence, even unfair, but incidental, criticism of an employee cannot be classified as mobbing. The Court of Appeal in Katowice of February 8, 2018, in judgment ref. No. III APa 74/17.

It should be pointed out that the content of the testimonies of the witnesses interviewed in the present case did not in any way indicate that the employee was harassed, isolated, humiliated or intimidated. As part of the duties related to the managerial position, the supervisor talked with all employees about their work, expressing her opinion. According to the Court, such behavior of the superior was a normal practice, consistent with the interests of the employer, and did not raise any objections from other employees. Despite the fact that the employee was criticized by the supervisor, it was impossible to say that he was actually a victim of mobbing.

KS