NGOs raise concern over decision by Polish PM’s equal treatment office to fire worker after childbirth

Apr 7, 2026 | Law, Politics, Society

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Four NGOs, including Amnesty International and the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights, have raised concern over the dismissal of a senior official from the prime minister’s department for equal treatment shortly after she gave birth, saying that it may constitute discrimination.

The case concerns Milena Adamczewska-Stachura, the department’s deputy director, who went on medical leave in June, gave birth in September, and was then dismissed in October. Her case was first reported last month by the Wirtualna Polska news website.

Adamczewska-Stachura claims she was dismissed due to being on parental leave and notes that no justification was provided for the decision. She called the move a violation of workers’ rights that “bears the hallmarks of gender-based discrimination”, adding that there had been “no concerns” about her performance.

However, Katarzyna Kotula, who oversees the department as the government’s plenipotentiary for equality, disputes this account. She maintains that Adamczewska-Stachura has not been fired, retains full employment rights, and may return to work at any time.

According to Polish law, appointed officials can be dismissed at any time by the body which appointed them. But the fact that the woman was let go shortly after giving birth, and by a government office that is meant to fight discrimination and promote equality, has raised ethical and legal questions.

A labour lawyer told Wirtualna Polska that, although dismissals are generally “legally permissible”, they must be assessed in context. A dismissal based on an employee’s exercise of maternity rights would be an example of unlawful discrimination, she explained.

Adamczewska-Stachura said that the letter she received about her dismissal stated that her notice period would begin when her parental leave expires, and that when the notice period subsequently ends, her employment would be terminated.

 

Her position has now been endorsed by four organisations: Amnesty International Polska, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFPC), the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law (PTPA) and Love Does Not Exclude (MNW).

They argued in a letter that the dismissal “could constitute discrimination based on gender, motherhood, and the exercise of parental rights”, and was “directly related to the woman giving birth to a child and, consequently, her being on maternity leave”.

“We believe that an institution established to uphold equality should serve as a model for implementing these values ​​within its own structures,” they added, and demanded that the government take action to clarify the case and Kotula’s role in it.

In July, Kotula herself lost her previous post as equality minister amid a cabinet reshuffle. She then became plenipotentiary for equality. She is a prominent figure in The Left (Lewica), a junior partner in the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The head of The Left’s parliamentary caucus, Anna-Maria Żukowska, defended Kotula, saying that she “has no influence over personnel decisions” at the prime minister’s office and added that the dismissal was a consequence of the government’s “marginalisation” of equal treatment policies.

The Left won 8.6% of votes in parliamentary elections in 2023 and joined Tusk’s government with pledges to strengthen women’s, workers’, and LGBT rights.

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Mart Production / Pexels

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