Poland's Health Minister Faces Scrutiny Over Severance Payment Linked to Non-Competition Clause

A controversy has emerged in Poland regarding a severance payment for the current Minister of Health, Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, stemming from her previous position as CEO of Pomorskie Hospitals. The payment is tied to a non-competition clause in her management contract, intended to protect company secrets.

Leszek Bonna, the deputy marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and responsible for regional healthcare, stated that the provision of this severance payment was examined by legal counsel and is compliant with the law. He asserted that changes were made in 2025 to standardize contracts for the management boards of all the region's companies, including medical ones.

However, "Gazeta Wyborcza" reported that the regional office altered the remuneration rules for managers just 10 days before Sobierańska-Grenda's appointment as minister. The official response from the office's press department claims the non-competition clause and its associated compensation were introduced in January 2023, not 2025 as some media suggest. This contradicts public records, which show a 2017 resolution on remuneration principles and a July 2025 resolution that appears to abolish the earlier one and introduce the new, more favorable terms, including a non-competition clause with compensation up to 100% of monthly fixed salary for a maximum of six months.