Polish police retirees denied back pay in landmark court ruling

Poland's Supreme Administrative Court has issued a series of rulings denying back pay to police officers who retired in January and February 2023. The decision impacts thousands of former officers who left the force before a salary revaluation took effect on March 1, 2023. A special budget-related law had postponed the revaluation of base salaries for uniformed services from January 1 to March 1, 2023. Officers retiring in the first two months of the year received lower salaries for their final months of service and consequently had their retirement benefits calculated at a lower rate. They argued this constituted discrimination and violated the constitutional principle of equality, as those who remained in service after March 1 received a higher salary. The officers sought back pay and interest for January and February 2023. Provincial police commanders initially rejected these claims, stating that the final salaries and retirement benefits were calculated correctly according to the laws in effect at the time. The officers pursued the matter, but both the Provincial Administrative Courts and ultimately the Supreme Administrative Court sided with the police commanders. The Supreme Administrative Court noted that while there had been some divergence in judicial practice regarding the proper venue for such claims, administrative courts had largely handled similar cases. The court's detailed reasoning addressed the merits of the case and constitutional issues, ultimately concluding that the officers' claims for retroactive adjustments were unfounded under the existing legal framework.