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Małgorzata Grzelak
Partner
Małgorzata Grzelak heads the Warsaw Labor & Employment team. Małgorzata’s practice focuses on labor, employment and immigration law, as well as related compliance, corporate and commercial issues. She advises clients in the production, commercial and service sectors, with a particular focus on advising IT/technology, shared services centers/BPO and medical technology/products companies.
Małgorzata provides advice to corporate clients in the course of their operations in Poland, including all aspects of setting up a business presence in Poland, the structuring of labor and employment relations, immigration, and various corporate and contract law issues.
She counsels both local and international entrepreneurs conducting business in Poland with respect to contract, collective and individual labor law, as well as trade union and works council relations. Małgorzata’s work often includes advising on posted workers’ rules, as well as complex business immigration matters.
Compliance work forms a significant part of Małgorzata’s practice. She advises clients on the increasingly important data protection aspects of employment relations and on internal investigations processes, including bullying, harassment or white collar crime. In addition, her practice focuses on the protection of employers’ interests, including restrictive covenants and unfair competition actions. Małgorzata also advises clients on various aspects of occupational safety and health regulations.
She has served as counsel in numerous merger and acquisition transactions and restructuring processes, particularly focusing on employee takeovers and the legal aspects of remuneration systems and labor organizations.
She also advises on closing operations in Poland, including mass redundancies.
Małgorzata has been continuously recommended for her employment work in The Legal 500 EMEA. Most recently, she has been recognized in Chambers Europe 2019 as up and coming, as well as recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 for Poland – Employment.
- Counseling a medical technology and wound management products company in the process of setting up a new operational center in Poland and in adjusting its existing corporate structure to the new scope of operations; in structuring employment relations, internal policies, daily compliance matters, and health and safety; in the areas of recruitment, the transfer of work establishments, immigration law and employee representation; and in engaging with the labor inspection and other authorities.
- Providing ongoing counseling to a motor vehicle parts manufacturer on the transfer of employees, unification and implementation of new collective labor law regulations (remuneration regulations, work regulations, social benefits fund regulations and business travel regulations), and various individual employee cases relating to recruitment, current staff dismissals, training and implementation of internal employee-related policies, including negotiations with suppliers of services for employees.
- Providing legal counsel to an international bank on social security premiums and payments for its employees in Poland and counseling on proposing new rules and regulations pertaining to compensation and bonuses.
- Counseling a bank’s majority shareholder in structuring bonus schemes for the senior management and key personnel of the bank located in Poland.
- Providing legal counsel to a capital group of furniture producers in Poland on structuring employment relations with its directors and officers including employment contracts and noncompete covenants, as well as transfer of undertakings (employees) procedures and negotiations of collective regulations for the workplace.
- Counseling the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment on immigration issues in Poland.
- Counseling an India-based software services and consulting company on structuring labor and employment relations in its Poland office, as well as providing legal counsel on immigration issues pertaining to non-EU citizens.
- Counseling a five-star hotel on individual and collective labor issues and employment disputes.
- Providing legal counsel to companies from the energy sector (a national power grid operator and its subsidiaries) in negotiations with trade unions operating in the companies; the implementation of the new remuneration system; collective labor disputes with trade unions; the process of transferring employees and negotiations with trade unions in pursuance of EU directives; and negotiations of collective bargaining agreements.
- Analyzing the remuneration and work organization system for a paper products manufacturer, providing day-to-day counseling in individual and collective labor law issues and advising on employment disputes, relations with trade unions, and implementation of collective regulations on remuneration and work organization.
- Counseling a non-Poland-based investor on negotiations of a social package in the privatization of a ceramics producer.
- Counseling a telecom company in implementation of compensation and organizational regulations, elections of work council and various employment issues including contract drafting and termination.
- Counseling a Belgium-based leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals for the pulp and paper industry in an employment dispute in Poland.
- Advising private investors on numerous mergers and acquisitions projects in the service sector and other branches of industry.
Education
- University of Lodz, J.D., 1999
- Universitá degli Studi di Reggio Calabria, 1997
Admissions
- Warsaw Bar Association, 2003
Languages
- English
- Italian
- Polish
- Recognized in The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 for Poland – Employment.
- “As far as the Employment practice is concerned, we cooperate with partner Malgorzata Grzelak. She provides very professional services, timely and quick response to requests, clearly prepares her opinions and interpretations based on a careful analysis of the legal/factual status. Mrs. Grzelak can smoothly establish professional contacts with all participants of the proceedings.” – The Legal 500 EMEA 2021
- “I would highly recommend Malgorzata Grzelak. She is extremely responsive (even when on vacation) and provides succinct advice which is readily understandable outside of legal and irrespective of language barriers; quick grasp of issues and requirements of the business in short timescales; commitment to fee quote; and willingness to support, including out of hours.” – The Legal 500 EMEA 2021
- Recognized in Chambers Europe 2019 for Poland – Employment as Up and Coming, and mentioned as having "strong business acumen" and not using "the legalese that is difficult to somebody who is not a lawyer."
- Recommended for employment in The Legal 500 EMEA 2018 as "commercially minded and responsive", providing "practical and reliable" advice.
- Recommended for employment in The Legal 500 EMEA 2017 and noted as “extremely professional and client-oriented.”
- Recognized as an up and coming lawyer for employment in Chambers Europe 2017 as “very thorough and anticipates clients' concerns” and “business-oriented, very communicative and friendly.”