Under a new legislative proposal, the current SME Ombudsman (Rzecznik Małych i Średnich Przedsiębiorców) will be transformed into the Entrepreneur Rights Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Przedsiębiorców) and granted new powers. The most significant changes include the ability to represent all businesses—regardless of size—as well as farmers, and the right to propose legislation. The government is expected to address the bill in the coming weeks.
“The pending amendment to the Act on the SME Ombudsman originated as a government project from the Ministry of Development. It is already included in the legislative work schedule, and I hope it will be adopted in the second quarter of this year,” said Agnieszka Majewska, the SME Ombudsman, in an interview with Newseria news agency. “The amendment not only changes the Ombudsman’s competences but also the name—becoming the Entrepreneur Rights Ombudsman—which will allow us to support all entrepreneurs, including farmers, who so far were not covered under the current law.”
The current regulations, in effect since March 2018, have shown gaps and ambiguities over the past six years. The Ministry of Development and Technology (MRiT) emphasizes that the new draft aims to close these gaps to enable the Ombudsman to provide more effective support to entrepreneurs. Strengthening the role of the Ombudsman is expected to directly improve the legal environment for doing business in Poland, offering better conditions for operations and growth.
Besides farmers, the Entrepreneur Rights Ombudsman will also extend protection to individuals in freelance professions, sole shareholders of limited liability companies, partners in general, limited, or partnership companies, shareholders of simple joint-stock companies contributing in-kind capital, and general partners in limited joint-stock partnerships.
“The bill also stipulates that we will be able to support partners in general partnerships or limited liability companies. Until now, if a decision was issued against a partner, we couldn’t intervene because they were considered private individuals, not entrepreneurs,” Majewska explained. “Another very important change is that we will be able to have our own representative for EU affairs based in Brussels.”
The Ministry notes that there are currently insufficient mechanisms allowing the Ombudsman to actively participate in the creation and monitoring of EU legislation affecting entrepreneurs’ rights and interests—an important point given that a large portion of Poland’s business regulations stem from EU law.
“And most importantly, the Ombudsman will gain legislative initiative powers. All legislative drafts will need to be submitted to the Ombudsman, allowing us to issue opinions—and we will also be able to propose our own legislative projects,” the SME Ombudsman said.
Until now, due to the lack of a requirement to consult the Ombudsman on legislative proposals affecting business law, the office was often excluded from crucial regulatory processes.
“The Ombudsman only issues opinions on some regulatory projects—and even then, not all drafts reach us. Ministries are not obliged to submit them, so some do, others don’t. If this obligation is introduced, we’ll be able to take an active part in the legislative process and influence how laws are shaped. I hope this will strengthen not just the SME sector, but all entrepreneurs in Poland,” Majewska emphasized.
Both the Ombudsman and the drafters of the new regulations stress that expanding competences will not weaken the institution’s protective role towards micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
“The SME sector is the backbone of our economy, representing over 2.5 million businesses. They remain our priority. Why do I want to cover all entrepreneurs? Because large companies also approach us with legislative issues. They usually don’t need intervention support—they have their own legal teams—but when it comes to regulatory changes, they reach out, as large companies are often closely tied to smaller ones, and that’s where problems arise,” Majewska explained.
According to the Ministry’s plans, the project will also strengthen the Ombudsman’s role in administrative mediation between businesses and public administration, and standardize regulations regarding participation in civil and administrative court proceedings. Clarifying powers related to initiating proceedings, participating in them, and recovering legal costs is expected to improve the effectiveness of support provided to entrepreneurs.
