How much will Biedronka pay for blocking drivers? UOKiK fine exceeds 500 million PLN

In brief

525.5 million PLN fine for Biedronka for its role as the organizer of a market collusion.
The total sum of fines imposed by UOKiK in this case exceeds 570 million PLN.
The Biedronka chain officially contests the actions of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Record fine for Biedronka – details of the UOKiK decision

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) issued a decision on Monday, September 14, 2026, that shook the logistics market. Biedronka was fined 525.5 million PLN for organizing a collusion that restricted truck drivers' ability to change jobs to work for competitors. The authority leaves no room for doubt in its reasoning. According to officials, the retail chain was not merely a beneficiary of unfair practices, but the main organizer of the agreement.

The mechanism challenged by the regulator struck at the fundamental principles of a free labor market. Drivers, who are a key link in the supply chain, were allegedly effectively blocked from moving to other transport entities cooperating with the chain. In practice, this meant restricting the professional mobility of hundreds of people. UOKiK deemed such actions an illicit collusion that artificially stabilized human resources at the expense of the employees' interests and the principles of fair competition.

The scale of the financial sanction, exceeding half a billion PLN, places this decision among the most severe penalties imposed by the Polish antitrust authority. For a retailer of Biedronka's standing, this is a financial blow, but above all, a reputational one. The company is already contesting UOKiK's actions, announcing a fight to undermine the charges. The question is whether the chain's argument that it was merely ensuring supply continuity will prove sufficient before the competition court.

It is worth noting that conflicting data regarding the total value of fines in this case appeared in the media, reaching as high as 570 million PLN. However, the 525.5 million PLN amount applies directly to Biedronka. The remainder of the liabilities, if upheld, will be borne by the other entities participating in the collusion. This situation shows that officials are increasingly scrutinizing not only prices on shelves but also how retail giants manage their logistics back-end.

The "collusion" mechanism – how were drivers blocked?

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection left no doubt: Jeronimo Martins Polska, the owner of the Biedronka chain, was the main architect of an agreement that brutally restricted the freedom of choice in the labor market. The 525.5 million PLN fine, imposed on September 14, 2026, is the result of investigators' findings, which show that the retail chain did not act alone. It was an organized system forcing contractors to cooperate in blocking the flow of personnel.

The essence of the practice lay in informal arrangements between transport companies that carried out orders for the retail giant. Instead of fair competition for employees through better pay or job stability, these companies agreed not to poach each other's truck drivers. In practice, this meant creating a tight cordon around this professional group. A driver who wanted to change employers to work for a competitor encountered an invisible wall – the potential new employer was bound by the "collusion" and refused to hire them or deliberately discouraged the move.

Such an arrangement directly hit the interests of thousands of drivers, depriving them of the opportunity to negotiate better rates or change working conditions. The market was thus artificially frozen. Transport companies, instead of competing for the best professionals, became links in a system designed to keep Biedronka's logistics costs at a lower level. For the transport industry, this is a clear signal: UOKiK is putting an end to tolerating practices that treat employees as resources tied to the land, rather than as free participants in the labor market.

But will a financial penalty alone be enough to change the organizational culture of the largest market players? Biedronka is already announcing that it will contest the authority's actions, which suggests that the battle over the definition of "collusion" in logistics will only now move to the courtroom.

Biedronka as the "collusion organizer" – the giant's role

Biedronka was not merely a passive market participant in this case, but the main architect of the practice. In its decision of September 14, 2026, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) clearly identified the chain's owner as the organizer of a collusion that had stifled employment freedom in the transport industry for years. The mechanism was simple and ruthless: companies cooperating with the giant were not to poach each other's drivers, which in practice meant trapping employees within the rules established by the retailer.

The chain's role was confirmed by RMF24's findings, which point to the company's direct involvement in coordinating the actions of transport firms. It was Biedronka that allegedly imposed standards that made it impossible for truck drivers to change jobs to work for competitors. From an employee's perspective, the inability to move to another carrier serving the same market is a death sentence for financial advancement or improved working conditions.

The consequences are financially severe. The total fine imposed by UOKiK is 525.5 million PLN, which is one of the highest penalties in history for an entity in the retail sector. This amount does not come from thin air. The authority had to collect hard evidence that the chain was actively managing who could be employed, where, and under what terms.

The question remains how such a large corporation explains the charges of restricting the free labor market. The chain has already announced that it is contesting UOKiK's actions, which promises a long legal battle. For the thousands of drivers who felt like hostages to these agreements for years, the authority's verdict is a signal that a dominant position in the supply chain does not grant the right to manipulate the professional lives of external companies' employees. With this move, UOKiK has drawn a clear line – logistics cannot be based on gagging the labor market.

Over 570 million PLN in fines – who else will pay?

Biedronka is not the only entity that will feel the effects of today's decision by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The total sum of financial sanctions imposed by the regulator in this case exceeds 570 million PLN. These are figures that go beyond the retail chain itself, pointing to a broader mechanism in which transport companies cooperating with the giant were involved.

Newsmax Polska confirms that the fines were also distributed among transport companies that participated in the practice. The authority determined that Biedronka acted as the organizer of the collusion, but it is the chain that bears the lion's share of the financial responsibility, with an amount of 525.5 million PLN. The remainder, reaching nearly 45 million PLN, is charged to the other participants in the transport market.

The scale of the fines imposed shows UOKiK's clear determination to combat practices that, in theory, were supposed to ensure supply continuity, but in practice, restricted employees' freedom of choice. The mechanism was simple: drivers were to be deprived of the possibility of changing employers to work for competitors. For the transport industry, this is a shock. Many carriers cooperating with large retail chains must now verify their contracts for compliance with antitrust law, which may bring a wave of contract renegotiations in the coming months.

Here is how the burden of today's decisions is distributed:

525.5 million PLN – the amount of the fine imposed directly on the owner of the Biedronka chain, who was identified as the main architect of the collusion.
Over 45 million PLN – the sum of financial penalties charged to transport companies that participated in the agreement restricting the freedom of drivers to change jobs.
Over 570 million PLN – the total financial dimension of the UOKiK decision, which constitutes one of the highest cumulative fines in the logistics sector in recent years.

Such an amount is not just a statistic in an annual report. It is a signal to the market that attempts to "stabilize staff" at the expense of basic labor rights will be punished with full severity. The chain has already announced that it is contesting the authority's actions, so the case will likely find its conclusion in court, which could drag on for years.

The position of Biedronka's owner regarding the charges

In an official statement, the Biedronka chain disagrees with the decision of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The 525.5 million PLN amount imposed by the regulator is firmly contested by the chain's owner. The company's board refutes the accusations of organizing a collusion that was intended to restrict transport employees' ability to change jobs to work for competitors. In the eyes of the chain's representatives, UOKiK's actions are unjustified, and the authority's interpretation of the facts goes far beyond the standard framework of market competition.

Portal spożywczy confirmed that the chain is already announcing further legal steps. For Jeronimo Martins Polska, this is not the end of the battle. The company does not intend to passively watch the enforcement of the fine and will likely take the case to court to challenge the authority's findings. The defense strategy is based on questioning UOKiK's actions, which suggests a long-term court process in which each party will have to prove its version of events before an independent tribunal.

This approach clearly shows that Biedronka's owner does not recognize the ruling as final. From the perspective of the transport industry, such a move is risky. On one hand, the company is defending its good name and avoiding an immediate admission of guilt. On the other hand, a prolonged legal dispute could suspend the issue of potential compensation for drivers, whose freedom of employer choice was allegedly restricted, for years. For the labor market in logistics, this is a signal that retail giants do not intend to yield to regulators without a fight in the courtroom, even when hundreds of millions of PLN are at stake. Whether this tactic will bring the expected result or only deepen the chain's reputational crisis will only become clear in the coming months of hearings.

Consequences for the Polish transport market

Imposing a 525.5 million PLN fine on the owner of Biedronka is a shock to the logistics sector, the scale of which goes beyond the profit and loss account of a single company. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has made it clear: a collusion restricting truck drivers' ability to change jobs to work for competitors is an unacceptable practice that violates the basic rights of employees. In practice, this means that the labor market in transport can no longer be treated as a closed fiefdom where retail and logistics giants freely dispose of personnel, blocking the flow of specialists.

UOKiK's actions are a clear signal to all players of a similar operational scale. The authority is no longer looking only at shelf prices or relationships with suppliers, but is increasingly scrutinizing mechanisms that affect employment flexibility. For truck drivers, this means a real hope for greater freedom of choice of employer and the ability to negotiate rates based on true market competition, rather than arrangements between contractors.

However, the logistics industry must prepare for a difficult adjustment period. The owner of the Biedronka chain is already contesting the authority's decision, which promises a long legal battle. If the fine is upheld, it will force other large chains to audit their own contracts with transport companies to avoid similar charges. The problem is that in the maze of B2B contracts, where the boundaries between an order and actual employment blur, the distinction between cost optimization and restricting competition can be a very thin line for companies. Today's UOKiK decision shifts that line toward protecting the employee, but the transport market, struggling with a chronic shortage of drivers, will certainly not breathe a sigh of relief in the coming months. Is this the end of the era of quiet agreements? Many indications suggest that regulators will now be much less lenient.

What this means for you

Editorial angle: The fine shows that even the largest players on the market cannot use practices that restrict competition in the labor market. Drivers gain greater freedom of choice, while companies using anti-competitive agreements lose. The catch lies in the long-term court battle, which could last for years.

Questions and answers

Why couldn't drivers change jobs?

As a result of a collusion between transport companies, in which Biedronka was involved in the organization, employees' ability to freely move to competitors was restricted.

How much exactly is the fine for Biedronka?

The fine imposed on the Biedronka chain is 525.5 million PLN.

Does Biedronka admit guilt?

No, the Biedronka chain officially contests the actions and the decision of UOKiK in this matter.

Sources

Article prepared by the Wiadomości PRO editorial team with the support of artificial intelligence. Facts are derived from the sources provided above.