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New Amendments to the National Labour Inspectorate Act Signed by the President. Is Your Company Ready for the Changes?

On 2 April 2026, the President signed an amendment to the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate (“PIP”) and subsequently referred it to the Constitutional Tribunal for ex post review. This procedure does not delay the entry into force of the Act; accordingly, it will come into force three months after its promulgation, i.e. on 8 July 2026.

There is growing public interest in the amendment and in the issue of employment based on civil-law contracts. As noted by the Chief Labour Inspector, in recent months PIP has recorded a sharp and unprecedented increase in complaints, including in the area of B2B cooperation.

This is a good moment to review employment structures within your company and ensure that they operate correctly.

Establishing an employment relationship by administrative decision – a new power of PIP 

One of the most significant changes is the granting of the right to PIP inspectors to establish the existence of an employment relationship by way of an administrative decision. The decision-making process is to be multi-stage and allow the employer time to respond.

What will the procedure look like?

• Upon identifying irregularities, the inspector first issues a corrective order. This is an opportunity for voluntary rectification – a point at which the company can independently adapt its working arrangements to the recommendations (in principle, without further negative consequences from the PIP). Only failure to comply with this order allows the PIP to initiate administrative proceedings.
• If the employer fails to comply with the order, the case is taken over by the Regional Labour Inspector (OIP). The OIP notifies the parties (the employer and the employee) of the initiation of proceedings to issue a decision confirming the existence of an employment relationship. Importantly: during the proceedings, the authority takes the parties’ wishes into account, provided they do not contravene the law, the principles of social coexistence or seek to circumvent the law.
• If, following the proceedings, the OIP determines that an employment relationship exists, it issues a decision. The decision must specify: the parties to the contract, the type of contract, the type of work, the place of work, the working hours and the amount of remuneration. From the date of issue, the decision has legal effect under labour, tax, social security and health insurance law. Note: the decision does not have retroactive effect – establishing an employment relationship for previous years still requires bringing the matter before a court (standing to sue is primarily held by the employee and the National Labour Inspectorate).
• With the exception of groups subject to special protection (e.g. pregnant women, employees approaching retirement age), the decision is not immediately enforceable. The employer has one month to appeal to the labour court – the PIP’s decision will only become binding if it is upheld by a final judgment of the labour court.

Modern inspections and data analytics

The manner in which inspections are conducted will be adapted to current technological realities. 

Inspectors will be able to operate remotely, including verifying documents and conducting interviews online.

Information flow will also change—PIP, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), and the National Revenue Administration (KAS) will share a common analytical system, making administrative actions more precise and improving the detection of potential irregularities.

Individual interpretations – a simple protection tool 

The reform also introduces the possibility of obtaining an individual interpretation issued by the Chief Labour Inspector – a tool operating on similar principles to the individual interpretations issued by the Director of the National Tax Information Service in tax matters.

An application for an interpretation may concern determining whether the legal relationship described in the application (factual situation or future event) constitutes an employment relationship within the meaning of the Labour Code. The interpretation is binding on the State Labour Inspectorate – an employer who complies with the interpretation issued cannot be subject to administrative or financial sanctions or penalties to the extent that the interpretation applies.

This is an interesting tool, but for the time being we would recommend caution in its use – the planned amendments do not provide for the interpretation to be binding on the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) or the tax authorities. What is more, the Labour Inspectorate itself may decide not to follow the interpretation if it carries out an on-site inspection at the applicant’s premises and finds that the actual situation differs from that presented in the application.

Only time will tell whether and how the above concerns will be addressed.

Note – penalties will increase, but it will be possible to avoid them within 12 months 

For offences against employees’ rights (including entering into civil law contracts in circumstances where an employment contract should have been concluded, breaching working time regulations or paying underpaid wages) the fine under Article 281(1) of the Labour Code increases to between PLN 2,000 and PLN 60,000 (prior to the amendment, it ranged from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000).

There is also good news for employers – for one year from the entry into force of the new provisions on the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP), companies may voluntarily convert defective civil law contracts into permanent positions. If an employer carries out the conversion within the specified one-year period, they will not be liable for an offence under the aforementioned Article 281 § 1(1) of the Labour Code (meaning they need not worry about increased penalties).

However, the amnesty does not protect against any potential consequences from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) or tax offices.

New tools, but no revolution 

The amendment does not change the legal definition of an employment relationship, nor does it outlaw civil law contracts or B2B contracts.

Whether a given B2B contract has been concluded correctly should be assessed as before – in terms of its possible similarities to an employment relationship and its business justification.

Only the tools for enforcing the law are undergoing some modification – though it should be remembered that the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) already had the power to inspect businesses and bring actions before the labour court to establish the existence of an employment relationship on behalf of citizens. Currently, the PIP has gained the power to establish an employment relationship by means of an administrative decision, but such a decision is still subject to judicial review – in practice, therefore, it can be expected that the issue of establishing an employment relationship will be decided by the court.

An important consequence of the work on changes to the PIP’s operations (and one that remains regardless of whether the President ultimately signs the bill or decides to veto it) is certainly the increased public interest in the validity of civil law contracts.

In addition, the amendment is expected to bring about a certain increase in the intensity of inspections – by 2027, the National Labour Inspectorate is expected to hire almost 300 new staff.

The legislative change is not revolutionary, but it should be seen by entrepreneurs as an impetus to act. This is an appropriate time to conduct a thorough audit of the cooperation models used within your organisation (both in terms of their formal documentation and practical application) and to ensure the company is properly prepared for inspections by public authorities.

Author: Klaudia Kirejczyk