Amendment to the National Labor Inspectorate Act (PIP) effective from 2026—what’s in it for employers and how to get ready 

Key impacts on employers

1. Administrative decisions replacing court rulings to establish an employment relationship

Regional PIP inspectors will be empowered to independently identify an employment relationship, with no need to take the case to court. This is a fundamental shift that could result in a wave of civil law contracts being reclassified as contracts of employment.

2. Immediate enforceability of decisions

An  inspector’s decision will be effective from the date it is issued. Employers will be required to:

• pay wages in accordance with the Labor Code;
• maintain employee records;
• register an employee with the ZUS;
• fulfill other duties such as granting an employee leave/paid holiday;
• calculate and remit social security contributions and advance PIT payments.

Tax and social security compliance duties for periods before the date of a decision will be suspended until the case becomes non-appealable or a final court judgment is issued.

3. Appeal procedure

An employer can appeal a PIP decision to:

• the Chief Labor Inspector (within 7 days of receiving the decision); and then
• a district labor court (within month of receiving the Chief Inspector’s decision).

These deadlines are very short.

4. Remote inspections and digitization

The draft legislation provides for inter alia:

• remote inspections (e.g., viewing the workplace using a camera);
• online hearings of witnesses;
• electronic filings;
• electronic records and decisions.

5. Extended scope of compliance checks/inspections

The PIP will be authorized to inspect not only employers, but also other entities to which work was provided, including cases involving self-employed individuals (sole traders).

6. Higher penalties

The bill sets out doubled maximum fines for breaches of labor law—from PLN 30,000 and 45,000 to PLN 60,000 and 90,000 respectively.

Risks for employers

The new powers imply various challenges that may significantly affect businesses:

• Increased risk of inspections: Regional PIP inspectors’ new powers could lead to more frequent and more detailed inspections.
• Reclassification of B2B arrangements and civil law contracts: This may require that overdue taxes and social security contributions be paid for past periods.
• Liability of Management: If social security/tax arrears are assessed, Board members may face criminal or fiscal liability.
• Higher labor costs: Realigned cooperation models could impact profitability and cash flows.
• Heavier administrative burden: Employers must document the nature of their cooperation with individuals and prepare for audits.

How to get ready?

To minimize the risk of adverse impacts, organizations should act promptly to:

1. revisit their civil law and B2B contracts to find out if they exhibit features of employment relationships and clarify/modify critical elements;
2. define/update cooperation models to clearly distinguish between employment and contracting/outsourcing and develop a business rationale in the form of an internal policy;
3. design alternative cooperation formats to help protect their margins and continue operating effectively;
4. hold proper documentation and records to ensure full compliance with the Labor Code;
5. train HR, payroll, tax, and procurement teams to upskill and prepare them for new procedures and potential compliance checks/inspections;
6. work out an action plan to tackle PIP decisions through developing response and communication scenarios.