State Labor Inspection (PIP) Reform Signed by the President

On April 2, 2026, the President of the Republic of Poland signed a law authorizing PIP to convert civil law contracts into employment contracts. Below are the most important changes:

The Regional Labor Inspector will determine, by way of a decision, the existence of an employment relationship

• in a situation where a civil law contract was concluded instead of an employment contract, or where the work is actually performed under conditions characteristic of an employment relationship,
• if the employer fails to comply with the inspector’s order to change the type of contract.

The employer will have the right to appeal such a decision to the competent regional labor inspector, and subsequently, if the inspector rejects the appeal, to the court.

The Chief Labor Inspector will be able to issue individual interpretations – at the request of the interested party, the Chief Labor Inspector will be able to determine whether a given legal relationship constitutes an employment contract within the meaning of the Labor Code.

Broader scope of inspection – The PIP will also be able to inspect entities that lost their employer status or ceased to employ people on grounds other than an employment relationship within the year preceding the inspection.

Cooperation between the PIP and ZUS – inspectors will gain access to data on insured persons and contribution payers.

Digitization – PIP inspections may be conducted remotely, and post-inspection documentation may be maintained in electronic form.

Decisions of labor inspectors

• The formal requirements regarding the content of written decisions have been clarified;
• The instances in which it is permissible to issue oral decisions and instructions during an inspection have been limited.

Misdemeanors – fines for violations of employee rights listed in the Labor Code have been doubled. This applies, among other things, to failure to pay wages on time, failure to grant leave, or failure to comply with health and safety regulations.

The Act will enter into force three months after its publication, except for provisions unrelated to the conversion of contracts, which will enter into force immediately upon publication.

The anticipated effective date for the main part of the Act is therefore July/August 2026.

Text of the Act (in Polish): Act

Download: Legal-Alert-Reforma-PIP-z-podpisem-Prezydenta.pdf