Poland: New Draft Amendments to the State Labour Inspectorate Act

In January 2026, the Prime Minister announced that work on the draft expanding the powers of the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) would not continue. Ultimately, however, work resumed in a modified form and a new version of the draft amendment was published.

The key changes concern:

• PIP’s power to issue orders – the authority will be able to order the removal of violations relating to civil law contracts or actual performance of work in conditions where an employment contract should have been concluded. Failure to comply with the order will result in a decision declaring the existence of an employment relationship;
• decisions of the regional labour inspector – the date of conclusion of the employment contract will be the date of issue of the decision. The decision takes effect in terms of labour law, tax law, social insurance and mandatory fund contributions from the date of its issue. Enforceability of the decision arises upon expiry of the appeal period or on the date of a final court ruling. However, if the employer terminates the civil law contract or ceases the engagement during the proceedings, the date of conclusion of the employment contract will be the date on which the inspection commenced;
• the Chief Labour Inspector will be able to issue individual interpretations on whether a given legal relationship constitutes an employment contract;
• court and administrative proceedings – the draft introduces single-instance administrative proceedings, accelerates court procedures and provides safeguards for employees during disputes. Courts will be able to rule at a closed hearing, issue preliminary and partial judgments, and parties will be required to submit all evidence at the outset of the proceedings;
• employee protection and transitional period for employers – persons subject to proceedings cannot be subjected to retaliation by the employer. Employers will have six months to voluntarily convert civil law contracts into employment contracts in order to avoid penalties.

The draft provides for the provisions to enter into force three months after publication in the Journal of Laws.