The National Labor Inspectorate (PIP) with Broader Powers—What Has Changed for Employers Since July 8, 2026?

Since July 8, 2026, new regulations expanding the powers of Poland's National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) have been in force. They form part of the reforms envisaged under the National Recovery Plan and primarily concern how inspections are carried out and how proceedings assessing the nature of employment relationships are conducted. For employers, this means paying even closer attention to the consistency of their documentation and to whether the cooperation models they've adopted genuinely reflect how work is actually performed in practice.

At the same time, the new regulations don't change the employment forms available — employment contracts, civil-law contracts, and B2B contracts can all still be used. What matters is that each form is applied in genuinely justified business situations, and that the chosen cooperation model matches the real nature of the duties being carried out.

Broader powers, new procedures

The National Labour Inspectorate has long monitored compliance with labour law, the legality of employment, and the correctness of employee documentation. The amendment in force since July 8, 2026 broadens the Inspectorate's powers, introducing new procedural solutions and expanding the range of enforcement tools available.

One cornerstone of the reform addresses situations where the way work is actually performed raises doubts about the true nature of the underlying contract. If irregularities are identified during an inspection, the employer will first be ordered to correct them. If those recommendations aren't implemented, the inspector will be able to apply to the regional labour inspector for a decision reclassifying a civil-law contract or B2B contract as an employment contract.

Importantly, the right to appeal such a decision to the labour court has been preserved. Both the employee and the employer may challenge the decision, and filing an appeal suspends enforcement of the decision until a final court ruling is issued.

Documentation and work organization under scrutiny

Given the new rules, keeping documentation consistently in order — and ensuring it aligns with how work is actually organized day to day — matters more than ever. From an organizational standpoint, easy access to required documents and the ability to produce them efficiently during an inspection are also becoming increasingly important.

Inspections will primarily focus on verifying the actual state of affairs against how it's documented, in particular:

• employee documentation,
• working time records,
• HR and payroll documentation,
• internal regulations and procedures,
• the way work is organized,
• documentation relating to cooperation carried out under civil-law contracts and B2B contracts.

New ways of conducting inspections

The changes also affect how the National Labour Inspectorate conducts its proceedings. The new rules allow certain inspection activities to be carried out using electronic means of communication, and expand data-sharing between the National Labour Inspectorate, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), and the National Revenue Administration (KAS).

The aim of these measures is to streamline inspections and increase the efficiency of proceedings.

The course of an inspection and what happens afterward

A PIP inspection may involve reviewing documents, assessing how work is organized, and gathering the information needed to establish the facts. Depending on its scope, the employer may be asked to provide documentation and explain how employment is organized.

Once an inspection concludes, the inspector may issue recommendations for correcting identified irregularities or apply the measures provided for under the applicable regulations. The amendment also introduces higher penalties for violations of employee rights: the maximum fine that inspectors can impose has been raised from PLN 30,000 to PLN 60,000.

What this means going forward

The expanded inspection powers of the National Labour Inspectorate, along with the new procedures for its proceedings, make regular verification of documentation, HR processes, and the consistency between adopted cooperation models and their practical application more important than ever for organizations. These changes may be relevant both to large companies and to smaller employers using various forms of cooperation.

Keeping documentation up to date and organizational processes transparent can make it easier to prepare for potential inspections and to respond more smoothly when information is requested.

Legal basis: Act of March 11, 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts.