flash news: #State Labour Inspection
Following the entry into force of the reform extending labour inspector authority to check whether civil-law contracts are in fact being used as a substitute for permanent employment, regional inspectorates have begun sending letters to companies regarding the contracts in force at their premises. In these letters, they urge companies to self-assess and voluntarily convert contracts for specific tasks, B2B contracts and other civil-law contracts into employment contracts if the manner in which they are performed meets the criteria to be an employment relationship.
Chief Labour Inspector Janusz Krasoń has drafted a draft self-assessment checklist that is meant to help employers assess whether they have chosen the correct basis for employment. This is the GIP’s second attempt at the document – the previous version, comprising 42 questions, was drafted by Marcin Stanecki. The tool is linked to the reform of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) of 8 July 2026, which permits inspectors to recategorize civil law and B2B contracts as employment relationships.
Between 17 and 20 August 2026, the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) published the first eight individual rulings of the Chief Labour Inspector (GIP) under the act endowing PIP with new enforcement powers regarding civil-law contracts. The rulings assess whether the cooperation models that were set out in applications actually constitute relationships of employment.
According to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, between 8 July 2026 – the date on which the new powers of the National Labour Inspectorate came into force – and 6 August 2026, a total of 585 complaints were recorded for the incorrect use of civil-law contracts.
On Tuesday, 21 July 2026, the Constitutional Tribunal received a request from the President of the Republic of Poland for a review of the constitutionality of an amendment to the National Labour Inspectorate Act. It should be noted that, although the President signed the amendment in April, he simultaneously announced that he would be referring certain new provisions to the Constitutional Tribunal as part of a follow-up audit.
On 8 July 2026, new regulations come into force amending the manner in which the National Labour Inspectorate monitors civil law contracts. Key aspects of the reform are as follows: