The reform of the State Labor Inspectorate is something that many have been waiting for years. The last major change this institution underwent almost 20 years ago, and it was the Sejm of the Republic of Poland that passed an amendment to the law strengthening the position of labour inspectors. Although there was a lot of noise around the reform and not everyone supported it - for example, the deputies of the Confederation submitted a motion in the Sejm to reject the project in its entirety - the bill was finally adopted and has been the subject of further government work since yesterday.
More control of employers? No. Greater security of the labour market.
The project focuses primarily on enabling labour inspectors to verify civil law contracts, the so-called “garbage trucks”. According to data published on Gov.pl, about 1.5 million people work on them in Poland (data from the Central Statistical Office from the second quarter of 2025), which is the highest number since the publication of such statistics began.
Thanks to the PIP Act, it will be able to convert apparent civil law contracts and B2B contracts into employment contracts by administrative decision. This means that the employee will no longer have to refer the case to the labor court to change the form of employment. If the inspector considers that the work performed meets the criteria of the employment relationship, that is, in practice, corresponds to full-time work, he will be able to issue an appropriate administrative decision. In practice, this means, on the one hand, better protection of employees and, on the other, greater responsibility on the part of companies.
In the broader perspective, however, the reform aims to improve the condition of the labour market and reduce abuses linked to civil law contracts, which, unlike employment contracts, often do not provide protection under the Labour Code. Although for many entrepreneurs this change is associated with increased state control over the private sector, similar solutions have been in place for years in many Western democracies, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, where civil law contracts and self-employment are subject to strict scrutiny for whether they hide the actual employment relationship.
Citing the words of Ministry Agnieszka Dziemienowicz Bąk from the first reading of the bill in the Sejm (25.02.2025):
Labour law is clear in Poland, we have precisely defined concepts such as employment relationship or employment contract. Despite this, the Polish labor market is still plagued by junk contracts and the pushing of employees into one-person economic activities. Still in some companies we are faced with situations where the driver is at the JDG and only issues an invoice to that one company every month. Office workers are on assignment contracts, the graphic designer is on a work contract, and managers on employment contracts. What all these people have in common is that they are really employees of one company, but each employer has given a completely different type of contract. This is absurd, our reform will finally allow us to fight this absurdity effectively
Objective: to protect workers and strong institutions
The reform implies several important solutions from the point of view of protecting workers' rights. One of them is to secure these rights also at the stage of a possible appeal by the employer against the decision of the State Labor Inspectorate. The new rules make it possible, among other things, to provide security by the labour court, whereby, during the entire appeal procedure, the contract can be amended, terminated or terminated only in accordance with the rules provided for by the labour law. In practice, this means that pthe worker receives real protection even during the litigation - his legal situation will not depend solely on the decision of the employer. At the same time, as can be seen from the attached example, the employer retains the opportunity to appeal the decision of the inspector within 30 days to the labor court. The court, on the other hand, has another 30 days to consider such an appeal.
The project also improves the exchange of information and data between key state institutions: The Social Insurance Institution, the State Labor Inspectorate and the National Tax Administration. This is to help increase the effectiveness of labor law enforcement by inspectors, as well as facilitate the conduct of remote inspections. At the same time, it is planned to increase penalties for violations against labor rights.
Improving safety at work through prevention
The project also provides for preventive measures. One of them is the possibility of issuing a binding order to the employer by the State Labor Inspectorate to remove the identified violations already at the stage of the inspection itself. Its implementation is intended to lead to a return to compliance with the current labour legislation before more restrictive measures are required.
In addition, the institution of individual interpretation issued by the Chief Labor Inspector at the request of the employer is to be introduced. Its task will be to clarify how the provisions of labor law are applied, in particular in situations where doubts arise as to whether a given legal relationship meets the conditions of an employment contract. Thanks to this, entrepreneurs will be able to obtain an official position of the supervisory authority in advance and avoid potential disputes or irregularities in the form of employment.
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