A revolution in civil law contracts? The National Labour Inspectorate will gain new powers as early as 2026!

New powers for the National Labour Inspectorate. Are we facing a revolution in civil law contracts from 2026?

Anna Skuza, attorney-at-law

On 1 September 2025, a draft bill was published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre that could significantly change the Polish labour market.

It concerns an amendment to the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts. On this basis, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) is to gain the power to reclassify civil law contracts as employment contracts by way of an administrative decision, without the need (as has been the case to date) to refer cases to the labour court.

The proposed solution raises many concerns among entrepreneurs. Are they justified?

What is the new proposal about?

According to the draft bill, a labour inspector will be able to independently determine that a given civil law contract (e.g. a contract of mandate or a B2B contract) in fact meets the characteristics of an employment relationship. In such a case, the PIP will issue an administrative decision on the reclassification of the contract, i.e. it will recognise that the parties were bound by an employment relationship from the outset.

Importantly, the PIP's decision will be immediately enforceable and the employer will have to treat the reclassified contract as an employment contract without delay, even if they decide to appeal. This will apply both to rights under labour law (e.g. paid leave and overtime) and to taxes and social security.

This will therefore be of particular importance for B2B relationships. Once the decision has been issued, the employing entity will obtain the status of a payer and will be obliged to calculate, deduct and pay advance tax and social security contributions in the amount and on the terms applicable to remuneration for work.

Only the tax and insurance consequences of the decision for the past will be deferred until the court has ruled on the appeal or the decision has become final.

The reclassification decision may be appealed to the Chief Labour Inspector and then to the labour court.

The new regulations are to come into force on 1 January 2026.

Why is this important?

Currently, in order to declassify a contract, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) can only file a lawsuit with the labour court. The existing model of contract reclassification by the PIP therefore required procedural action on the part of the authority. The existence of an employment relationship was determined by the court on the basis of the evidence gathered in the case files, taking into account the guidelines developed in case law over the years for verifying the actual nature of the contract. As a result, the percentage of cases brought by the PIP to determine the existence of an employment relationship was small (e.g. in 2023, the number of lawsuits filed was 52 out of more than 42,000 civil law contracts inspected; in 2024, there were only 24 lawsuits out of nearly 39,000 civil law contracts inspected).

After the amendment of the regulations, the PIP will gain a more effective tool for enforcing employee employment. The burden of proof will also be transferred to employers, who, in the event of an appeal, will have to prove that the legal relationship between the parties did not have the characteristics of an employment contract.

Doubts and concerns

The solutions proposed in the draft amendment raise a number of concerns and doubts among both entrepreneurs and self-employed persons who have long been cooperating in a more flexible B2B model. One such concern is whether the PIP will reclassify contracts for which the parties consciously opted for a civil law model. This is because not every case of civil law employment was ‘forced’ by the employer at the expense of the employee. In recent years, a shift in professional preferences towards more flexible rules of cooperation has become clearly visible. For younger generations entering the labour market, permanent employment contracts and long-term employment in the same place are no longer the preferred model of employment.

It is worth noting that the draft amendment does not provide for any changes to the criteria for determining the existence of an employment relationship. These will continue to be regulated by the Labour Code. However, there may be doubts as to whether the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP), when making its assessment, will be guided by the guidelines established in case law in this area. This raises concerns that the PIP (especially in the initial period of the new solutions) may ‘abuse’ its new powers by reclassifying contracts on the basis of arbitrary decisions.

Considering the consequences, especially in terms of the financial burden associated with the reclassification of civil law contracts (and in particular the effect of decisions on the past), this tool should be used with extreme caution. It may lead to liquidity problems for many companies that operate mainly in the B2B model. An example is the IT industry, which is known for its preference for the B2B model of cooperation.

Regardless of the financial consequences, the very act of making adjustments to settlements will be an organisational challenge. This is especially true if the decision to reclassify covers a larger group of contractors.

What does the new PIP power mean for entrepreneurs?

Companies should prepare for new risks, in particular by reviewing their employment structures, contracts and rules of cooperation with contractors, and documenting the independence of their partners in terms of risk factors in order to limit their exposure to the risks associated with the new solutions.

The draft amendment is still at an early stage of development and the proposed date of entry into force of the changes – 1 January 2026 – seems very ambitious. However, it should be expected that the change in the PIP's powers, which has been announced for many years, will sooner or later become a reality.