National Labour Inspectorate issues 121 orders to convert contracts in Poland

The Polish National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) has reported significant activity following a labor law reform that took effect on July 8, 2026. The reform granted inspectors expanded powers to reclassify civil law contracts and B2B agreements into standard employment contracts when they are deemed inappropriate for the work being performed.

Between July 8 and August 13, the inspectorate received 690 complaints regarding improper employment forms. This contributes to a total of 1,794 complaints received since January 1, a substantial increase compared to the 619 complaints filed during the same period last year. Most complaints involve the improper use of mandate contracts (umowa zlecenia).

Inspectors have conducted over 100 inspections related to the prohibition of replacing employment contracts with civil law agreements, with 35 of these already concluded. To date, the inspectorate has issued 121 written orders requiring employers to confirm employment based on standard labor contracts after questioning their previous legal arrangements.

Chief Labour Inspector Janusz Krasoń noted that many complaints concern work periods that ended before the July 8 reform, which prevents the application of the new reclassification tools. He also mentioned that several complaints contain formal errors that must be corrected before they can be processed further.