Poland expands State Labor Inspection power to reclassify civil contracts

Effective 8 July 2026, Poland’s new labour‑law amendment allows the State Labour Inspection (PIP) to, after a control procedure and offering the employer a chance to adjust, administratively determine that a civil‑law contract actually creates an employment relationship. The change targets the IT sector and other areas where “B2B” contracts are used, giving inspectors the right to convert such contracts into full‑time employment contracts when work is performed under the employer’s direction, at a specific place and time, continuously.

Decisions can be appealed to the chief labour inspector and, if unsatisfactory, to the courts. Until a final judgment, courts may grant temporary protection, applying standard labour‑law safeguards such as notice requirements and protection for vulnerable workers. The law also introduces remote inspections and electronic document submission. It does not apply retroactively and does not automatically affect all civil contracts, as the chief inspector has stressed: “Nie będzie automatycznego zamieniania umów cywilnoprawnych w etaty”.