PIP can turn a civil contract into an employment contract — how the decision works

Since 8 July 2026 the Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy (PIP — National Labour Inspectorate) no longer has to go to court to turn an umowa zlecenia (civil-law contract of mandate) or a B2B contract into an umowa o pracę (employment contract). If the work looks like a regular job — fixed hours, instructions from a supervisor, working personally, a regular salary — the district labour inspector can confirm this in a decision. The rules on what an employment contract is have not changed. What has changed is how quickly the PIP can enforce them.

When a civil contract is really an employment contract

The Kodeks pracy (Labour Code) has said the same thing for years: if someone performs work of a specific type for an employer and under its direction, at a place and time set by the employer, for pay — this is employment under an employment relationship, whatever the contract is called (art. 22 § 1 of the Labour Code). An employment contract may not be replaced with a civil-law contract if the working conditions are those of a regular job (art. 22 § 1² of the Labour Code).

The new rules do not change these criteria. They give the PIP a tool: an administrative decision instead of years of court proceedings.

Step by step: from inspection to decision

1. Inspection. The inspector checks what the work really looks like — not only what the contract says. The inspection may also be partly remote, e.g. by sending documents.
2. Both sides are heard. Before ordering anything, the inspector lets both parties — the company and the person doing the work — present their position.
3. Order (polecenie). If the features of an employment relationship prevail, the inspector issues a written order to remedy the violation, e.g. to conclude an employment contract. The deadline is set so that compliance can still be checked during the inspection.
4. Decision (decyzja). Only if the order is not complied with can the district labour inspector issue a decision confirming that an employment relationship exists. No prior order — no decision.

Instead of a decision, the district inspector may also file a lawsuit with the labour court — especially where the employment relationship needs to be established for a period before the inspection.

What the decision contains and when it takes effect

The decision states the parties, the type of employment contract, the date it was concluded, the type and place of work, working hours and pay. If the evidence does not allow something to be established, statutory defaults apply:

• a contract for an indefinite period,
• full time,
• place of work — the employer’s registered office,
• pay — at least the minimum wage.

As a rule, the employment contract is deemed concluded on the date of the decision — the effects apply to the future, not retroactively. From that day the decision has effects under labour law, tax law and social and health insurance. Exception: if during the inspection or the dispute the company terminates the contract or stops giving the person work, the employment contract is deemed concluded on the date the inspection started, and the person is protected against dismissal and can pursue their rights before the labour court.

The inspector also takes into account the will of the parties — as long as it is not against the law and is not meant to circumvent it.

Appeal

Both the company and the person doing the work may appeal the decision to the labour court. The appeal is filed in writing through the district labour inspector within one month of the decision being delivered. All claims and evidence must be given in the appeal — as a rule, it will not be possible to add them later. The decision becomes enforceable once the appeal deadline passes, when the court issues a final ruling, or when it is declared immediately enforceable.

What this means for you

If you work on a civil-law or B2B contract:

• The decision cannot be a reason to dismiss you or treat you worse. Breaking this ban is an offence.
• The start of proceedings by the district labour inspector interrupts the limitation period for your employee claims.
• Are you a foreigner? Since 8 July 2026, switching from a civil-law contract to an employment contract with the same entity — voluntarily or following a PIP decision — does not require a new zezwolenie na pracę (work permit) or a new entry of the oświadczenie o powierzeniu pracy (declaration on entrusting work). Check, however, that the other conditions in the document (position, pay) still match.
• Working through a temporary work agency? Your employer is the agency — that is who you sign the contract with.

If you are an employer:

• The rules also cover contracts concluded before 8 July 2026 that are still running.
• Do not ignore the inspector’s order — failing to comply with it is what opens the way to a decision.
• Terminating the contract with a person covered by the inspection does not close the case: the employment contract date then moves back to the day the inspection started.
• Review your civil-law contracts now, before an inspector does. If you are unsure whether a given arrangement is already a job — write to us.

Legal basis: Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts (Dz.U. 2026 item 473) — art. 1 (art. 11, 26, 33a, 34 of the Act on the PIP), art. 2 (art. 477⁷ᵇ of the Code of Civil Procedure), art. 8 (art. 33(2)(3) and art. 69(5) of the Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners), art. 14; Labour Code, art. 22 § 1 and § 1²; gov.pl — “Reforma Państwowej Inspekcji Pracy” (MRPiPS). Legal status as of 24 September 2026.