On March 11, 2026, the Sejm passed an act amending the Act on the National Labor Inspectorate and certain other acts. The amendment provides for significant changes to the scope of the National Labor Inspectorate's powers.
New powers for labor inspectors
As previously reported, one of the most important changes in the Act is the expansion of labor inspectors' powers. A labor inspector will be able to issue an administrative decision determining the existence of an employment relationship if, during an inspection, they determine that employment under a civil law contract meets the requirements of an employment relationship.
The most important amendments to the act
The Act was adopted with, among others, the following amendments:
- The labour inspector is to take into account the will of the parties unless it is contrary to the law, in particular the provisions of labour law or the principles of social coexistence, or is intended to circumvent the law.
- A 3-day deadline has been introduced for the court to consider an application to revoke the immediate decision or a complaint against the decision of the district labor inspector to impose the immediate decision.
- The period during which liability for entering into a civil law contract under circumstances where an employment contract should have been concluded (an offense against employee rights, referred to in Article 281 §1 item 1) of the Labor Code) has been extended from 6 to 12 months, provided that the employment contract was voluntarily entered into during that period. This applies to entities that entered into civil law contracts before the Act entered into force. The 12-month protection period is calculated from the Act's entry into force.
What's next for the bill?
The bill will now go to the Senate and then to the President of the Republic of Poland for signature.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of March 13, 2026 .
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