The chamber voted on Wednesday to approve amendments to the law governing the National Labour Inspectorate, giving the watchdog stronger powers to act against arrangements that formally classify people as contractors or sole traders while functioning like regular employment.
The bill passed with 230 votes in favor, 20 against and 178 abstentions.
The reform is tied to Poland’s National Recovery Plan, a program linked to European Union funding. Giving the National Labour Inspectorate powers to tackle sham contracts is one of the so-called milestones tied to the release of money under that plan.
The measure is politically significant because it addresses a long-running problem in Poland’s labor market, where some workers are hired under civil-law contracts or business-to-business (B2B) arrangements instead of standard employment contracts.
Critics say such practices can deprive workers of protections tied to regular employment, including stronger job security and labor rights.
The reform now goes to the Senate, the upper house of parliament, for further debate.
Family, Labour and Social Policy Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk welcomed the vote, saying the governing majority had adopted a bill that strengthens the National Labour Inspectorate.
She said the work on the final version had been difficult, but demonstrated that "respect, dialogue and cooperation could produce necessary legislation."
She added that Poland was now one step closer to greater stability and security for workers.
Under the new rules, an appeal against an inspector’s decision could first go to a regional labor inspector and then to a labor court.
Until a final court ruling is issued, the inspector’s decision would be suspended. That means the bill drops an earlier idea that such decisions should take immediate effect.
Lawmakers earlier approved a package of amendments recommended by the Sejm’s Social Policy and Family Committee. Most were technical or clarifying changes.
Deputies rejected a motion by the far-right Confederation party to throw out the bill in full, and they also rejected amendments submitted as minority motions.
One approved amendment, proposed by lawmakers from the governing Civic Coalition (KO), the Polish People’s Party (PSL) and the Left, states that in administrative proceedings over an inspector’s decision, the will of the parties should be taken into account as long as it does not violate the law, especially labor law, principles of social coexistence or attempts to circumvent the law.
The reform gives a regional labor inspector several options when irregularities are found. The inspector may issue an instruction, issue a decision confirming that an employment relationship exists, or bring the case to court.
After an inspector’s decision, an employer and worker would still be able to sign a standard employment contract. If that step is accepted by the labor inspector, the proceedings would end without the need for further administrative action.
The parties would also be allowed to reshape their civil-law relationship so that it no longer contains the features of an employment relationship and no longer conflicts with labor law.
The inspector would then assess whether that correction had been properly carried out. If the assessment is positive, the case would also be closed.
If the assessment is negative, the regional labor inspector could open administrative proceedings and either issue a decision confirming the existence of an employment relationship or file a lawsuit seeking such a determination.
Appeals to court would have to be filed within 30 days, and the bill says the court should examine them within the same period.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP