Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said on Tuesday that the Cabinet had adopted a proposal that would allow inspectors to determine that a worker is effectively in an employment relationship, even if they were hired on a civil-law contract or as a sole proprietor under a B2B arrangement, and to trigger a switch to an employment contract.
Such contracts are widely used in Poland. While offering flexibility and ease of accounting, for instance for tax purposes, they provide weaker job protections than an employment contract.
Critics of this model say that a person working as a one-person business for a single client can amount to disguised employment when the work is performed like a regular job.
The government framed the inspector powers as part of a “milestone” tied to EU recovery funding under Poland’s post-pandemic National Recovery Plan.
The bill is linked to the implementation timetable for an EU directive, with Poland expected to complete the process by June 30.
A previous version prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy was rejected by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
In mid-January, Tusk warned that giving officials excessive power through the reform would be “destructive” for businesses and could cost many people their jobs.
The revised draft, published in late January, keeps the core idea but strengthens the appeals process.
Under the proposal, an appeal could first go to a regional labour inspector and then to a labour court.
Until a final court ruling, an inspector’s decision would be suspended, meaning it would not take effect immediately.
The draft gives regional labour inspectors a range of options if they find irregularities, from issuing an order to correcting the situation, through an administrative decision confirming that an employment relationship exists, to filing a case in court.
It also allows space for the two sides to resolve the issue without prolonged proceedings.
After an inspector’s decision, an employer and worker could sign an employment contract, and if the inspector accepts that step, the matter could end without further administrative action.
Alternatively, they could adjust the civil-law arrangement to remove features typical of employment, after which the inspector would assess whether the order was properly carried out.
If that assessment is negative, the regional inspector could open formal administrative proceedings and either issue a decision establishing an employment relationship or bring a lawsuit to determine the existence or terms of the relationship.
Appeals to a labour court would have to be filed within 30 days.
The draft says courts should consider such appeals within 30 days as well, and Szłapka told reporters that labour courts would be “significantly strengthened.”
The bill also includes protections against retaliation, stating that an inspector’s decision should not serve as grounds for an employer to terminate a contract.
Other provisions include data sharing for inspections and risk analysis between the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP), and the National Revenue Administration (KAS), as well as the introduction of remote inspections and higher penalties for offenses against workers’ rights.
The ongoing reform effort has sparked substantial debate.
Grażyna Spytek-Bandurska of the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs said in mid-January that keeping the provision for reclassification was unacceptable to businesses.
Union leader Piotr Ostrowski, who heads the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ), said a key concern was that such cases can last for years, and added that courts already rule on whether a contract meets the legal definition of employment.
Government data illustrate the scale of the issue.
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy said that at the end of the second quarter of 2025 nearly 1.5 million people in Poland were working exclusively on civil law contracts and similar arrangements, the highest figure since Statistics Poland began publishing such data.
The draft legislation now goes to the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, for further work.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP