Family, Labour and Social Policy Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk told reporters this week that the scale of inspections by the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) could be significant.
Speaking in Gniezno, western Poland, on Monday, she called the new rules a major labor market reform and said they were aimed at fighting "junk contracts, a pathological process that has been eating away at the Polish job market for decades."
The term "junk contracts" refers to work arrangements that replace regular employment contracts with civil-law or business-to-business agreements, often leaving workers with fewer rights and weaker social protections.
"That is why the State Labour Inspectorate will be able to transform junk contracts into employment contracts by administrative decision," Dziemianowicz-Bąk said.
She added that many workers had already filed complaints and that she expected more to follow. She told reporters that it was impossible to say how many contracts might be converted under the new regulations.
"There are no statistics on violations of the law," she said. "We know that 1.5 million people work solely on the basis of civil-law contracts, but of course it would be an abuse to say that all of these are junk contracts."
She said the finance ministry estimated that about 160,000 business-to-business contracts covered bogus self-employment, where a regular employment relationship was hidden under another form of contract.
Under the reform, employers will have until July next year to correct improper contracts voluntarily under an amnesty. Those who do so will be able to avoid penalties and the full administrative procedure.
From Wednesday, the maximum fine for violations will rise from PLN 30,000 to PLN 60,000 (about EUR 14,000, USD 16,000). In cases of repeated breaches of workers’ rights, the fine may reach PLN 90,000.
Dziemianowicz-Bąk said her ministry had received reports that many businesses were already reviewing contracts and moving workers into regular jobs.
"They are checking, correcting, offering their personnel employment contracts, and moving them into legal jobs, increasing their security without waiting for an inspection," she said.
She added that fines were meant to deter abuse, while "the vast majority of Polish employers are honest and comply with labor law."
Under the new procedure, inspectors will be able to act after a complaint or during a routine inspection. They may first order an employer to sign an employment contract with a worker. If the employer refuses, an administrative procedure will begin.
A district labor inspector will then examine whether the worker has features of regular employment, such as fixed duties, pay and work carried out at a specified time and place.
If the legal conditions are met, the inspector will issue an administrative decision converting the contract into an employment contract. The decision will include pay, job title, contract duration and other basic terms required under Polish labor law.
The employer will be able to appeal to a labor court. During the case, the court will first be expected to issue protection preventing the worker from being dismissed. If the contract is ended, it will have to be done under the labor code, as if the worker already had an employment contract.
The reform also provides for data sharing between the State Labour Inspectorate, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), and the National Revenue Administration (KAS).
If inspectors find that an employment contract should have been in place, ZUS and KAS will be able to seek unpaid social insurance contributions and taxes.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP