The Act[1] has been signed, published in the Journal of Laws and, at the same time, referred to the Constitutional Tribunal for a review of the constitutionality of the sweeping powers granted to the National Labour Inspectorate in relation to businesses.
What were the objections?
- Excessively broad powers of the State Labour Inspectorate over employers, which could violate the principle of proportionality of state interference in economic relations
- Insufficient social dialogue during the government’s work on the draft Act
- The risk that administrative decisions will replace the role of the courts in resolving disputes concerning the existence of an employment relationship
The President’s request for the Constitutional Tribunal to examine the Act under the ex post review procedure does not suspend its entry into force. This will take effect three months after the date of promulgation[2], meaning that the new provisions and powers of the PIP will apply from 7 July 2026.
We examine what powers the PIP will acquire and what this means for employers and employees.
New powers of the National Labour Inspectorate
What new powers will the PIP have?
- The right to so-called reclassification of civil law contracts (contract for services, contract for specific work, B2B) into employment contracts on the basis of an administrative decision
- The ability to issue a so-called corrective order, and only in the event of non-compliance, a decision reclassifying the relationship in question as an employment contract[3]. Furthermore, such a decision will not have retroactive effect (which eliminates negative consequences in the areas of tax and social security contributions)
- The possibility of conducting a National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) inspection remotely
The Act introduces a requirement to allow the parties to state their position prior to the issuance of a corrective order. This is an additional procedural safeguard, which in practice means an obligation to hear the employer before initiating the first stage of the reclassification procedure.
Alternatively, the inspector will still be able to exercise their existing right to bring an action to establish an employment relationship (in which case the court may retrospectively establish the existence of an employment relationship).
The reclassification decision (from the date of its issuance) will have legal effects in the areas of labour law, tax law, social security and health insurance, and mandatory contributions to funds.
The decision will become enforceable on the day following the expiry of the deadline for lodging an appeal (if neither party has done so), on the date of the court’s final judgement, or on the date on which it is declared immediately enforceable.
Similarly to the widely used interpretations of tax law and the Social Insurance Institution’s (ZUS) interpretations regarding social security law, the Chief Labour Inspector (GIP) will be able to issue individual interpretations, against which, in addition to reclassification decisions, it will be possible to appeal directly to the labour court.
We have written more about individual interpretations here.
The Act also introduces measures enabling cooperation between ZUS and the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) regarding access to information on insured persons and contribution payers.
Directive 2023/970 – (when) a revolution in the pay system is on the horizon
However, this is only the beginning. Directive 2023/970 also carries further obligations.
These include job evaluation, employees’ right to information on pay, and reporting on pay gap. Each of these requires a restructuring of the existing pay system. The new regulations will apply to all employers, regardless of sector, and even if they employ only persons of a single gender. The scope of the information provided will depend solely on the size of the workforce.
However, the Polish regulations implementing these changes will come into force later than planned.
The EU implementation deadline is 7 June 2026, and we already know that Poland will not meet this date.
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has admitted this outright. The main reason for this is the lack of legislation establishing an equality body. The Ministry has proposed that the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) take on this role, but the draft is still at the government stage.
For employers, this means more time to prepare, but this time should not be wasted.
Obligation No. 1: job evaluation
Job evaluation is the foundation of the entire system. And at the same time, it is the element that employers most often overlook.
Every employer will have to assess the value of work in individual roles, based on objective and gender-neutral criteria.
The assessment is based on four criteria:
- Skills
- Effort
- Scope of responsibility
- Working conditions
The method of this assessment may be chosen freely, provided it is gender-neutral and verifiable.
The outcome of the job evaluation will serve as the starting point for creating a pay structure with pay bands.
Differentiation is permitted solely on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria, which must be agreed with trade unions (where these exist).
The Minister responsible for labour is to provide an analytical tool to support this process, with a preliminary version of this Excel spreadsheet being already available for testing.
Obligation No. 2: the employee’s right to information
An employee will be able to request information about their pay and the average earnings in their category, broken down by gender. The response will include both individual data and group averages.
The employer must provide a written response within 30 days (this deadline may change during the legislative process – the directive allows up to two months for a response).
Every year, by 31 March, the employer will have to inform employees that they may submit such a request.
Clauses prohibiting employees from disclosing their own pay, where the aim is to pursue equal treatment, will be invalid by law.
Obligation No. 3: reporting on pay gaps
Employers with at least 100 employees will have to report an any pay gaps – including, amongst other things, gaps between women and men, its median, and the distribution of employees across pay quartiles.
The timetable for submitting the first reports varies.
Employers with over 150 employees will have to submit their first report by 7 June 2027. Companies with 100–149 employees will only be required to do so from 2031. Smaller employers may report an a voluntary basis.
However, when calculating the pay gap, benefits available to all employees, such as meal subsidies or sports cards, will not be taken into account.
In practice, this means that HR data will need to be organised to a standard that many companies do not yet meet. An extension of the deadline for clarifications regarding reports – from 14 to 30 days – is also being considered.
Directive 2023/970. What are the penalties for breaching the regulations?
The draft provides for fines of up to PLN 50,000. Offences will include, amongst others:
- Failure to classify job roles
- Failure to respond to employees’ requests
- Failure to provide a pay gap report
- Failure to conduct a joint pay assessment where the pay gap is at least 5% (applies to employers subject to the reporting obligation)
- Use of non-disclosure clauses regarding pay
The draft also provides for claims for damages and compensation – amounting to at least the minimum wage – with the burden of proof shifting to the employer. If it transpires that the employer has breached their transparency obligations, they will have to demonstrate that they did not discriminate against the employee concerned.
Directive 2023/970 and the amendment to the powers of the National Labour Inspectorate – how can you prepare for these changes?
Regardless of when the new regulations come into force, it is worth starting preparations now:
- Review your pay structure – check whether there are unjustified differences between women and men in comparable roles
- Carry out a job evaluation or test the preliminary version of the Ministry’s tool
- Prepare a procedure for handling employee requests – the HR department must know how to respond to questions about pay and what data to provide
- Collect data for reporting – pay gap, medians, quartiles. Check whether your HR systems allow you to generate such reports
- Schedule meetings with trade unions – agreeing on evaluation criteria will be mandatory for employers where such organisations operate
Want to check your payroll system’s readiness? Contact us; we’ll conduct an audit and plan the implementation.
Questions? Contact us
[1] Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts
[2] with the exception of those provisions not related to the main subject of the amendment, which will enter into force on the day following the date of publication
[3] from Article 22 § 1 of the Labour Code
