Labour Inspectorate (PIP) inspections after the 2026 changes and the employment of foreigners

From 8 July 2026 an inspection by the Labour Inspectorate (PIP) may have far more serious consequences for an employer of foreigners than before. Inspectors may conduct an inspection or particular activities remotely, request electronic documents, use online transmission, summon persons from outside the inspectorate's area of operation and, in defined situations, establish the existence of an employment relationship by decision.

For a company this means one thing: the residence card and the work permit have ceased to be documents checked once, when the contract is signed. They have become an element of ongoing compliance, which must match the contract and what the employee actually does every day.

1. Basis of the changes and scope of inspection

The changes result from the Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts (Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 473). The act amended, among others, the Act on PIP, the Labour Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, insurance and tax provisions, and the rules on entrusting work to foreigners.

Not all provisions entered into force on the same date. The essential part of the solutions became applicable three months after the promulgation of the act, and some earlier — in accordance with the final provision. In a specific case it is therefore necessary to establish which provision was in force on the day the inspection began or on the day a given obligation arose.

Inspections cover primarily employers. However, as regards OHS, the legality of employment and the conclusion of civil law contracts in conditions proper to an employment relationship, an inspection may also cover entrepreneurs and other organisational units without the status of an employer, if natural persons perform work for them — including in the year preceding the inspection. This also applies to self-employed persons.

2. A residence card is not always enough

A residence card confirms a foreigner's identity and may confirm the legality of their stay in Poland. However, it does not automatically mean that the holder may perform any work, for any entity and on any terms.

What is decisive is the basis on which the residence permit was granted and the content of the document. If the basis of stay gives rise to a right to perform work, the residence card contains the annotation "access to the labour market". If no such right arises from the basis of stay, the foreigner may need a work permit — unless they benefit from an exemption from the obligation to hold one.

Verification before allowing a person to start work should cover at least:

• the validity of the residence card and the validity of the travel document,
• the type of residence permit and the legal basis of access to the labour market,
• any annotation on the card and restrictions arising from the decision,
• the consistency of the work performed with the documents.

3. Work permit and the actual conditions of employment

A work permit is not a document detached from day-to-day employment. The inspector compares the decision, the contract, working time records, payrolls, confirmations of payment and employees' statements. What matters is: the entity entrusting the work, the position or type of work, the place where the work is performed, the working time, the period of work, the amount of remuneration, the basis on which the work is performed and the moment it began.

Particular caution is required with a change of position, remuneration, working time, place of work and the entity entrusting the work. Not every change requires a new document, but each must be assessed before it is introduced.

4. Remote Labour Inspectorate (PIP) inspection — the employer's obligations

From 8 July 2026, in justified cases an inspection or particular activities may be conducted remotely, if this is not contrary to the purpose of the inspection and may streamline its course, or if the nature of the entity's activity so warrants. The following in particular may be conducted remotely: analysis of documents, hearing of a party, examination of the inspected entity, online transmission, transfer of electronic documents and communication between the inspector and the persons taking part in the inspection.

The transmission should take place using technical and organisational measures ensuring the confidentiality, availability and integrity of data, with cryptographic mechanisms adequate to the threats. The remote mode does not exclude a later inspection at the company's registered office, at the place where the work is performed or at the place where the documentation is kept.

The security of the transmission does not justify refusing to hand over documents. It justifies agreeing on a secure way of making them available.

The new Article 23a of the Act on PIP allows an inspector to request the territorially competent district labour inspector to summon a person residing or staying in that inspectorate's area of operation to give explanations or testimony connected with the inspection, indicating the circumstances they concern.

5. Civil law contract and the employment relationship

The amendment extended the Labour Inspectorate's ability to react to situations in which a civil law contract is performed in conditions corresponding to an employment relationship. The point of reference remains Article 22 § 1 of the Labour Code: work performed personally, for remuneration, for a specified entity, under its management and at a place and time designated by it. The name of the contract does not determine its nature — what decides is the actual manner in which the work is performed.

Before issuing a decision establishing the existence of an employment relationship, the Labour Inspectorate authority should allow the parties to state their position, and may then issue an order to remove the infringements. Only failure to comply with such an order opens the way to a decision. Not every inspection of a contract of mandate therefore ends in an administrative decision.

The district labour inspector may issue a decision establishing the existence of an employment relationship if the work is performed in the conditions set out in Article 22 § 1 of the Labour Code and the earlier order has not been complied with. The decision specifies, among others, the parties to the employment relationship, the type of contract, the date it was concluded, the type of work, the place where the work is performed, the working time and the amount of remuneration. Where the evidence does not allow certain conditions to be established, the act provides for substitute solutions: a contract for an indefinite period, the employer's registered office as the place of work, full working time and the minimum remuneration for work.

An appeal against a decision establishing the existence of an employment relationship lies under the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure — through the district labour inspector to the competent labour court, within one month of service of the decision. The appeal should contain a designation of the contested decision, the pleas, the motions, a statement of reasons, a signature and the assertions and evidence. The court may dismiss the decision, amend it in whole or in part, and in the event of a gross infringement of the law set it aside and refer the case back for re-examination.

The amendment also provides for the possibility of obtaining an individual interpretation from the Chief Labour Inspector as to whether the legal relationship presented constitutes an employment relationship within the meaning of Article 22 § 1 of the Labour Code. The interpretation is issued by way of a decision, as a rule within 30 days of receipt of a complete application, and the application is subject to a fee of PLN 40 for each separate set of facts or future event. It binds the Labour Inspectorate authorities, but does not protect where the actual facts differ from those described in the application.

6. Course of the inspection, the inspection report and objections

Inspectors may carry out an inspection without notice and at any time of day or night, within the scope specified by the Act on PIP. The inspector should present a service identity card and, in the case of an entrepreneur, as a rule also an authorisation. In a situation requiring immediate action the inspection may begin on the basis of the identity card alone, and the authorisation is served within the statutory time limit.

The inspector's powers include, among others: free entry to the premises of the plant, inspection of rooms, workstations and machinery, requesting oral and written information, questioning employees and other persons performing work, verifying the identity of persons performing work, requesting personal files and paper or electronic documents, making copies, extracts and statements, recording image or sound as part of an inspection, using the assistance of experts and requesting online transmission.

A procedure for the first dozen or so minutes of an inspection:

1. establish the inspector's identity and the scope of the inspection,
2. notify the person responsible for handling the inspection,
3. secure access to the documentation,
4. do not obstruct the inspection activities,
5. do not instruct employees on what to testify,
6. agree on the way documents are to be handed over,
7. note the time limits and the inspector's requests.

As a rule the inspector may not disclose to the employer the fact that a complaint has been filed or the data of the complainant, unless the complainant consents. The protection covers a current and a former employee, as well as a person performing work on another basis.

The findings of the inspection are documented in an inspection report drawn up in paper or electronic form; a paper report is drawn up in two identical copies. Before signing it, check which persons were covered by the inspection, which documents were analysed, which periods the findings concern, whether the description corresponds to the documentation, whether contracts, positions or entities have not been confused, and whether the working conditions of foreigners have been described correctly.

7. Documents, working time and OHS of a foreigner

Documentation must be kept in such a way that the legality of stay and work of each person on each day of employment can be demonstrated quickly. This is not about a collection of random copies, but a coherent system in which each document is assigned to a person, a contract, a position and a period.

• an identity document and a travel document,
• a document confirming the legality of stay — a residence card, a visa,
• a document confirming the right to work — a work permit, a declaration on entrusting the performance of work, a seasonal work permit or the basis for exemption from the obligation to hold a permit,
• the contract constituting the basis for performing the work, together with a translation where required,
• documents concerning the start of work and changes to the conditions of employment,
• working time records, attendance lists, payroll documents and confirmations of payment,
• confirmation of registration for social insurance,
• OHS documentation: medical examinations, training, on-the-job instruction,
• confirmations of the required notifications to the labour office or the voivode.

In practice the problem is rarely the complete absence of a document. Far more often it is the impossibility of establishing on what basis the foreigner worked on a specific day.

An inspection concerning foreigners is almost always combined with an analysis of working time and remuneration. The inspector compares the contract, the work permit, the schedule, working time records, attendance lists, payrolls, transfers, documents concerning overtime and information obtained from the employee. The Labour Inspectorate also checks the payment of remuneration at the level resulting from the minimum hourly rate to persons performing a contract of mandate or providing services; the contract must specify how the number of hours is to be confirmed.

The fact that an employee is a foreigner does not lower the OHS requirements — it adds the question of whether the message is understandable. The inspector may check preliminary, periodic and check-up examinations, the validity of medical certificates, OHS training and on-the-job instruction, the occupational risk assessment, the provision of information about hazards, personal protective equipment, the organisation of the workstation, post-accident procedures, accident registers and the qualifications required for the position.

8. Sanctions and data exchange with ZUS and KAS

Depending on the findings, the Labour Inspectorate may apply, among others, orders by way of decision, orders to remove OHS shortcomings, orders to halt work or the operation of machinery, a prohibition on performing work in a place of direct danger, an order to pay undisputed remuneration, representations, orders, a decision establishing the existence of an employment relationship, a fine, a request to a court to impose a penalty or a notification of the competent authorities. Orders concerning a direct threat to life or health are immediately enforceable.

The amendment increased the fines for selected offences against employees' rights — in the indicated provisions of the Labour Code the lower and upper limits were doubled, among others from the range of PLN 1000–30 000 to PLN 2000–60 000 and from PLN 1500–45 000 to PLN 3000–90 000. In fine proceedings, where the public prosecutor is a Labour Inspectorate authority, a fine of up to PLN 5000 may be imposed. The maximum on-the-spot fine should not be equated with the sanction possible in court proceedings.

The Labour Inspectorate authority must be informed of the implementation of a decision addressed to the inspected entity after the time limit set in the decision has expired or after the decision has become final. In the case of a representation, notification of the date and manner of implementing the post-inspection recommendations is required within the time limit indicated in the representation, which may not be shorter than 30 days.

The amendment provides for the exchange of data between the Labour Inspectorate, ZUS and the Head of the National Revenue Administration. The Labour Inspectorate may pass on to ZUS data established during an inspection, and ZUS may make available to the Labour Inspectorate data on insured persons and contribution payers to the extent necessary to perform statutory tasks. In cases concerning foreigners, what matters includes citizenship, identification data, the period of work, the type of contract, the insurance title, the dates of registration and deregistration, the working time, the contribution assessment base and the payer's data.

9. Audit before an inspection and the most common mistakes

Before allowing a foreigner to start work, separate two issues: the legality of stay and the legality of work. A foreigner may stay in Poland legally and not have the right to perform specific work. They may also hold a document entitling them to work, but perform it for a different entity or on different terms.

An internal check should answer the following questions:

• which document confirms legal stay and until when is it valid,
• does the basis of stay give access to the labour market,
• is a work permit required, or does the foreigner benefit from an exemption,
• does the document cover this employer, this position and this place of work,
• does the remuneration meet the requirements,
• does the contract correspond to the documents,
• was the person allowed to start work only after the formalities had been completed.

The greatest risk arises not from the absence of documents, but from their inconsistency: assuming that every residence card gives the right to work; no monitoring of validity dates; continued employment after a change of employer; a change of position without analysing the documents; work in a place other than the one indicated; remuneration lower than required; working hours inconsistent with the documents; a civil law contract with actual subordination; no proof of payment of remuneration; incorrect registration with ZUS; OHS training incomprehensible to the foreigner; no valid medical examination; documents scattered across several uncoordinated systems; no procedure for the event of a remote inspection.

10. Frequently asked questions

Does a residence card always entitle a foreigner to work?

No. A residence card confirms identity and may confirm the legality of stay. The right to work is determined by the basis on which the residence permit was granted, and the resulting entitlement is reflected in the annotation "access to the labour market". Without such an entitlement, a work permit or an exemption from the obligation to hold one is required.

Is a work permit enough for legal stay in Poland?

No. A work permit concerns work only. The foreigner must separately hold a title entitling them to stay legally.

Does a change of a foreigner's position require a new work permit?

Not every change, but each must be assessed before it is introduced. A change of position, remuneration, working time, place of work or the entity entrusting the work may go beyond the scope of the document held.

Can the Labour Inspectorate carry out an inspection solely remotely?

From 8 July 2026 an inspection or particular activities may be conducted remotely if this is not contrary to its purpose. The remote mode does not exclude a later visit to the workplace or to the place where the documentation is kept.

How much time does the employer have to submit objections to the inspection report?

Reasoned objections to the findings of the inspection report are submitted within 7 days of its service.

Does a Labour Inspectorate decision establishing an employment relationship change a foreigner's residence situation?

The decision puts the classification of the employment in order and produces effects in labour law, taxes and insurance. It does not replace a residence card or a work permit — the legality of stay is assessed separately.

Is an appeal available against a Labour Inspectorate decision?

Yes. The appeal is lodged through the district labour inspector to the competent labour court within one month of service of the decision, under the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure.