From 8 July 2026, Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) will gain new powers to issue decisions, including decisions reclassifying B2B contracts as employment relationships, without the need for a court ruling. For many companies, this is a clear warning signal. How should businesses prepare for the changes to ensure that B2B contracts remain compliant and secure?
Cooperation under a B2B model is legal, flexible and beneficial for both parties, but only on one condition: it must be genuine. The problem does not lie in the civil-law contract itself, but in situations where it becomes a façade concealing what is, in reality, an employment relationship. These are precisely the cases targeted by the amendment to the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate, which enters into force on 8 July 2026.
How to assess the risk
PIP inspectors will not focus solely on the wording of contracts. Instead, they will examine how a given working arrangement operates in practice. Several areas may come under scrutiny during an inspection.
The first and most important issue is subordination and managerial control. If a contractor is subject to day-to-day instructions from a single supervisor, carries out tasks assigned on an ongoing basis, reports progress with the same regularity as employees, and is subject to periodic performance reviews used across the organisation, this is a strong indication of an employment relationship, regardless of the contract’s wording.
The second area concerns the organisation of the time and place where services are provided. Fixed service hours, an obligation to be present at the client’s office, time tracking, or the concept of “overtime” — each of these elements makes a B2B contract more closely resemble regular employment. It should be remembered that a genuine contractor organises their work independently, while the client assesses them based on results rather than physical presence.
“Another issue often found in B2B contracts, and one that will certainly attract the attention of labour inspectors, is the granting of paid days off. In many cases, the parties include provisions stating that the contractor is entitled to refrain from providing services while retaining the right to remuneration for that period. Quite often, this right covers 26 days. Such an arrangement is essentially no different from the annual leave granted to employees. Therefore, in the event of a PIP inspection, it may be treated as evidence supporting the existence of an employment relationship,” explains Katarzyna Żyła, legal counsel at Apogado Górski Szetela sp.k. in Rzeszów.
The third area is the possibility of substitution: can the contractor use a subcontractor or replacement without the client’s approval? In a genuine B2B relationship, the answer should be yes. If the company requires personal performance of services and must approve every potential replacement, this is a feature typically associated with an employment relationship.
The fourth area concerns remuneration and benefits. A fixed monthly payment made regardless of results, remuneration for periods of absence, and access to benefits on identical terms to employees are all signals that PIP may take into account. However, offering benefits to contractors alone does not automatically determine reclassification. What matters is the overall nature of the relationship and whether the benefits are granted under a clearly separate arrangement, for different reasons and on different terms than those applicable to employees.
The fifth area, which is often underestimated, is the contractor’s functioning within the organisation. An identical email signature, participation in the same briefings and HR meetings as employees, use of the client’s equipment, or being presented externally as an “employee” or “team member” — all these elements may create the appearance of an employment relationship in the eyes of an inspector.
“In practice, we often encounter situations where a B2B contract is drafted correctly, but the way the cooperation operates in reality may raise concerns for the Labour Inspectorate. Very often, a contractor comes to the office every morning, stays there for eight hours, and carries out tasks assigned from the top down by a team leader. On top of this, the contractor has access to the same benefits as employees, receives paid days off on terms similar to annual leave, and earns a fixed monthly income regardless of the number of days ‘worked’ or the results achieved. From the perspective of the National Labour Inspectorate, this may be seen as employment under a regular contract, regardless of how the agreement itself is worded. The key is for the actual manner of cooperation to be consistent with the terms of the B2B contract,” adds Katarzyna Żyła.
How does an inspection work, step by step?
A PIP inspection may be initiated on the inspectors’ own initiative, as part of a sector-wide inspection, as a follow-up to earlier findings, or as a result of a notification. It may be carried out without prior notice, at any time, either at the company’s premises or remotely. This is a new development, as from 8 July a remote inspection will have the same legal effect as an on-site inspection.
During an inspection, officials verify both documents and the actual manner in which contracts are performed. They may conduct direct interviews with contractors and employees, record inspections, copy documents and request reports or summaries.
After the main stage is completed, they prepare an inspection report. At this point, the company has a real opportunity to influence the further course of the case: submitting written objections to the report within seven days of its presentation may result in the findings being changed or supplemented, provided that the objections are justified.
If the inspection reveals irregularities, PIP will issue an order to remedy them. Only if the company fails to comply may the Regional Labour Inspector issue an administrative decision confirming the existence of an employment relationship.
It is worth noting that, once an order has been issued, the employer has three options: conclude an employment contract, adapt the B2B model so that it genuinely meets the requirements of a civil-law relationship, or defend the existing model and appeal to the court.
Flexibility is possible, but it must be built honestly
The new regulations do not mean the end of flexible employment models. They may, however, mean the end of impunity for “sham arrangements”.
“Companies that need flexibility in building their teams have a range of legal and secure tools at their disposal. One of them is process outsourcing which, unlike external hiring, involves entrusting an external entity with an entire process or service and settling payment based on results or KPIs, rather than hours worked. By its very nature, this model does not display the characteristics of an employment relationship: the client does not manage how the service is performed, does not determine the place or time of work, and the provider is simply responsible for the outcome. Temporary work, employment through agencies, management contracts, statement-of-work models and employer-of-record arrangements are all forms which, when properly applied, make it possible to build flexible teams without the risk of reclassification,” says Michał Młynarczyk, President of Devire.
“Looking at the global flexible-work market, we see enormous potential: independent contractors, temporary work, process outsourcing and talent platforms are all ecosystems worth nearly USD 4 trillion annually. In Poland, the market for flexible forms of employment is still relatively underdeveloped, and the new regulations may paradoxically accelerate its maturation. Companies that invest today in understanding these models and implementing them properly will gain a real advantage, not only legally but also commercially. Flexibility and legal security do not exclude one another,” the Devire expert adds.
How should companies prepare?
Companies still have time before the new regulations take effect to carry out a thorough audit. It is worth starting with the identification of all civil-law and B2B contracts in force across the organisation, and then honestly answering a key question: does the way this cooperation works on a day-to-day basis reflect what is written in the contract? If not, now is the time to make changes.
The next step is to train managers. It is at the level of everyday operational decisions — who onboards the contractor and how, how they communicate with the contractor on a daily basis, and which tools they make available — that the line between B2B cooperation and employment is drawn.
For companies seeking certainty about the model they have adopted, the new rules provide for the possibility of obtaining an individual interpretation from the Chief Labour Inspector. It is worth using this instrument before a potential issue becomes a reality.
