From 1 January 2026, businesses in Poland will face some of the most fundamental changes to employment and B2B cooperation rules in many years. Under the draft amendment to the regulations governing the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy – PIP), labour inspectors will be granted the authority to independently – by way of an administrative decision – determine the existence of an employment relationship, without referring the matter to a court.
In practice, this means that a B2B contract, mandate contract or contract for specific work may be “converted” into an employment contract by a single administrative decision, with potentially severe financial, tax and organisational consequences for many companies.
The key change
Currently, if the Labour Inspectorate considers that a B2B arrangement in fact meets the criteria of an employment relationship, it must bring a claim before the labour court. After the changes:
- a PIP inspector will independently issue an administrative decision confirming the existence of an employment contract,
- the decision will be immediately enforceable “going forward” – even if the business files an appeal,
- from the date the decision is served, the company must treat the contractor as an employee (social security contributions, personal income tax, Labour Code).
Filing an appeal does not suspend the obligation to settle ongoing social security contributions and taxes, unless – in exceptional cases – the Chief Labour Inspector or a court revokes the immediate enforceability of the decision.
When can B2B be recognised as employment?
The basis for the decision will remain the criteria set out in Article 22 § 1 of the Polish Labour Code. In practice, PIP will examine, among other things, whether:
- work is performed under the direction of the business,
- the place and time of work are imposed,
- the cooperation is continuous and personal in nature,
- remuneration is fixed and paid monthly,
- the contractor does not bear genuine economic risk.
The draft also introduces a mechanism highly unfavourable to businesses: if the terms of the “employment” cannot be determined from the documentation, the inspector may assume by default that the relationship was an indefinite-term employment contract, full-time, with remuneration at the statutory minimum level. In such cases, the burden of proof rests with the business.
Financial consequences – not only “going forward”
Although the ongoing effects of a PIP decision apply immediately, historical settlements (up to three years back) become payable once the decision becomes final.
These may include, in particular:
- overdue social security contributions on the employer’s side,
- overdue personal income tax advances (as a tax remitter),
- contributions to the Labour Fund and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund,
- cash compensation for unused annual leave,
- overtime pay,
- statutory interest on arrears.
In practice, in long-term B2B relationships, this often means additional liabilities amounting to hundreds of thousands of PLN, excluding potential fines.
Tax and VAT issues – an often overlooked area
Reclassification of a contract affects not only social security and labour law, but also has serious tax consequences:
- income previously taxed under the flat tax or lump-sum regime may be shifted to progressive personal income tax,
- the company, as the “employer”, becomes liable for overdue PIT advances,
- B2B invoices may be deemed to document activities not subject to VAT,
- VAT corrections may be required on both sides, with the risk of penalties and interest.
The absence of transitional provisions creates a real risk of settlement chaos – both for the company and the former “contractor”.
Algorithm-based audits – PIP, ZUS and the Tax Authorities in one system
The planned changes are not limited to new decision-making powers for inspectors. An equally important – and often underestimated – aspect of the reform is the digitisation of audits and the automated analysis of data from multiple public institutions.
The draft legislation provides for close integration of the IT systems of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP), the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the National Revenue Administration (KAS). In practice, this means a shift from “reactive” inspections (e.g. following a complaint) to algorithmically selected audits, based on the analysis of large datasets.
The new solutions will allow authorities to cross-reference, among others:
- data from JPK_V7 and (in the future) KSeF – number of B2B contractors, recurring invoices, fixed amounts,
- ZUS data – number of employees, lack of registrations despite a large scale of operations,
- information on the duration and continuity of cooperation,
- industry benchmarking data (company profile vs. employment structure),
- notifications and complaints (including anonymous ones).
Based on this, algorithms will automatically flag companies with an increased risk of violations, and a PIP audit will largely serve as formal confirmation of conclusions already drawn by the system.
Example of a “high-risk” profile
From an algorithmic perspective, warning signals may include, for example:
- only a few employees on employment contracts,
- a dozen or several dozen B2B “contractors”,
- invoices issued monthly for identical or very similar amounts,
- long-term cooperation with a single entity,
- no other sources of income on the part of the self-employed individual.
Under such a model, an inspection appears to be only a matter of time.
Remote audits and “remote inspections”
The draft regulations also provide for a significant expansion of audit methods:
- remote audits (videoconferences, online submission of documents),
- remote interviews,
- electronic inspection reports,
- the ability to request live video transmission from the workplace (e.g. via a mobile phone).
For businesses, this means that the lack of a physical presence of an inspector on site will no longer be a barrier – an audit may begin almost immediately after the company is flagged by the system.
The new audit model radically changes the approach to risk management:
- a “correctly drafted contract” is no longer sufficient – data and facts matter,
- inconsistencies between VAT, social security and employment structures will be immediately visible,
- documentation must be consistent, digital and ready for disclosure,
- B2B audits become not a one-off exercise, but part of ongoing risk management.
The planned changes mean that the first “auditor” a business encounters will be an algorithm, not an inspector. PIP, ZUS and the tax authorities will operate on shared datasets, and the decision to initiate an audit will be made before the company is even aware that it has been identified as an area of interest.
Therefore, preparation for the new regulations should include not only a review of contracts, but also an analysis of the data that the company already reports to public authorities.
Summary
The planned new powers of the National Labour Inspectorate represent a genuine change in the rules of the game. B2B arrangements will not disappear, but fictitious or “employment-like” self-employment will become a high-risk area – not only from a labour law perspective, but also in terms of taxation and social security.
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