Since 8 July 2026, a district labour inspector in Poland has been able to reclassify a civil-law or B2B contract as an employment relationship by administrative decision — without court proceedings and without the developer having to bring a claim.
During the first five weeks, the Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy (State Labour Inspectorate) carried out more than 100 inspections, issued 121 orders establishing employment relationships and recorded 201 cases of voluntary reclassification. Over the first eight months of 2026, 1,794 complaints were filed, compared with 619 during the same period a year earlier.
This is particularly significant for Polish IT companies. Around 47% of specialists work on a B2B basis, making this a structural shift rather than a minor compliance issue.
What Can the Labour Inspector Now Do?
The amendment to the Act on the Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473) was published on 7 April 2026 and entered into force three months later. It fulfils a milestone under Poland’s recovery plan concerning labour market segmentation.
The process starts with an order to remedy the breach. If the employer fails to do so, the district labour inspector may issue a decision establishing that an employment relationship exists.
The decision may be challenged before the labour court within one month, and the appeal suspends its effect, except in cases involving employees subject to special protection.
The consequences take effect from the date of the decision. The decision itself does not create retrospective liability, while a 12-month window allows an employer that voluntarily reclassified its contracts to avoid liability for the offence.
There are two points that are easy to overlook.
First, there is no exception for sole traders. The proposed entrepreneur test, which would have protected registered businesses, was rejected. As a result, a developer operating as a JDG is assessed under Article 22 § 1 of the Labour Code on the same basis as other arrangements.
Secondly, the prospective effect of the decision does not close off issues relating to the past. ZUS contributions plus interest, income tax, holiday pay, overtime and notice periods may still be pursued through ZUS decisions and court claims under Article 189 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The inspection materials can also make such claims significantly easier to pursue.
What Factors Can Lead to a B2B Contract Being Reclassified as Employment?
Article 22 § 1 sets out the characteristics of an employment relationship: work of a specified type, performed under the employer’s direction, at a place and during hours determined by the employer, in return for remuneration. Article 22 § 1(1) makes the title of the contract irrelevant, while Article 22 § 1(2) prohibits replacing an employment contract with a civil-law contract where these characteristics are present.
The courts assess which characteristics prevail. In case II PK 189/14, the Supreme Court considered a self-employed individual whose co-operation agreement essentially replicated his previous employment: a fixed monthly payment, attendance from 8 am to 4 pm, daily reporting, a company car and tasks assigned by the company. The relationship was found to constitute employment.
In practice, the following factors may increase the reclassification risk for an IT company:
- mandatory stand-ups at a fixed time;
- holidays subject to approval through the company’s internal system;
- no right to appoint a substitute;
- use of the company’s laptop and email account;
- working for a single client;
- monthly payment rather than payment for an agreed deliverable;
- a position within the company’s organisational structure.
A B2B model that better reflects an independent relationship with a contractor looks different. It may involve:
- an SOW setting out deliverables and acceptance criteria;
- a genuine right to appoint a substitute;
- the contractor’s own equipment and insurance;
- freedom to work with other clients;
- invoices linked to deliverables.
Moving an existing employee to B2B while keeping the same responsibilities fails immediately and, in addition, raises the issue of the contractor’s flat-rate tax or ryczałt treatment for the relevant year.
The Cross-Border Dimension
Many Polish IT companies work with developers based abroad. This adds three issues that are not addressed by the domestic discussion alone.
Social Security
Social security co-ordination rules do not cover all such situations. Regulation 883/2004 applies across the EU and EEA.
Poland has bilateral agreements with Ukraine, in force since 2013, and Belarus, in force since April 2022, but no such agreements with Georgia, Kazakhstan or Armenia. Beyond that, the applicable rules are determined by each country’s domestic legislation.
Permanent Establishment
An overseas contractor who regularly enters into contracts on behalf of a company or plays the principal role in concluding them may create a permanent establishment for the company in the contractor’s country.
Keeping signing authority in Poland is a low-cost safeguard.
Immigration Status
A developer who is physically present in Poland must hold a residence permit that allows them to conduct business activity.
The Act of 20 March 2025 on the employment of foreigners has applied since June 2025. The special regime for Ukrainian citizens, scaled back by the Act of 23 January 2026, remains in force until 4 March 2027.
IP Rights in Code: A Separate B2B Risk
Under Article 74(3) of the Copyright Act, rights to a computer programme created by an employee in the performance of their employment duties automatically pass to the employer.
B2B arrangements provide no equivalent mechanism. A transfer of rights must be made in writing under pain of invalidity (Article 53), must expressly specify the fields of exploitation (Article 41(2)), and cannot cover fields of exploitation unknown at the time the agreement is concluded (Article 41(4)).
The agreement should also address consent to derivative works, an undertaking not to exercise moral rights, and the transfer of these obligations to the contractor’s employees and subcontractors.
Due diligence in an investment round or company sale will examine these documents. Reclassification-related materials alongside them may also raise concerns.
REVERA Recommendations
- Assess your contracts against the way the work is actually performed. A template is rarely the problem; the way the relationship operates in practice is.
- Use the voluntary reclassification window until July 2027 for roles that are clearly unlikely to withstand an inspection.
- Structure genuine B2B relationships around deliverables, the right of substitution and independence — and operate them accordingly.
- Close the IP rights chain: written assignment, specified fields of exploitation, derivative works, moral rights and obligations extending to subcontractors.
- Map contractors by country of residence for social security contributions, withholding tax and permanent establishment risk. Check residence permits and the 4 March 2027 deadline.
How REVERA Can Help
REVERA’s Arbitration & IT Disputes practice audits contractor structures for IT companies, prepares B2B and employment documentation, and supports distributed teams on tax and IP matters relating to work product.
If your IT company works with developers on a B2B basis, REVERA can carry out a comprehensive review of your contracts and the way work is organised in practice, as well as assess the cross-border, tax and IP aspects of the model.
