PIP Fines in Poland 2026: How Much the Labour Inspectorate Can Fine You and for What

The National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP) is the Polish authority that supervises compliance with labour law, including occupational safety and health (OSH, in Polish: BHP). PIP can inspect companies and impose penalties on employers who break labour law. Since 8 July 2026, new and much higher penalty rates have applied – the first change in 19 years. In this article we explain what penalties PIP can impose, how much they amount to and what they are most often imposed for.

What is the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP)?

PIP is responsible for enforcing labour law in Poland, including OSH, pay, working time, leave and other employee rights. Labour inspectors have the right to carry out inspections at workplaces and to penalise employers who do not comply with the rules.

Inspections are carried out as planned checks or in response to complaints from employees, trade unions or other parties. During an inspection, inspectors check, among other things, compliance with OSH rules, the legality of employment, payment of wages and working time standards. If irregularities are found, they can apply various sanctions, including on-the-spot fines and court fines.

PIP penalties – what types are there?

Penalties imposed by PIP can be divided into several types, depending on the kind of violation and how serious it is. The most common sanctions are:

1. On-the-spot fines (mandat karny) – the most common form of penalty imposed by labour inspectors. They are issued for less serious violations of labour law that have no serious consequences for employees’ health and life. The inspector imposes the fine directly during the inspection.
2. Court fines (grzywna) – imposed by a court for more serious violations of labour law, especially those related to OSH. A court fine is higher than an on-the-spot fine and may be imposed when the violation had serious consequences for employees or when the employer repeats the same mistakes.
3. Orders and prohibitions – apart from fines, inspectors can issue orders requiring the employer to remove the irregularities found. Where there is a direct threat to employees’ health or life, the inspector may prohibit certain work or the use of machinery and equipment.
4. Warnings – where the violation is minor and does not directly endanger employees, the inspector may limit themselves to a warning. It gives the employer a chance to fix the situation without a financial penalty.

PIP on-the-spot fines – how much and for what?

On-the-spot fines are imposed under the Polish Code of Procedure for Petty Offences. Since 8 July 2026, a labour inspector can impose a fine of up to PLN 5,000. If it is a repeated violation, in cases provided for by law the fine can reach up to PLN 10,000. Previously, these limits were PLN 2,000 and PLN 5,000 respectively.

On-the-spot fines are imposed for various types of violations, including:

• Breaches of OSH rules – among the most frequent reasons for fines. They may concern, for example, missing personal protective equipment, failure to meet ergonomic standards, no OSH training for employees or poorly guarded machinery and equipment.
• Illegal employment – fines are also imposed for employing people without a proper employment contract, which is one of the more serious labour law violations. Inspectors check whether employers register employees for social insurance and whether the employment is legal.
• Pay irregularities – employers who do not pay wages on time or do not pay the full amounts due under the contract can be fined. This applies to basic pay as well as other benefits, such as overtime pay or payment in lieu of unused leave.
• Breaches of working time rules – inspectors can fine employers for violations such as missing breaks, excessive overtime or incorrect working time records.

PIP court fines – how high can they go?

For more serious violations, PIP can refer the case to court, which may impose a fine on the employer. Court fines for labour law violations can reach PLN 60,000, and for a repeated violation up to PLN 90,000. Before 8 July 2026, the upper limit was PLN 30,000.

Examples of situations in which a court may impose a fine:

• Serious OSH violations – if a breach of OSH rules led to an accident at work or endangered employees’ health and life, the court may impose a high fine. This applies, for example, to missing personal protective equipment, ignoring safety rules for work at height or failing to train employees properly.
• Undeclared work – employing people in breach of the rules, without an employment contract, is one of the most serious labour law violations and can result in a high court fine.
• Irregularities in posting workers – fines can also be imposed for irregularities related to posting workers, including missing documents, improper working conditions or non-compliance with minimum wage rules.

What are employers most often penalised for?

The most common violations for which PIP imposes penalties are:

1. No OSH training – employers must provide employees with initial and periodic OSH training. Missing training can lead to a fine from the labour inspector – we describe the wider consequences in our article on what happens if you do not provide OHS training in Poland.
2. No medical examinations – before allowing an employee to work, the employer must provide a medical examination confirming that there are no contraindications to the job. Missing up-to-date examinations is also a serious violation.
3. Incorrect working time records – employers must keep working time records covering, among other things, working hours, overtime, breaks and leave. Errors in these records can lead to financial penalties.
4. No personal protective equipment – where the work requires PPE such as helmets, gloves or safety glasses, the employer must provide it. Lack of proper protection can result in a fine.

Who can be fined – only the company owner?

As mentioned above, an inspector can impose on-the-spot fines of up to PLN 5,000 – and, for a repeated violation in cases provided for by law, up to PLN 10,000 – while court fines can reach PLN 60,000, or even PLN 90,000 for repeat offenders.

It is worth remembering that the fine does not have to fall on the company owner alone. It can be imposed on any person acting on behalf of the employer – a shift manager, a foreman, an OSH specialist or anyone else responsible for a given area. In practice, liability is spread across all levels of the organisation and does not stop at the management board. We discuss this in more detail in our article on the health and safety responsibilities of a manager in Poland.

Refusing a PIP fine – what happens next?

You do not have to accept an on-the-spot fine. You have the right to refuse it if you believe the penalty is unjustified or the inspector has misjudged the situation. In theory this sounds reasonable – in practice, you should know the consequences. If you refuse the fine, the inspector refers the case to court, where the stakes are much higher. What was a PLN 5,000 fine can turn into a court fine of up to PLN 60,000.

The court does not look at a single incident only. It checks whether similar violations have occurred before, what action was taken after the inspection and whether the company cooperated with the inspector. If explanations are inconsistent or documentation is missing, the risk of a higher penalty grows. From PIP’s perspective, refusing a fine can also be a signal that the case needs a closer look – which often means further inspections.

In many cases it is more sensible to accept the fine and remove the shortcomings than to go into confrontation. There are, of course, situations where it is worth defending yourself – especially when the inspector’s assessment raises justified doubts. But if the negligence is obvious, a quick fix is cheaper and less risky than court proceedings.

Not just fines – what other measures can PIP use?

A fine is not the only tool available to the National Labour Inspectorate. The inspector can issue a number of administrative decisions which – even if they do not involve an immediate cost – can seriously disrupt a company’s operations. Most often these are orders to remove irregularities within a set deadline and obligations to carry out additional measurements, expert assessments or training.

Since 8 July 2026, the inspector also has a new power regarding civil law contracts and B2B cooperation. The inspector looks at how the cooperation works in practice, not at what is written in the contract. If they conclude that a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia), a contract for specific work (umowa o dzieło) or a B2B contract is in fact an employment relationship, they first issue an instruction to put the situation in order. Only if the company does not comply can the district labour inspector issue a decision establishing the existence of an employment relationship, which can be appealed to the labour court. Such a decision has social security and tax consequences. A transitional period runs until 8 July 2027: companies that put their contracts in order themselves can avoid liability for a petty offence. This is one of the most significant changes for companies that rely on civil law contracts and B2B cooperation.

If the company does not comply with the decisions issued, the inspector can suspend work or activities in a given area and assign employees to other work. Such decisions are made mainly when employees’ health or life is at risk. Importantly, removing the irregularities after the deadline does not close the case – PIP may return for a follow-up inspection and draw further consequences.

The penalty amounts themselves are not always the most painful part. Often a bigger problem turns out to be production downtime, damage to reputation or the need to reorganise processes urgently. That is why post-inspection recommendations are worth treating as a map of the company’s weak points rather than unnecessary paperwork.

PIP penalties 2026 – summary table

The table below summarises the sanctions applicable since 8 July 2026.

Want to know how your company would fare in a PIP inspection?

The best time to find weak points is before the inspector does. EHS Consulting supports foreign and Polish companies with OHS consultancy – from audits and inspection preparation to OSH documentation – and can take over the duties of the OSH service through HSE outsourcing. Get in touch and we will start with a review of your current situation.

Legal basis: Articles 281–283 of the Polish Labour Code (offences against employee rights); Code of Procedure for Petty Offences; Act of 13 April 2007 on the National Labour Inspectorate – as amended with effect from 8 July 2026. Legal status: October 2026.