How do you find out which labour inspectorate to send your complaint to?

Who this applies to

This guide is for employees who want to file a complaint and for employers who want to know which OIP may inspect them. It is particularly useful when the company's registered office is in a different city from the place of work.

What to do

1. Establish the employer's registered office. You will usually find it in your contract, on your payslip or in a public register (KRS or CEIDG). The registered office is the company's address, not the address of the shop, construction site or warehouse where you work.
2. Check the voivodeship. Each voivodeship has one OIP:

3. Use the tool. The competence tool will suggest the OIP based on an address, and on the Inspectorates page you will find addresses, telephone numbers, e-Doręczenia addresses and opening hours.
4. Decide: OIP or branch. You can file a complaint in person at the seat of the OIP or at its branch. The PIP does not publish the areas covered by individual branches. If you are sending the complaint by post or electronically and do not know which branch is competent, address it to the seat of the District Labour Inspectorate.
5. Also describe the place of work in the complaint. When the company's registered office and the place of work are in different voivodeships, give both addresses. This will make it easier for the inspectorate to route the matter.
6. File the complaint. Forms: How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate? and How do you sign and send a complaint to the PIP electronically?

Exceptions and caveats

• This is practice, not statute. The Act on the National Labour Inspectorate provides that inspections are carried out by inspectors within the territorial competence of the District Labour Inspectorates (Article 22(1)). It does not, however, say that a complaint is assigned according to the employer's registered office. This rule is given on the PIP website.
• An inspector from outside the voivodeship. The Chief Labour Inspector may appoint an inspector to carry out inspection activities in the area of another District Labour Inspectorate (Article 22(2) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate).
• Different competence in other matters. The employer's registered office applies to complaints. An appeal against an inspector's order (nakaz) is heard by the OIP competent for the place where the inspection activities were carried out (Article 34(5) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate), and an appeal against a decision establishing an employment relationship is heard by the district court competent for the place of work stated in the decision. Do not confuse these rules.
• Wrong addressee. The Code of Administrative Procedure (KPA) provides that an authority not competent to consider a complaint forwards it to the competent authority without delay, no later than within 7 days, and notifies the complainant, or indicates the competent authority to the complainant (Article 231 § 1 KPA). This provision concerns complaints under Section VIII of the KPA. The Act on the National Labour Inspectorate does not expressly settle whether an employee's complaint about an employer is such a complaint, so treat it as guidance rather than a guarantee. For ordinary submissions, the KPA requires a non-competent authority to forward them to the competent authority without delay (Article 65 § 1 KPA).
• Branch addresses. On the websites of some OIPs, branch addresses differ between subpages. Call before you visit. We show notes on specific offices on the Inspectorates page.

Example

Assumptions: the employer has its registered office in Poznań (Wielkopolskie voivodeship). The employee works on a construction site in Szczecin (Zachodniopomorskie voivodeship).

According to the PIP's guidance, the competent inspectorate is the OIP in Poznań, because that is where the employer's registered office is. The employee sends the complaint to the OIP in Poznań and adds the address of the construction site in Szczecin. If he had sent the complaint to the OIP in Szczecin, that inspectorate should forward it or indicate the competent authority. Under Article 231 KPA this takes up to 7 days, but as stated above, it is not certain whether this provision covers employee complaints.

Documents and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

Can I send the complaint to the Chief Labour Inspectorate?

The PIP indicates that a complaint about an employer is sent to a District Labour Inspectorate or its branch. Sending it to the Chief Labour Inspectorate (GIP) will lengthen the process, because the letter will have to be forwarded.

The employer has several branches in different voivodeships. What then?

According to the PIP, the employer's registered office decides. Also give in the complaint the address of the establishment where you work. If in doubt, call the OIP before sending the letter.

Useful tools

• Competent inspectorate finder
• PIP complaint generator

Related guides

• How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?
• How do you sign and send a complaint to the PIP electronically?
• What happens after you file a complaint with the PIP, and what to do if there is no reply?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Zarządzenie nr 16 Marszałka Sejmu z 3.12.2007 w sprawie siedzib i właściwości terytorialnej OIP, M.P. 2007 nr 92 poz. 1006
• Metryka ELI M.P. 2007 poz. 1006 (status: obowiązujący)
• PIP, Jak złożyć skargę?
• PIP, Inspektoraty
• Ustawa o Państwowej Inspekcji Pracy, tekst ujednolicony ISAP
• Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego, tekst ujednolicony ISAP
• Ustawa z 11.03.2026 o zmianie ustawy o PIP, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473

Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.