Contract of mandate: I have not been paid. Where do I report it and how do I recover the money?

Who this applies to

This guide is for people who work under a contract of mandate or a contract for the provision of services to which the provisions on mandate apply (Article 750 of the Civil Code), and who have not received the agreed money.

The minimum hourly rate protects a natural person without a business, or a sole trader with no employees and no contractors, when they perform the mandate for an entrepreneur or another organisational unit, as part of that entity's business (Article 1(1a) and (1b) of the Minimum Wage Act). When the person commissioning the work is a private individual who does not run a business, the minimum rate does not apply. You are still entitled to payment if the contract was not free of charge (Article 735 of the Civil Code).

If you have an employment contract (umowa o pracę), read the guide Your employer did not pay your wages on time. What can you do?. The deadlines, route and costs are different there.

What to do

1. Establish when the money became due. Check the payment date in the contract. If the contract says nothing, pay is due once the mandate has been performed (Article 744 of the Civil Code). If the date cannot be established, payment must be made immediately after a demand (Article 455 of the Civil Code). For a contract concluded for more than a month, pay in the amount resulting from the minimum hourly rate must be paid at least once a month (Article 8a(6) of the Minimum Wage Act).
2. Calculate how much you are owed. For each hour of a mandate covered by the Act, you may not receive less than the minimum hourly rate (Article 8a(1)-(2)). From 1 January 2026 it is PLN 31.40, and from 1 January 2027 PLN 32.30. You cannot waive this amount or transfer it to another person (Article 8a(4)). If the principal terminated the contract before its end, they must still pay the part of the fee for what you have already done (Article 746 § 1 of the Civil Code).
3. Collect evidence. The contract, bills, transfer confirmations, correspondence and confirmations of the number of hours will be useful. The contract should specify how hours are confirmed (Article 8b(1)). If it does not, you submit information on the number of hours on paper, electronically or in documentary form before the payment date (Article 8b(2)). The principal keeps these documents for 3 years from the date the pay became due (Article 8c). You can keep your own notes in the working hours table.
4. Send a demand for payment. State the period and the amount you are claiming, give your account number and a payment deadline. Add a demand for statutory interest for late payment (Article 481 of the Civil Code). From 5 March 2026 it is 9.25% per year. You can calculate the interest in the interest calculator. Send the letter by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt and keep a copy. The tips on content and delivery are the same as in the guide How do you prepare a demand for payment of outstanding wages?, but the basis of your claim is the contract of mandate and the Civil Code.
5. File a complaint with the PIP if you were paid less than the minimum rate or nothing at all. The PIP inspects entrepreneurs for whom a mandate was performed during the year before the inspection, with regard to payment of the minimum hourly rate (Article 13(5) and Article 10(1)(15b) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). The inspector may issue post-inspection recommendations (wystąpienie) or an instruction (polecenie) to pay that amount (Article 11b of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). Paying less than the minimum rate is a petty offence punishable by a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000 (Article 8e). You can prepare the complaint in the PIP complaint generator. According to the PIP website, its advice and action on civil-law contracts concern whether the contract is in fact an employment relationship, not general disputes under these contracts.
6. Sue the principal. If the demand does not help, file a claim for payment with the civil court. Details are in the table in the "Documents and deadlines" section. When you claim money, the court issues an order for payment in writ-of-payment proceedings (postępowanie upominawcze), unless the claim is obviously unfounded or the facts raise doubts (Article 480(1) § 1 and Article 499 of the Code of Civil Procedure, KPC). The defendant has 2 weeks from service of the order to pay or to file an objection (Article 480(2) § 2(1), Article 505 of the Code of Civil Procedure). In the claim, state whether you tried to resolve the dispute out of court (Article 187 § 1(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure).
7. Watch the limitation period. The limitation period is interrupted by a claim or another action before a court and by the principal acknowledging the debt (Article 123 § 1 of the Civil Code). A demand for payment alone does not have this effect.

Exceptions and caveats

Limitation: 2 or 6 years. Under Article 751(1) of the Civil Code, claims for payment for services performed become time-barred after 2 years if they belong to persons who "stale lub w zakresie działalności przedsiębiorstwa trudnią się czynnościami danego rodzaju" ("regularly or as part of a business engage in activities of that kind"). In other cases Article 118 of the Civil Code applies: 6 years, and 3 years for claims connected with business activity. The period under Article 118 ends on the last day of the calendar year, unless the period is shorter than 2 years. Whether your situation counts as "regularly" engaging in such activities is decided by the court. To be safe, assume the shorter period of 2 years, counted from the due date.

When a contract of mandate is in practice an employment contract. If you work under the principal's direction, at a place and time set by them, the contract may be an employment relationship regardless of its name (Article 22 § 1(1) of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy, KP). In that case the arrears are wages for work: they become time-barred after 3 years (Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code), and as a rule an employee does not pay court fees (Article 96(1)(4) of the Act on Court Costs). First, however, the employment relationship must be established: by the PIP if you are still working, or before the labour court. Cases for establishing an employment relationship belong to the district court (sąd rejonowy), together with claims pursued jointly (Article 461 § 1(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure). See Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties, How the PIP establishes an employment relationship: inspection, instruction and OIP decision step by step and The cooperation has already ended. How do you establish that it was an employment contract?. You can also use the Mandate or employment tool.

Exceptions to the minimum rate. The provisions on the minimum rate do not apply, among other cases, when you decide yourself on the place and time of performing the mandate and receive only commission, and to certain care contracts (Article 8d).

Legality of employment. The PIP inspects the legality of employment and other paid work (Article 10(1)(3) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). If the principal did not register you for social insurance although they should have, you can describe this in the complaint.

When the principal is insolvent. The Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (Fundusz Gwarantowanych Świadczeń Pracowniczych) also covers people on a contract of mandate, if on that basis they were compulsorily covered by pension and disability insurance (Article 10 of the Act on the Protection of Employee Claims). See The company is closing down and your wages have not been paid. What next?

When to see a lawyer. When you want to prove that the mandate was an employment contract, when the end of the 2-year period is approaching, when the amount exceeds PLN 20,000, or when the principal has filed an objection to the order for payment. The PIP's free advice mainly concerns assessing whether a civil-law contract is an employment relationship.

Example

Assumptions: a person without a business has a contract of mandate with a company, concluded for several months. In September 2026 they worked 80 hours, confirmed in the way provided for in the contract. The contract provides for a rate of PLN 31.40 gross per hour and payment by the 10th day of the following month. The money has not arrived.

1. Gross amount due: 80 h × PLN 31.40 = PLN 2,512. Statutory interest for late payment runs from 11 October 2026.
2. The contractor sends a demand with a 7-day deadline. The deadline is their choice; the law does not impose it.
3. When the deadline passes without payment, they file a complaint with the PIP, because they did not receive even the minimum rate.
4. At the same time, they may file a claim. For a value of PLN 2,512, the court fee is PLN 200 (Article 13(1)(3) of the Act on Court Costs). In the EPU, 1/4 of the fee is charged, i.e. PLN 50 (Article 19(2)(2)).
5. If they carry out such work on a regular basis, they assume that the claim becomes time-barred on 10 October 2028 (2 years from the due date).

Documents and deadlines

If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for exemption from court costs with a statement of your family situation, assets and income (Article 102 of the Act on Court Costs).

Frequently asked questions

Can I take a contract of mandate case to the labour court?

As a rule, no. The labour court hears cases arising from an employment relationship and from other relationships to which separate provisions require labour law to be applied (Article 476 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure). The exception is a case to establish that the contract was in fact an employment relationship.

Will the PIP recover the whole outstanding amount for me?

No. With a contract of mandate, the inspector may act with regard to the minimum hourly rate: issue post-inspection recommendations or an instruction to pay (Article 11b of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). An order (nakaz) to pay wages under Article 11(7) of that Act concerns employees. You claim the rest in court.

The contract was oral. Do I stand a chance?

A contract of mandate does not have to be in writing, but it is harder to prove. If the contract was not concluded in writing, electronically or in documentary form, the entrepreneur confirms to you, before work begins, how hours will be confirmed (Article 8b(3) of the Minimum Wage Act). Collect messages, transfers and testimony from people who saw your work.

Useful tools

• Statutory late payment interest calculator
• Personal record of working hours
• Questionnaire: mandate or employment
• PIP complaint generator

Related guides

• Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties
• How the PIP establishes an employment relationship: inspection, instruction and OIP decision step by step
• The cooperation has already ended. How do you establish that it was an employment contract?
• How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?
• The company is closing down and your wages have not been paid. What next?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Kodeks cywilny, tekst ujednolicony ISAP, stan 2026-06-25 (art. 118, 120, 123, 455, 481, 734, 735, 744, 746, 750, 751)
• Kodeks pracy, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 22, 291)
• Ustawa o minimalnym wynagrodzeniu za pracę, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1773 (art. 1 pkt 1a i 1b, art. 8a-8f)
• Rozporządzenie RM z 11.09.2025 w sprawie minimalnego wynagrodzenia za pracę oraz minimalnej stawki godzinowej w 2026 r., Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242
• Rozporządzenie RM w sprawie minimalnego wynagrodzenia i minimalnej stawki godzinowej w 2027 r., Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1213
• Ustawa o Państwowej Inspekcji Pracy, tekst ujednolicony ISAP (art. 10 ust. 1 pkt 3 i 15b, art. 11b, art. 13 pkt 5)
• PIP: Umowy cywilnoprawne
• Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 468 (art. 17, 27, 30, 34, 187, 461, 476, 480(1)-480(2), 499, 505, 505(1), 505(28)-505(31))
• Ustawa o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1228 (art. 13, 19, 20, 96, 102)
• Obwieszczenie MS z 8.04.2026 o odsetkach ustawowych za opóźnienie, M.P. 2026 poz. 367
• Ustawa o ochronie roszczeń pracowniczych w razie niewypłacalności pracodawcy, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 186 (art. 10)

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

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.