The cooperation has already ended. How do you establish that it was an employment contract?
Short answer
If a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia), a contract for specific work (umowa o dzieło) or B2B cooperation has already ended, the PIP (National Labour Inspectorate, Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) will, as a rule, not issue a decision establishing an employment relationship. According to the PIP, the inspector can act only if, on the day of the inspection, you are still working or providing services, and a dispute over cooperation that has ended belongs to the labour court. You can bring an action yourself in the labour court for establishing the existence of an employment relationship. Such an action can also be brought on your behalf by the District Labour Inspector.
This matter usually requires an individual legal assessment. The guide explains the rules, but the outcome depends on documents and circumstances. Before an important decision, consult a lawyer or a trade union, or use free PIP advice. PIP legal advice.
In this guide: When a mandate or B2B contract has ended, the PIP usually issues no decision. The labour court remains: action, costs, competent court, OIP help, limitation.
Who this applies to
People who worked under a civil-law contract or as self-employed in conditions typical of a regular job, and whose cooperation has ended. It also applies where the work continues, but you want to establish an employment relationship for a period earlier than the one a decision of the District Labour Inspectorate (OIP) can cover.
What to do
- Check whether the cooperation has definitely ended and when. If the company ended it after a PIP inspection had begun, the situation is different: a decision is possible, and the date of conclusion of the employment contract (umowa o pracę) will be the date the inspection began (Article 34(2g) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). We describe this in the guide How the PIP establishes an employment relationship: inspection, instruction and OIP decision step by step.
- Assess the features of the work under Article 22 § 1 of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy): direction, place and time set by the principal, personal work, remuneration. Helpful: Mandate or regular job and the comparison of contracts.
- Secure the evidence while it is available: contracts, bills and invoices, transfers, rotas, e-mails and messages with instructions, witness details.
- Decide what you want to claim. Establishing the employment relationship itself is one thing. You can also pursue claims, e.g. pay for overtime or payment in lieu of unused leave. Remember the limitation period (point 8).
- File a claim for establishing the existence of an employment relationship. The basis is Article 189 of the Code of Civil Procedure (KPC): a claimant may demand that the existence of a legal relationship be established "when it has a legal interest in doing so". In the claim, explain why you need the establishment. A case for establishing the existence of an employment relationship, where the relationship between the parties, contrary to the contract, has the features of an employment relationship, is a labour law case (Article 476 § 1(1(1)) KPC).
- Choose the court. The competent court is the district court (labour court) regardless of the value of the dispute (Article 461 § 1(1) KPC). You can choose the court competent for the defendant or the court in whose district the work was performed (Article 461 § 1 KPC).
- Consider help from the OIP. The District Labour Inspector may bring an action for establishing the existence of an employment relationship on behalf of a citizen or, with your consent, join the case at any stage (Article 63(1) KPC; Article 10(1)(11) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). The law does not oblige the OIP to bring such an action and does not set a procedure for requesting it. You can ask at your OIP or use free legal advice from the PIP.
- Watch the limitation period for claims. Claims arising from an employment relationship become time-barred 3 years after the day they fell due (Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code). Each month of delay may mean losing part of your claims.
Costs
An employee bringing a claim is not obliged to pay court costs (Article 96(1)(4) of the Act on Court Costs). Exception: in cases where the value of the dispute exceeds PLN 50,000, the employee is charged an appeal fee on the excess over that amount (Article 35(1), second sentence, of that Act). The exemption covers court costs. Discuss other costs of the proceedings, e.g. the fees of the other party's lawyer, with a lawyer before filing the claim.
Exceptions and caveats
- The PIP's position and the Act. The Act does not say expressly that an OIP decision is impossible after the cooperation has ended. This follows from Article 14 of the Act of 11.03.2026 (contracts "continuing" on the day it entered into force), from Article 34(2d) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate (the decision takes into account the situation at the time of the inspection) and from the PIP's position on its website.
- Contracts that ended before 8.07.2026. The new rules on decisions cover civil-law contracts concluded earlier only if they were still in force on 8.07.2026 (Article 14 of the amending act). The court route is available regardless.
- Claim and mediation. The claim must contain information on whether the parties attempted mediation or another out-of-court settlement of the dispute and, if not, why not (Article 187 § 1(3) KPC).
- Establishment for an earlier period while the work continues. When the work continues, the OIP may choose a court action instead of a decision, in particular for the period before the decision (Article 33a(6) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate).
- The ban on retaliation concerns the decision. The ban on unfavourable treatment under Article 34(2l) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate refers to the issue of a decision, not to a court claim.
When to see a lawyer
A dispute over establishing an employment relationship for cooperation that has ended almost always requires an individual assessment. Get help from a lawyer when the cooperation lasted a long time, when you want to combine the establishment with money claims, when some of your claims are close to becoming time-barred, when you worked B2B and accounted for VAT, or when the other party has a lawyer.
Example
Assumptions: a person worked under a contract of mandate from February 2025 to 31.08.2026 as a receptionist, according to a rota set by the manager, for a fixed hourly rate. On 31.08.2026 the principal terminated the contract. There was no PIP inspection.
In October 2026 this person no longer works for the company, so according to the PIP's position the inspector will not issue a decision. She can file a claim with the district court (labour court) for establishing the existence of an employment relationship from February 2025 to 31.08.2026, choosing the court competent for the company's registered office or for the place of work. She does not pay court costs for the claim. If she also wants to claim, for example, pay for overtime, she must remember that each such claim becomes time-barred 3 years after it fell due.
Documents and deadlines
| What | Deadline or rule | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Limitation of claims arising from an employment relationship | 3 years from the due date | Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code |
| Court | district court (labour court), of the defendant or of the place of work | Article 461 § 1 and § 1(1) KPC |
| Employee's court costs | none, except for the appeal fee above PLN 50,000 | Article 96(1)(4), Article 35(1) KSC |
| Action by the OIP on behalf of a citizen | possible, but not obligatory | Article 63(1) KPC |
Frequently asked questions
Can I file a complaint to the PIP even though I no longer work there?
You can, but according to the PIP the inspector will not settle a dispute over the nature of cooperation that has ended. A complaint may make sense in other matters, e.g. when the principal still engages other people on the same terms.
Will a court judgment replace an OIP decision?
These are two different routes. A judgment in a case for establishment decides whether an employment relationship existed in a given period. An OIP decision concerns work continuing at the time of the inspection and establishes an employment contract, as a rule, from the date of the decision.
Useful tools
Related guides
- How the PIP establishes an employment relationship: inspection, instruction and OIP decision step by step
- Contract of mandate or employment contract? How to check what really binds the parties
- B2B contracting and the employment contract: when self-employment is really a job
- PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?
- How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?
Sources (documents in Polish)
- PIP - Jak złożyć skargę?
- Ustawa z 11.03.2026 o zmianie ustawy o PIP, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473
- Ustawa o PIP, tekst ujednolicony ISAP
- Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 468
- Ustawa o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych, t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1228
- Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245
Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.
Change history
- 15 October 2026: First publication.
This guide is for information only. The current legal provisions and the information of the National Labour Inspectorate apply. An independent information website. We are not the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy).