PIP, ZUS or labour court: who should you turn to with a problem at work?

Who this applies to

This guide is for employees and people working under civil-law contracts who do not know where to take their case. These routes do not exclude each other. You can often go to the PIP and to court in parallel, and an insurance matter may end up both at ZUS and in court.

What to do

1. Decide what you want. An inspection and a penalty for the employer, money, an insurance benefit, or reinstatement at work? The addressee depends on this.
2. Check the deadlines that run on their own. You file an appeal against termination notice with the labour court within 21 days of service of the letter (Article 264 § 1 of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy)). This deadline does not wait for the outcome of a PIP inspection.
3. Report labour law violations to the PIP. The PIP supervises and inspects compliance with labour law, including health and safety, remuneration, working time and leave (Article 10(1)(1) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate), as well as the legality of employment (point 3). You can prepare a complaint in the complaint generator, and the rules are described in the guide How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?
4. Take benefit and insurance matters to ZUS. ZUS determines the obligation to be insured, establishes the right to benefits, pays them (unless the contribution payer does so) and assesses contributions (Article 68(1)(1) of the Act on the Social Insurance System). In matters of registration for insurance, insurance history, contributions and benefits, ZUS issues decisions (Article 83(1)).
5. Appeal against ZUS decisions to a court. You file the appeal in writing or orally for the record with the authority that issued the decision, within one month of service (Article 83(2) of the Act on the Social Insurance System, Article 477(9) § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure (KPC)). A dispute over whether you are covered by insurance is therefore ultimately decided by a court, not by the PIP.
6. Take money claims and disputes about employment status to the labour court. The labour court hears claims arising from an employment relationship and cases for establishing the existence of an employment relationship (Article 476 § 1(1) and (1(1)) KPC). As a rule, an employee bringing a claim does not pay court costs (Article 96(1)(4) KSC).
7. Watch the limitation period. Claims arising from an employment relationship become time-barred 3 years after they fall due (Article 291 § 1 of the Labour Code). The limitation period is interrupted by an action before a body competent to settle disputes or enforce claims, or by the employer acknowledging the claim (Article 295 § 1 of the Labour Code). The Code does not mention a complaint to the PIP, so do not assume that a complaint protects you from the limitation period. An express exception applies to proceedings before the District Labour Inspectorate (OIP) concerning a decision on an employment relationship (Article 33a(8) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate).

Exceptions and caveats

• A payment order is not a judgment. The inspector can order the employer to pay remuneration or another benefit due, and such an order is immediately enforceable (Article 11(1)(7) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). However, the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate does not give the inspector the power to settle money disputes in the way a court does. If the amount or the right to the benefit itself is disputed, the labour court has the final say.
• Employment relationship: PIP or court. Since 8.07.2026, the District Labour Inspector can establish the existence of an employment relationship by a decision (decyzja), but only after an instruction (polecenie) of the inspector has not been complied with (Article 11(1)(7a) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). The decision establishes the employment contract from the date it is issued, exceptionally from the date the inspection began (Article 34(2f) and (2g)). For an earlier period, the establishment is sought before the labour court, in an action brought by the employee or the OIP (Article 33a(6)). If the cooperation has already ended, see the guide The cooperation has already ended. How do you establish that it was an employment contract?
• Termination notice. The PIP will not reinstate you. A gross breach of the rules on termination notice is a petty offence (Article 281 § 1(3) of the Labour Code), so the inspector may deal with the employer's liability, but you bring a claim for reinstatement or compensation in court within 21 days.
• Failure to register with ZUS. The contribution payer registers the employee for insurance within 7 days of the obligation arising (Article 36(2) and (4) of the Act on the Social Insurance System). The PIP inspects the legality of employment and notifies ZUS of insurance violations (Article 37(2)(1) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate).
• Constitutional Tribunal proceedings. The provisions on the OIP decision and higher fines have been challenged before the Constitutional Tribunal (case K 17/26). As of 15.10.2026 the case is pending and the provisions are in force.

Example

Assumptions: an employee on an employment contract (umowa o pracę) has not received full remuneration for two months. At the same time, he received termination notice, and ZUS refused him sickness benefit for the period of sick leave.

• Termination notice: an appeal to the labour court within 21 days of service of the letter. This is the most urgent deadline.
• Unpaid remuneration: a complaint to the PIP, which may end with a payment order, and in parallel or later a claim before the labour court. He has 3 years from the due date of each instalment to file the claim. The next steps are described in the guide Your employer did not pay your wages on time. What can you do?
• Benefit: an appeal against the ZUS decision, filed with the ZUS unit that issued it, within one month of service. The PIP will not change a ZUS decision.

Documents and deadlines

You can calculate the appeal deadline in the deadline calculator. Not sure which inspectorate is competent? See competence of inspectorates.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file a complaint to the PIP and a claim in court at the same time?

Yes. These are two different routes. A PIP inspection may provide findings, but the court assesses the evidence independently. Do not put off your claim just because you are waiting for the outcome of the inspection if a deadline is approaching.

Will the PIP help in a dispute with ZUS?

Not in the sense that it will change a ZUS decision. A ZUS decision can be appealed to a court. The PIP can, however, inspect your employer, for example whether it registered you for insurance.

Where can I get free advice before choosing a route?

The PIP gives advice on labour law. See the guide How do you get free legal advice from the PIP? and the list of helplines.

Useful tools

• PIP complaint generator
• Appeal deadline calculator

Related guides

• How do you file a complaint to the National Labour Inspectorate?
• Your employer did not pay your wages on time. What can you do?
• The cooperation has already ended. How do you establish that it was an employment contract?
• How do you get free legal advice from the PIP?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Ustawa o Państwowej Inspekcji Pracy, tekst ujednolicony ISAP (stan 2026-07-31)
• Ustawa z 11.03.2026 o zmianie ustawy o PIP, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473
• Kodeks pracy, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245
• Ustawa o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych, tekst ujednolicony ISAP (stan 2026-07-28)
• Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 468
• Ustawa o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych, t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1228
• PIP: Jak złożyć skargę?

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

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.