OPZZ head of work Confederation: PIP should be able to apply proportional fines to the company's turnover

Mandates proportional to the company's annual revolutions, extending the minimum break at work and the abolition of the obligation to inform about PIP controls – are one of the ideas of the head of OPZZ, the Confederation of the work of Michał Lewandowski to extend the rights of the National Labor Inspectorate.

As announced by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, a bill is to be created by the end of August, based on which the National Labor Inspectorate is to gain, among others The possibility of independent transformation of civil law contracts – including B2B – in the employment contract. PIP hopes that the act will also include a significant increase in the inspection budget and at least a double increase in the amounts of fines that it could impose on non -compliant company regulations.

The chairman of the National Employee Trade Union Confederation of Labor and a member of the Sejm Labor Protection Council, Mateusz Lewandowski, assessed in an interview with PAP that these ideas coincide with the demands of the union environment in Poland.

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– These are postulates that have been appearing at the OPZZ level for years or more at the trade union level. We hope that the National Labor Inspectorate will be strengthened, also financially. We also hope that it will have tools in her hand that will allow – if such premises are found – for efficient changes in civil law contracts in employment contracts – emphasized Lewandowski.

He noted that now the court, which is conducted, “is very problematic and very long.”

Lewandowski emphasized that in addition to new legal possibilities, The Labor Inspectorate should also be “rebuilding”. – All these demands are the most correct. However, looking from the perspective of the Labor Protection Council, it can be said that a certain internal PIP reform would also not hurt this institution. It would be useful to “perceive” some activities and relieve inspectors from unnecessary procedures – noted the head of the work confederation.

As an example, he gave the abolition of the obligation – according to him – unnecessarily informing employers about upcoming controls. – informing the employer that the activities will be taken in a week or in two, we give time to make the documentation to be changed, as a result of which the inspector goes to the ground, which often no longer corresponds to the real situation in the company. We deal with this many times and that is why we postulated together with the Chief Labor Inspector to abolish the obligation to present the entrepreneur authorization to carry out the inspection – said the representative of OPZZ.

– The number of inspectors is also problematic from our perspective, and thus the number of inspections carried out and the number of entities that are subject to such controls. This is a small percentage on a national scale – said Lewandowski. PIP statistics show that in 2024 nearly 50,000 were subject to control. enterprises. In turn, according to the CSO data, at the end of the 4th quarter of 2024 in Poland there were 2 million 788 thousand. 814 active enterprises. Therefore, the data shows that PIP has only controlled 1.7 percent. companies in Poland.

As he noted, it is also important from the perspective of OPZZ that the fines towards enterprises that do not comply with labor law are deterrent enough to prevent the same deficiencies again. – At the moment, penalties are funny for many, especially large enterprises. Due to this state of affairs, PIP controls do not have this restrictive and deterrent character – the trade union said.

PIP inspectors for non-compliance with health and safety regulations or illegal employment may issue an employer with a fine of 1-2 thousand. zloty. In the case of more serious violations, PIP has the right to refer a case to a court, which may impose a fine on an employer in the amount of 1-30 thousand. zloty.

MP Maciej, Maciej Konieczny at one of the July Sejm sites, proposed that the new PIP Act includes a provision enabling imposing a penalty on employers, in the amount depending on the company's annual revolutions. Such a system operates at the Competition and Consumer Protection Office. The maximum penalty imposed by UOKiK may be up to 10 percent. trading achieved in the year preceding the imposition of a penalty.

– I think that it would be a good idea and in fact such a change would somehow make the mandate of the Labor Inspectorate to make the tariff. On the other hand, we would not have a situation in which this punishment for a small or micro -entrepreneur will be too severe. This multiplication of amounts in the case of large enterprises can actually finally work out. Although inspectors already have the opportunity to multiply penalties by the number of employees it concerns, and they rarely use it – Lewandowski pointed out.

As he noted, the change also requires a statutory minimum break at work, which is at least 15 minutes for the working 6 hours. And 30 minutes if the daily working time exceeds 9 hours. – The 15-minute break is definitely too short. This is particularly visible even in large -scale trade, in services where employers are increasingly reducing employment. An employee working 8 hours often does not have enough time to get from the workplace to the place where you can eat a meal and return in a way that gives a actual possibility of rest – emphasized the trade union.

Szymon Adamus (PAP)

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