PLN 5,000 PIP Fine: The Full List of Penalties

Picture an inspection on site. The PIP inspector (the Polish Labour Inspectorate) asks for the occupational risk assessment. You don't have it. They issue a fine - and from 8 July 2026 that's no longer 2 000 zł but up to 5 000 zł for one missing paper. And that's only the start of the list. In this article you'll find the full penalty schedule after the reform and a simple piece of maths that makes its own case: papers cost pennies compared with what you can pay without them. If you'd rather not learn this the hard way, ready-made BudoReady templates (risk assessment, instructions, registers, checklist) sort the matter out in one evening.

Key points in brief

• The PIP inspector's fine rises from 2 000 zł to 5 000 zł - from 8 July 2026.
• A repeat offence (the same violation again) means a fine of 10 000 zł.
• A court case under the Labour Code: a penalty of 2 000 zł to 60,000 (Art. 281-283 of the Labour Code).
• A new type of penalty of 50 000 zł for prolonged non-payment of wages.
• In the event of an accident, OSH (occupational safety and health) documentation is proof that duties were met; breaching them and exposing a worker to danger falls under Art. 220 of the Penal Code - up to 3 years' imprisonment.

The inspector's fine: from 2 000 zł to 5 000 zł

Until now the PIP inspector could impose a penal fine in a ticket procedure of up to 2 000 zł. After the reform (the Act of 11 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 473) this amount goes up to 5 000 zł. It's a penalty the inspector writes out on the spot, without a court, for an established offence. No occupational risk assessment? A fine. No OSH training for a worker? A fine. No job-specific instruction at a machine? A fine.

The key thing to grasp: every missing document is a separate ground for a penalty. The inspector doesn't add the gaps into one "discount". The more holes in the paperwork, the more reasons to reach for the upper limit.

And if you don't pay the fine?

You can refuse to accept the fine. Then the case goes to court - and there the rates are much higher. More on that in a moment.

The full penalty schedule after the reform

Below you have the whole thing in one table. Print it out and hang it in the container on site. This isn't a scare tactic - these are the prices that really apply from 8 July 2026.

Type of penalty	Amount	Legal basis
PIP inspector's fine	up to 5 000 zł	Journal of Laws 2026 item 473
Fine for a repeat offence	up to 10 000 zł	Journal of Laws 2026 item 473
Court fine (offence)	2 000–60 000 zł	Art. 281-283 of the Labour Code
Prolonged non-payment of wages	up to 50 000 zł	Journal of Laws 2026 item 473
Exposing a worker to immediate danger	up to 3 years' imprisonment	Art. 220 of the Penal Code
Work stoppage	site standstill (own cost)	inspector's decision

Repeat offence: the second time it's 10 000 zł

The inspector visited you once, gave a fine, told you to complete the papers. They come back six months later, and you still don't have the risk assessment. The same offence a second time is a repeat offence - and the fine jumps to 10 000 zł. The logic is simple: the first time you might not have known, the second time it's deliberately ignoring the rules.

That's why there's no point in "waiting out" one inspection. Once you land on the list, they come back. And the second time it's more expensive.

The court and the Labour Code: from 2 000 zł to 60,000

The fine is the lightest path. If the case goes to court - because you refused the fine or the gravity of the violation is high - Art. 281-283 of the Labour Code come into play. There the penalty reaches 60 000 zł. For what exactly?

• No OSH training for workers.
• Putting someone to work without medical examinations.
• No occupational risk assessment for the jobs.
• Failure to keep the required employee documentation.
• Breaching working-time rules.

For a micro construction firm under PKD 43 (specialised construction) these are amounts that can floor the business. One judgment - and half a year's profit is gone.

A new type of penalty: 50 000 zł for non-payment of wages

The reform adds a completely new type of sanction. For prolonged non-payment of wages to workers, a penalty of up to 50 000 zł applies. It's a blow to one of the most common sins on construction sites - "I'll pay when the developer pays me". From 8 July 2026 such delay has its price, and it's a price written straight into the penalty schedule.

Art. 220 of the Penal Code: up to 3 years in prison

This is the most serious item on the list and the most often underestimated. Art. 220 of the Penal Code states plainly: whoever, being responsible for OSH, exposes a worker to immediate danger to life or serious harm to health, is liable to imprisonment for up to 3 years.

What does this mean in practice? If an accident happens on site and you don't have the documentation - risk assessment, training, instructions - the prosecutor has ready-made proof that you failed to meet your duties. A lack of papers stops being a 5 000 zł offence. It becomes a criminal case with the owner's personal liability. This is no longer about the firm. It's about you.

Work stoppage: the site stands still, the money runs

The PIP inspector can stop work on the spot if they see an immediate danger. This isn't a fine - it's a decision that halts the site. Then you count not a penalty, but the standstill: the crew stands idle, the equipment stands idle, the deadline slips, and contractual penalties for delay tick along. In construction a day of standstill can cost more than every fine on this list put together.

No papers = no entry onto a developer's site

There's one more cost that's in no penalty schedule and hurts the most. The big main contractors - Skanska, Budimex, Strabag - only let subcontractors onto site with a complete set of OSH documentation. Without a risk assessment, instructions and training you won't get through the gate. End of story.

That means a lack of papers doesn't just expose you to penalties. It simply closes off access to the best-paid jobs. A competitor with their papers in order walks in - and you're left in front of the gate. More on how the rules of the game are changing, you'll find in the text on what the PIP reform changes.

Maths that makes its own case

Now the thing you're here for. Let's coolly count how much a lack of papers costs, and how much the papers themselves cost.

• One fine for a missing risk assessment: up to 5 000 zł. That's 16 times more than the STARTER package at 299 zł.
• Repeat offence: 10 000 zł. That's over 13 STANDARD packages (449 zł).
• Court fine: up to 60 000 zł. That's 80 FULL packages (749 zł).
• Unpaid wages: up to 50 000 zł - separately.
• Art. 220 of the Penal Code: up to 3 years in prison. You can't put that in złoty.

See where the sense is? A complete set of documentation costs about the same as one day's pay for a good tradesman. One fine is the equivalent of a dozen or so such sets. It's a sensible cost of putting in order the documentation required by PIP. And if you want to know how real the risk of meeting an inspector is, see the PIP inspection statistics.

What really protects you from a fine?

The inspector asks about specific documents. Most often these are:

1. Occupational risk assessment (ORZ) for the jobs.
2. OSH instructions at the machines and for particularly hazardous work.
3. Registers - of training, medicals, accidents.
4. Induction and periodic training records.
5. A checklist for preparing for a PIP inspection.

These are exactly the papers you have in the ready-made packages. You don't have to write them from scratch or pay a specialist 2 000 zł for the same thing.

Survive a PIP inspection - the STARTER package for 299 zł

If you want the basics calmly and cheaply, take the STARTER package for 299 zł. It's 10 files: occupational risk assessment, OSH instructions, registers and a PIP inspection checklist. Ready-made templates to fill in with your firm's details - you do it in one evening, without jargon and without a specialist.

Need more? STANDARD (449 zł) is 27 files, FULL (749 zł) is the complete set of 45 files - all for a micro construction firm under PKD 43. The promotion runs until 7 July 2026, the day before the reform takes effect. Count again: one fine is 5 000 zł the package is 299 zł. There's nothing to think about.

See BudoReady packages

This article is for information only and does not replace legal advice or consultation with an OSH specialist. Document templates require individual adaptation to the realities of your firm and specific jobs, and the current legal state is worth verifying as at the date of use.