B2B Under Scrutiny: Check Your Red Flags!

18.04.2026

Matylda is the CEO of a real estate development company. The firm is expanding rapidly, with several dozen people contributing to its success.

Despite strong financial results, Matylda has been feeling anxious lately. With a racing heart, she follows legislative updates regarding B2B contracts and reads articles about upcoming inspections by the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP). She can already envision herself struggling to explain her setup to an inspector…

Matylda knows she hasn’t been “strictly compliant.” In recent recruitment rounds, she offered candidates B2B contracts because they are more cost-effective and provide greater flexibility. The company doesn’t bear the burden of social security (ZUS), and if things don’t work out, it’s easier to part ways without justifications or the risk of labor court litigation. Only in exceptional cases did Matylda agree to a standard employment contract (UoP).

Consequently, Matylda’s company has become a “mish-mash.” She has lost track of who is an employee and who is a contractor. To avoid chaos, she introduced the same rules for everyone.

The company has uniform working hours, a single organizational structure, and consistent reporting lines. Everyone receives the same benefits, attends the same training, and undergoes the same performance reviews. In daily operations, there are no visible differences—only the paperwork distinguishes them.

Matylda has no idea how to handle the new regulations. She fears a PIP inspection but doesn’t know if her anxiety is justified. “Should I move everyone to payroll? Or, if the paperwork looks correct, do I have nothing to worry about?”

Let’s help Matylda deconstruct this issue.

Imagine a scenario where the new regulations are already in force. A PIP inspector is sitting in your conference room, reviewing documents. Unsurprisingly, they start with the B2B contracts.

What will interest them the most?

1. Reporting to a Supervisor

In a B2B relationship, both parties are equal business partners. In this arrangement, the company has the right to define the service it expects and the required standard or outcome. However, it should not interfere in how that service is performed step-by-step.

The contractor should maintain autonomy, acting as an external expert “hired” to achieve a specific result. The problem arises when “cooperation” is replaced by “management”—where there is a supervisor, official orders, control over the method of work, or a requirement for detailed reporting.

Under such conditions, the relationship takes on the characteristics of subordination, which is a core element of an employment relationship.

Red Flags: Supervisor/Manager, reporting of specific activities, official orders/instructions.

2. Requirement of Personal Performance

In a B2B relationship, the focus is on the result of the commissioned work. The company evaluates whether the service was delivered according to the expected standard.

From the company’s perspective, it should be secondary whether the B2B contractor performed the work personally or delegated it to a subcontractor. Ultimately, the contractor named in the agreement bears full responsibility for the quality of the service.

If the company requires the B2B contractor to perform all activities personally, it immediately signals an employment relationship. In a labor relationship, the company expects exclusivity and personal performance; an employee cannot simply arrange a substitute.

While there are exceptions (e.g., unique artists or key advisors), for standard roles, a total ban on delegation is a “hook” for the PIP.

Red Flags: Obligation of personal service, lack of a substitution procedure.

3. Specified Place and Hours of Service

A B2B contractor should generally decide when they start and finish work and where they work from. Whether they start at 9:00 AM or work through the night shouldn’t matter, as long as the work is done.

The situation becomes complicated when the company treats B2B contractors exactly like employees, requiring “9-to-5” presence with daily “clocking in,” or expecting remote availability during strictly defined hours.

This constant availability brings the relationship closer to employment. An employer can demand an employee be at the firm’s disposal at specific times. If the contractor cannot handle private matters during these hours without prior “approval,” it mirrors an employment bond.

Red Flags: Rigid working hours and location, clocking in/out, signing attendance lists, time-tracking via employee systems.

4. Paid Vacation (Leave)

In the world of B2B, there is no “vacation leave.” There is no guaranteed rest period nor statutory rules defining its duration. “Vacation leave” is a concept reserved strictly for employment relationships.

In practice, B2B contractors do take breaks. This can be negotiated as a “paid break in service provision.” However, the problem arises when the company standardizes these rules across the board. If a contractor submits a “leave request” via the HR system or appears on the company “vacation plan” alongside employees, it’s a major red flag.

Red Flags: Use of the word “leave/vacation,” 26 days of paid absence, vacation plans, leave requests, integration into the HR leave system.

5. Employee Benefits

A B2B contractor is an independent entrepreneur who should finance their own “social background” from their fee. The valuation on their invoice should already account for these costs.

This doesn’t mean you can’t offer anything. A training budget or a project-based bonus is usually fine as it aligns with a business relationship. However, providing the entire package of employee benefits (e.g., private medical care, sports cards) may lead an inspector to conclude that the B2B contract is merely a facade.

Red Flags: Full benefit packages, Multisport cards, private medical care, subsidies for holiday travel (e.g., “wczasy pod gruszą”).

How will it look in practice?

To protect yourself from the PIP, is it enough to ask a law firm for a “perfect B2B template”?

Definitely not. The regulations state that the PIP will verify the actual reality of the cooperation. An inspector might analyze the contracts first, but they will then check how the company actually functions.

They may conduct “field interviews,” talking to employees and contractors about daily practices. They might also look at:

• System login times (computer and email);
• Leave requests in the HR system;
• Organizational charts and email signatures;
• Attendance tracking systems.

Summary for Matylda:

• Red Flags include subordination, fixed hours, personal performance requirements, and standard employee benefits.
• Reality check: Documentation is important, but the PIP will check how the company operates in practice.
• Action: Ensure that daily operations reflect the independence of B2B contractors.