NATIONAL LABOUR INSPECTORATE – STRUCTURE AND COMPETENCES
National Labour Inspectorate is an authority established in order to supervise and inspect the observance of labour law, in particular occupational safety and health rules and regulations as well as regulations on legality of employment and other paid work.
National Labour Inspectorate is subordinate to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. Supervision of the National Labour Inspectorate is exercised by Labour Protection Council, whose members are appointed by the Speaker of the Sejm from among MPs, senators, candidates proposed by the President of the Council of Ministers, trade union organizations and employer organizations as well as experts and representatives of science.
Such placement of NLI within the national authorities system, and especially the separateness of NLI from the government administration is unique in the European Union and guarantees the NLI independence from political influences.
Implementing its tasks, the NLI cooperates with many institutions involved, within the labour protection system in Poland, in individual aspects of this issue, including especially: the State Sanitary Inspection, the National Fire Service, Border Guard, Police, Office of Technical Inspection, construction supervision, Central Institute for Labour Protection in the context of securing OSH system and legality of employment in Poland (also of foreign nationals).
The scope of NLI’s activity, competence and structure are currently specified by the Act of 13 April 2007 on National Labour Inspectorate (Journal of Laws No. 89, item 589, as amended). The act is a new legal instrument which replaced the previous National Labour Inspection Act of 6 March 1981.
The Act has significantly expanded the inspection competences of the National Labour Inspection, altered the principles of inspection procedures and supervisory competence of NLI’s inspectors, it also increased the scope of fines for violation of rights of persons performing work.
National Labour Inspectorate is managed by the Chief Labour Inspector, appointed by the Speaker of the Sejm.
Since 2005, the Chief Labour Inspector has been a member of the EU Senior Labour Inspectors Committee. The National Labour Inspectorate also takes active part in actions undertaken by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and closely cooperates with labour inspectorates from Central and Eastern Europe.
The organizational structure of the National Labour Inspectorate is composed as follows: Chief Labour Inspectorate, 16 District Labour Inspectorates with 42 sub‐districts (district labour inspectorates cover with its territorial competence – the area of one voivodeship) and The National Labour Inspectorate’s Professor Jan Rosner Memorial Training Centre in Wrocław.
