How to prepare well for a PIP and ITD inspection?

This article covers Polish regulations and market practice. The principles apply elsewhere, but check the rules in your country.

How do you ensure proper preparation for a PIP inspection (National Labour Inspectorate) or an ITD inspection (Road Transport Inspectorate) at a transport company? This question is on the minds of many carriers who want to be ready for an inspector's visit to their premises. They often fear that the inspection will uncover infringements that will serve as grounds for severe penalties. How can they prevent this? To improve their chances of coming through potential ITD and PIP inspections unscathed, they should learn, among other things, what such inspections can look like, what powers the inspecting authorities' representatives have, which documents need to be assembled, and how to prevent infringements from arising.

All these issues are discussed in the rest of this article. You will learn how to prepare properly for an ITD or PIP inspection in order to reduce the risk of severe penalties.

How to prepare for a PIP (National Labour Inspectorate) inspection?

One of the situations a transport company may have to face is a PIP inspection at its premises. National Labour Inspectorate inspectors visiting businesses usually verify a range of issues in detail, from the company's compliance with the rules on drivers' working time, through the legality of employment, to adherence to health and safety rules. How to prepare for a PIP visit in order to prevent possible problems? To answer this question, let us take a closer look at the rules under which such an inspection may be carried out and which documents are usually checked as part of it.

Does PIP give notice of an inspection before the inspector visits the company's premises?

Many carriers are not entirely aware not only of what a PIP inspection looks like, but also of when and for what reasons it may take place. Above all, note that the regulations allow both announced and unannounced inspections. For this reason, businesses must ensure they consistently comply with the relevant standards on, among other things, health and safety at work, settlement of employees' pay and other benefits arising from the employment relationship, drivers' working time and rest periods, and keeping employee records.

In practice, however, carriers are treated fairly leniently. A PIP inspection at a transport company is an event of which the business being inspected is usually informed in advance. This allows it to prepare properly for the labour inspector's visit. In the case of an announced National Labour Inspectorate inspection, a special notification is sent to the company. It contains indications of how the PIP inspection will proceed and which documents the inspector will pay particular attention to.

How long does a PIP inspection at a transport company take?

Carriers who have not previously experienced a visit from a National Labour Inspectorate inspector often wonder about various aspects of this significant event for the company. They are interested not only in the most common PIP penalties or which documents PIP checks while at the company's premises, but also in how long such an inspection can last. The regulations do not clearly define the length of the inspection period, but they do indicate that it depends largely on the size of the company. Under Article 55 of the Act of 6 March 2018 – Entrepreneurs' Law, the total duration of all inspections by an inspecting authority at a business in one calendar year may not exceed:

• 6 working days for micro-enterprises,
• 18 working days for small enterprises,
• 24 working days for medium-sized enterprises,
• 48 working days for other enterprises.

What does a PIP inspection look like?

What can a business expect once it has received notification that a PIP inspection at its transport company is coming? Let us start with the fact that it should be aware of the powers the labour inspector has and be ready to follow their instructions. The inspector has the right, among other things:

• to move freely around the company's premises and the buildings and rooms belonging to it, and to carry out inspections of those spaces,
• to request access to personnel files and other documentation, such as internal regulations, relating to the performance of work by employees or persons working on a basis other than an employment relationship,
• to request written or oral explanations from the inspected entity, as well as from current and former employees.

In turn, the inspecting labour inspector is obliged to show their official ID and hold an authorisation indicating, among other things, the legal basis for the inspection, the inspector's details, the scope of the inspection and the entity covered by it.

What does PIP pay attention to during a visit to the company's premises? PIP inspectors focus, among other things, on verifying issues relating to the legality of employment, the settlement of pay and business travel allowances, and compliance with the rules on drivers' working time and rest. They often check:

• working time documentation (including records, settlements, contracts),
• compliance with health and safety rules,
• whether the company keeps proper records of events related to drivers' work.

The labour inspector's findings are recorded in a report. The inspected business may raise justified objections to it; these should be submitted in writing within 7 days of the report being presented.

PIP inspection: how to prepare?

Businesses in the road transport industry facing a PIP inspection ask a number of questions: what to prepare for the inspector's visit, which documentation will be needed and how to reduce the risk of penalties for any infringements. The aspects that deserve particular attention are correct records of drivers' working time and properly kept employee documentation. These are areas very often checked during a PIP inspection at a transport company.

To ensure good preparation for a PIP inspection at the company's premises, you should also take care of matters such as the legality of contracts and their compliance with labour law, up-to-date medical examinations and regular health and safety training, as well as correct settlement of pay and payment of properly calculated social security contributions to ZUS. At the same time, make sure the documentation is complete: gather and organise all the necessary documents, from working time records to leave requests.

Road Transport Inspectorate: how to prepare for an inspection at the company?

Another authority that may carry out an inspection at a road haulage business is the ITD. Under the regulations, a Road Transport Inspectorate inspection at a transport company should be:

• preceded by a notification to the company of the intention to launch an inspection (unlike a PIP inspection, it cannot be unannounced); the notification must be sent by post, and inspection activities cannot begin earlier than 7 days after the company receives it,
• documented in the form of an inspection report,
• carried out within the specified time limits set out in the aforementioned Article 55 of the Act of 6 March 2018 – Entrepreneurs' Law,
• conducted in the presence of the business owner or a person authorised by them.

An ITD inspection at a carrier's premises may take place for various reasons. Very often it is a consequence of a roadside check during which serious infringements were detected. Unauthorised interference with the tachograph, missing documents or failure to record the driver's working time: the grounds for an ITD inspection later carried out at the company's premises vary. Potential reasons for an ITD inspector's visit to a transport company also include complaints lodged by former employees or a referral from, for example, the National Labour Inspectorate.

Preparing for an ITD inspection at a transport company: which documents can the inspector check?

How does an ITD inspection proceed and what does the inspector verify as part of it? The scope of the inspection is set out in the notification sent to the company; to see a template of this kind of notification, refer to Annex 14 to Order No. 28/2014 of the Chief Inspector of Road Transport of 17 September 2014. ITD inspectors may check documents such as:

• the authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator or the licence to carry on business in road transport,
• certificates of professional competence of the transport managers,
• a list of employees and non-employed persons carrying out transport for the inspected entity, both on the day of the inspection and during the period covered by it,
• drivers' working time records,
• the absence record card,
• copies of driving licences and documents confirming the medical and psychological examinations of employed drivers,
• driver attestations for drivers who are not EU citizens but carry out road transport for the business,
• a list of vehicles used for road transport and the related technical documentation,
• copies of vehicle registration certificates,
• documents confirming road transport operations during the period under inspection,
• digital data from driver cards and printouts from driver cards for the period under inspection,
• digital data from digital tachographs and printouts from these devices for the period under inspection.

How to prepare for an ITD and PIP inspection? Practical tips

An inspection by the ITD, PIP or another authorised body at a transport company is a considerable emotional burden for the carrier. With proper preparation for such a visit, however, you can minimise the risk of severe penalties being imposed on the company. What should you take care of in advance so that a Road Transport Inspectorate or National Labour Inspectorate inspection does not bring unpleasant consequences for the company?

Complete and up-to-date documentation

The foundation you should take care of is properly kept documentation:

• driver cards: make sure all cards are valid and that their data is downloaded regularly,
• digital tachograph: keep the tachograph records and maintain working time records carefully, documenting drivers' working and rest time in line with legal requirements,
• contracts and annexes: check that all drivers have lawful, up-to-date contracts.

Regular data download and analysis

Systematic downloading of data from tachograph memory and driver cards is not only a legal obligation but also a way to avoid costly mistakes. Use modern tools for automatic download and analysis, which make it easier to detect potential infringements before an inspection.

Training and building driver awareness

Provide drivers with training in operating digital tachographs and the rules on working and rest time. Pass on current information about the regulations regularly; this reduces the risk of unintentional mistakes.

Looking after vehicle condition and tidy documentation

Regularly check the technical condition of vehicles, including that the tachographs in them are working correctly. Before an inspection, also make sure that all licences, permits and other documents are available and in order.

How to prepare for a National Labour Inspectorate and Road Transport Inspectorate inspection? Summary

Preparing for a PIP and ITD inspection requires, above all, consistency and good organisation. Remember to download data from the digital tachograph and driver cards regularly, keep careful, up-to-date documentation and train your drivers. Proper preparation for an ITD and PIP inspection will allow you not only to minimise the risk of severe penalties, but also to build your reputation as a reliable carrier. By following the tips above, you increase your chances of a trouble-free inspection and peace of mind at work.

Correct use of tachographs and driver cards is necessary to prevent infringements that could prove very problematic during a PIP or ITD inspection at a transport company. If you want to find out more about these tools for recording drivers' working time, we encourage you to read the other articles about them on our blog, including:

• A new era of tachographs: replacement, key deadlines and the most important changes
• How to streamline the settlement of drivers' working time? A guide to remote tachograph data download
• Tachographs in vans: what you need to know about the new rules
• Tachograph: what it is, how it works, what it is for and who must have one
• How to insert a card into a tachograph? A practical step-by-step guide
• How to change the time on a tachograph? A practical guide for drivers and payroll staff
• Driving without a tachograph: when is it allowed?

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