in Polandprepared by: Małgorzata Żydło

Danmar Computers

Legal bases; Duties and powers of employee in the

field of H&S; Duties and powers of an employer in

the field of H&S; Regulatory bodies

The main legal act, which provides for the right to safe and healthy working conditions, is the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which in the art. 66 guarantees the law everyone.

Below is a diagram of the legal structure concerning health and safety in Poland

Constitution of the Republic of Poland

Other Acts

Labour Code (Chapter X)

Polish norms (issued on the basis of the Law on Standardisation)

•General health & safety rules,•Industry health & safety rules,•Interprofessional health & safety rules;•implementing regulations of Chapter X

•Act on the National Labour Inspectorate,•Act on health inspection,•Act on technical inspection,•The nuclear law,•The geological and mining law,•Construction Law.

Speaking of labor protection system in Poland, the legal system must be distinguished from the organizational system. The first one, which is an integral part of the branch of law that is the labor law tells us about the legal standards and their location in the hierarchy of sources of law relating to health and safety.

The second one illustrates the system of labor protection organizations at the state, business and authorities involved in the creation and control of occupational health and safety in Poland.

Act setting out the rights and duties of citizens in this area is the Labour Code. Basic Code regulations on health and safety can be found in Chapter X of the Code relating to health and safety

The employee is required to: 1) know the rules and principles of health and safety at work, take part in the training and instruction in this field and undergo the required examinations checking;  2) to perform work in a manner consistent with the provisions and principles of occupational health and safety and to comply with the issued command and guidance of their superiors;  3) take care of the proper status of machinery, equipment, tools and harmony in the workplace, 

4) use of collective protection measures, as well as the use of personal protective equipment assigned, and clothing and footwear, according to their intended use; 

5) undergo initial and periodic inspection and other prescribed medical examination and apply for a medical indication; 

6) immediately notify the supervisor noticed a workplace accident or danger to the lives or health of people and warn co-workers and other people in the area of danger, the danger threatening them; 

7) cooperate with the employer and supervisors in carrying out responsibilities for health and safety at work.

In addition the employee has:Obligations relating to preventive examinations,Responsibilities of the scope of participation in safety training,Obligations imposed upon the persons managing employees,The right to refrain from working in an emergency situation.

Main employee rights related to health and safety:The right to information about the occupational risks associated with their work, and the principles of protection from threats;

The right granted to workers employed in a particularly onerous for the employer to receive free, appropriate food and beverages, if this is necessary for reasons of prevention; 

The right of access to appropriate health and hygiene facilities and to receive from the employer the necessary personal hygiene;

The right to receive personal protective equipment protecting workers from dangerous and harmful factors in the workplace and the right to information about how to use those resources. 

The right to receive from the employer of clothing and footwear that meet the requirements of Polish Standards if the employee's own clothing may be damaged or dirty because of technological requirements, health and safety and hygiene;

The right to be trained in the field of health and safety at work, and at the expense of the employer; 

The right to social security benefits available to an employee who suffered an accident at work or occupational disease specified in the list referred to in Article. 237§. Claims may also have complementary with respect to the employer. 

The employer is obliged to:

organize work in a way that ensures a safe and healthy working conditions,

ensure compliance with the regulations and workplace safetyand health, give orders to remove shortcomings in this area and to control the execution of these orders,

to respond to the need to ensure the safety and health at work andadjust the measures taken to improve, the existing level of protection it life and health of employees, taking into account the changing conditions of work,

ensure the development of a coherent policy, preventing from accidents at work and occupational diseases, taking into account the technical issues, the organization of work, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of environmental factors labor

include health care workers, pregnant young life, or who are breastfeeding and disabled workers in the field of prevention subtracted,

ensure the execution of orders, statements, decisions and orders issued by the supervision of working conditions,

ensure the implementation of recommendations of the social labor inspector.

Body set up to supervise and monitor compliance with labor law, in particular the provisions of health and safety, as well as rules on the legality of employment and other paid work in Poland is the National Labour Inspectorate (NLI).

NLI control, in the field of H&S at work and the legality of employment, in accordance with art. 13 of the Act, shall be:the employer,entrepreneurs who are not employers for whom the work is providedby individuals, including persons employed by the self-employed.

Which action is entitled work inspector, where an infringement of labor laws? for example:

1.Injunction to remove the identified infringements within the prescribed period for breach of health and safety regulations,2.Injunction stoppage of work or activity, where it poses a direct threat to the life or health of employees, as well as referrals to other work unit if performing employees of a safe without having the required qualifications,3.Injunction suspension of the operation of machinery and equipment, as their operation does not result in a direct threat to the health or life of humans, etc.