Creating the Occupational Health and Safety Service
For an employer employing more than 100 employees (under an employment contract), this obligation is related solely to the number of employees (the industry or nature of the company is not a determining factor).
The requirement to establish an occupational health and safety (OHS) service applies to employers with more than 100 employees. In workplaces with fewer employees, the tasks of the OHS service can be assigned to an employee performing another job – even within the same employment contract. In some situations, the employer themselves or an external specialist may also perform the tasks of the OHS service.
What happens if the company hires more than 100 employees?
This imposes an obligation on the employer to establish an occupational health and safety service at the workplace (Article 23711 § 1 of the Labour Code). The detailed rules for creating this service are specified in the Regulation of the Council of Ministers on the Occupational Health and Safety Service (Journal of Laws of 1997, No. 109, item 704, as amended). According to § 1, Section 3 of this regulation, in a workplace employing between 100 and 600 employees, the employer may establish a one-person OHS unit, with the employee working part-time. It is also permissible to establish an OHS service in such workplaces by creating a separate employment relationship with an employee already employed by the employer in another role.