Employee Medical Examinations and Training
Position of the Chief Labour Inspector from April 20, 2020 – Is the PIP position still valid in 2022?
The State Labour Inspection Centre clarifies that according to Article 12a, Section 1 of the Act of March 2, 2020, on specific solutions related to preventing, counteracting, and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and the crisis situations they cause (Journal of Laws 2021, No. 2095), in the case of declaring an epidemic hazard or epidemic state, from the day of the announcement of the given state, the performance of obligations arising from the regulations is suspended:
- Article 229 § 2, first sentence, § 4a regarding periodic medical examinations, and § 5 of the Act of June 26, 1974 – Labour Code;
- Article 39a Section 1 point 6, Article 39d Section 2, Article 39f, Article 39j, Article 39k, and Article 39l Section 1 point 1 of the Act of September 6, 2001, on road transport (Journal of Laws 2021, No. 919 and 1005); After the cancellation of the epidemic hazard state, if the epidemic state is not declared, or after the cancellation of the epidemic state, both the employer and the employee are obliged to immediately resume the suspended duties mentioned in Section 1 and complete them within no longer than 180 days from the day of cancellation of the given state.
In case there is no availability of a doctor authorized to conduct an initial or periodic medical examination, such an examination can be conducted by another doctor, who may issue the appropriate medical certificate. The medical certificate issued by another doctor becomes invalid 180 days after the cancellation of the epidemic hazard state, in the event that an epidemic state is not declared, or from the day of cancellation of the epidemic state. This doctor may conduct the examination and issue a medical certificate as defined in Article 2, Section 4 of the Act of December 5, 1996, on the professions of doctor and dentist. The medical certificate issued by another doctor is included in the employee’s personal file.
During the duration of the epidemic hazard state or epidemic state:
or individuals employed in positions other than administrative-office positions, the periods referred to in Article 229 § 11 points 1 and 2 of the Act of June 26, 1974 – Labour Code, are extended to 180 days;
Persons employed in administrative-office positions are not subject to initial medical examinations if they have an up-to-date medical certificate confirming the lack of contraindications for working in the conditions described in the medical examination referral, and the employer confirms that these conditions match those at the given workplace. According to Article 31m Section 1 of the Act on specific solutions related to preventing, counteracting, and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and the crisis situations they cause, medical certificates issued in connection with initial, periodic, and control medical examinations, whose validity expired after March 7, 2020, remain valid, but no longer than until 180 days after the cancellation of the epidemic hazard state or epidemic state.
Regarding initial and periodic training in the field of occupational health and safety, according to Article 12e Section 1 of the Act on specific solutions related to preventing, counteracting, and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and the crisis situations they cause, during the epidemic hazard state or epidemic state, initial occupational health and safety training may be conducted entirely via electronic communication methods, with the exception of job-specific training for:
- employees employed in manual positions;
- employees exposed to dangerous factors;
- employees transferred to positions mentioned in points 1 and 2;
- trainees and students undergoing practical vocational training. If the period for conducting periodic occupational health and safety training falls within:
- the duration of the epidemic hazard state or epidemic state, or
- within 30 days after the cancellation of the epidemic hazard state, if the epidemic state is not declared, or after the cancellation of the epidemic state, – this period is extended to 60 days after the cancellation of the epidemic hazard state, if the epidemic state is not declared, or after the cancellation of the epidemic state.
Under the Ministerial Regulation of October 28, 2022, amending the regulation regarding specific restrictions, orders, and prohibitions related to the declaration of the epidemic hazard state (Journal of Laws 2022, No. 2221), the epidemic hazard state in the territory of the Republic of Poland is valid until December 31, 2022. The duration of the epidemic hazard state.
Current text of the law:
https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20200000374/U/D20200374Lj.pdf