The costs of accidents at work are borne not only by the employer, but also by the victim’s family and society as a whole. Therefore, ensuring safe working conditions is the primary responsibility of the employer. The amount of costs depends primarily on the accident itself – the heavier and more serious (fatal, collective), the higher the costs.

For the injured party and his family, as well as for the whole society, the costs of the accident will be expenses related to:

• treatment,
• purchase of drugs,
• rehabilitation,
• benefits,
• damages.

For the victim himself / herself, the cost will be a reduction or loss of earnings. Both the aggrieved party and the employer will be lossy due to the accident. It is not worth comparing the amount of the tragedy, but let’s look at exactly what expenses are incurred by the employer.

For the employer, these will primarily be the costs of lost working time, current payments, loss of income, losses of fixed and working assets.

• cost of lost working time – this is a situation in which the injured person and other persons, eg providing first aid to the injured person, accompanying the injured person on the way to the doctor or home, do not perform their official duties. In addition, it is the cost of replacing the injured party, time spent on accident investigation and planning and conducting research and development works.
• Current payments – these are the costs of renting machines or outsourcing production if your machines have been damaged. In addition, repairs to be done outside the workplace, plus the cost of transporting the victim and paid medical assistance outside the workplace.
• Losses in fixed and current assets – raw materials, semi-finished products or finished products may also be damaged as a result of an accident. There may be losses in equipment (machines, tools, vehicles), as well as losses in facilities.
• Loss of income – the employer due to the accident, procedures related to it may receive contractual penalties to be paid to contractors. Breaks in production reduce the efficiency and quality of production.

According to the data published by OIP Warszawa, the costs of production disruptions and repairs in large plants are higher due to the use of more complex technologies and more expensive technical equipment. The average cost of the accident was also calculated:

• 12 thousand zloty. in a plant with up to 5 employees,
• 19 thousand zloty. in a plant with 6-20 employees,
• 29 thousand zloty. in a plant with 21-100 employees,
• 49 thousand zloty. in a plant employing 101-250 employees,
• 63.5 thousand zloty. in a plant with more than 250 employees.

In terms of post-accident prevention, the employer should shape a coherent safety policy. His duty is to take into account technical issues, organization and working conditions, interpersonal relations and the influence of working environment factors. It should also carry out a systematic analysis of the causes of accidents at work, on the basis of which appropriate preventive measures will be applied.

Source: https://www.seka.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Magazyn_SEKA_numer28-www.pdf

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.