Is an accident in an icy company car park an accident at work?
The winter season is a time of increased nuisance related to the working environment, especially in the open space. Low temperature, precipitation – including snow – have the greatest impact on the safety of work processes carried out in the proverbial fresh air.
However, even when work is performed in much more comfortable office environments in working environment conditions, one has to get to the workplace somehow. This is often a challenge in the winter season, including for public transport institutions.
Crossing the gate of the workplace does not always mean complete safety. It is not possible to rule out a situation when internal roads, including sidewalks, will be far from perfect in terms of the condition of the surface. Often suitable more for skating than for safe movement from the gate in the plant fence to the entrance to the building where work rooms are organized.
When keeping internal surfaces of roads and sidewalks in good condition is a purely theoretical matter, it is possible that an employee slips, loses balance and falls. If, as a result of such an unfortunate event, an injury occurs, the event will meet the characteristics of an accident. The only question is whether there will ultimately be grounds for qualifying it as an accident at work.
Referring to the above dilemma, it should be assumed at the outset that if there is no injury, in principle there is no accident. However, if there is an injury, the question arises whether the event should be classified as an accident „on the road” or as an accident at work. The problem is that the regulations do not precisely define the beginning and end of the way to or from work.
It is assumed, however, that the road begins when the employee leaves the door of his apartment or house and ends at the border of the workplace. Thus, determining the place of the event is crucial. However, assuming that it took place on the premises of the plant, even before entering the building where the work rooms are located, taking into account the circumstances of a specific event, there may be grounds for qualifying the accident as an accident at work.
It is the duty of every employer to ensure safe conditions not only inside the real estate where the workplace is located, but also within the entire real estate over which it exercises control – including the undeveloped part. Therefore, this also applies to the open space at the disposal of the employer, where employees move, where employees also have the right to appropriate safety conditions.
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
