Health and safety regulations impose on the employer the obligation to consult all actions taken in the field of occupational health and safety, regardless of the number of employees it employs. However, if this number exceeds 250, the employer is obliged to appoint an OHS commission as its advisory and opinion-giving body.

The obligation of an employer who employs more than 250 employees, resulting from the provision of Article 237 § 1 of the Labour Code (hereinafter referred to as the Labour Code), is to appoint an occupational health and safety commission (hereinafter referred to as the OHS committee). The HEALTH and Safety Commission may also be appointed by an employer who employs fewer than 250 employees.

The appointment of the OHS committee, the organization of its activities and the composition should be regulated by internal regulation in writing (e.g. by way of an ordinance, resolution, regulations, etc.). The employer’s decision to appoint it should be announced to the entire crew, in the form adopted in a given plant (e.g. using e-mail, internal intranet, bulletin board).

The regulations do not specify the detailed structure and organization of the OHS commission – the legislator left it to the decision of the employer and employee representatives. The legislator only indicated that it consists in equal numbers: representatives of the employer, including all employees of the OHS service and a doctor performing preventive health care for employees and  employee representatives, including a social labor inspector.

The tasks of the OHS committee include:

• reviewing working conditions;
• giving opinions on measures taken by the employer to prevent accidents at work and occupational diseases;
• formulating conclusions on the improvement of working conditions;
• periodically assessing the state of health and safety;

• cooperation with the employer in the implementation of its obligations regarding occupational health and safety (Article 237 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

Meetings of the HEALTH and Safety Committee are held during working hours. The frequency and dates of its meetings shall be determined by the employer as necessary, but at least once a quarter. Members of the OHS committee have the right to remuneration for the time worked as part of the performance of the tasks of the OHS committee.

Source: https://poradnikprzedsiebiorcy.pl/-komisja-bhp-a-konsultacje-w-zakresie-bhp

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