Whatis the employer obliged to finance the employee’s glasses?
In accordance with the definition of the OhS Act, every employee in a position that is equipped with a screen monitor has, first of all, the right to a 5-minute break per hour of work with a computer. In addition to the additional break, the employer is obliged to provide glasses to employees who have confirmed vision defects and for whom the doctor has issued an instruction to continue working in corrective glasses.
Although many employers are not aware of this, the Labor Code regulates the issue of financing corrective glasses in a very precise way. According to paragraph 8 of the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, it is the employer who is obliged to provide the employee with eyeglasses correcting vision, provided that the result of ophthalmological examinations clearly indicates the need to use them while working at the computer. According to the rules, any employee employed in a position that will require work with a computer for at least 4 hours must undergo ophthalmological examinations as part of the initial medical examination. When the ophthalmologist’s certificate indicates the need to use corrective glasses, the employer is obliged to provide them.
As in the case of reimbursement frequency, it is the employer who sets internal rules related to the amount of financing glasses for the employee. Based on the Polish market, however, we can successfully conclude that the amount of refund is usually from 200 to 300 zlotys. It is important, however, that the regulations for the reimbursement of glasses operating on the premises of the company also include detailed provisions on whether the refund itself covers only glasses or glasses with frames. This will significantly improve the process of analyzing refund applications and minimize the risk of unexpected situations in which the employee regularly changes the frames for which the employer must pay.
After completing the medical examination, the employee on his own should go to the ophthalmologist in order to buy a suitable pair of glasses. Of course, a personal invoice or an invoice for the company should be attached to the purchase. The employee should forward the invoice to the person or department responsible for settling this type of expense in the company. There, medical examinations are verified in order to confirm the need to use glasses. When everything is correct, the employer is obliged to transfer within a specified period of funds that are a refund for the purchase of glasses.
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
