More than 100 employees are required to set up an occupational health and safety service when they are hiring. The competent labour inspector may order an increase in the number of health and safetyprofessionals.

The rules for the establishment, organisation, operation, powers and qualifications of the occupational health and safety service are laid down in Article 23711 of the Labour Code (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Health and Safety at Work) and the Regulation on health and safety at work. According to Article 23711 § 1 of the Code, the obligation to set up a health and safety service (employment of a full-time employee) arises at the time of employment of more than 100 employees.

The NSA, in its judgment of 13 October 2006, I OSK 263/06, took the view that the legislature clearly distinguished two forms of performance of functions in the field of health and safety at work. The first is carried out in the form of a health and safety service and the second by entrusting the performance of the tasks of the health and safety service at work. These two forms of implementation of the obligation to ensure health and safety at work are not the same.

In the case of an employer with fewer than 100 employees, he may entrust the performance of health and safety tasks to an employee employed in another job.

An employer with appropriate training may carry out the tasks of that service himself if:

• employs up to 10 employees or
• employs up to 50 employees and is classified in a group of activities for which no more than a third category of risk has been established within the meaning of the provisions on social security for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

In the absence of competent employees, in accordance with Article 23711 § 2 of the Code, the employer may entrust the performance of health and safety tasks to specialists outside the workplace.

According to the first sentence of Article 23711(1) of the K.P., an employer with more than 100 employees is required to set up an occupational health and safety advisory and health and safety service in which, depending on the number of employees, according to § 1 r.s.b.h.p., he should:

• in the case of employment of up to 600 employees, at least one full-time or part-time occupational health and safety worker,
• where more than 600 employees are employed, at least one full-time occupational health and safety worker per 600 employees.

It should be borne in mind, however, that, in accordance with Article 23711(4) of the Code, the competent labour inspector may order an increase in the number of health and safety workers (and thus an increase in the number of posts, regardless of the number of employees employed in the establishment concerned), where this is justified by the occupational hazards identified.

Source: https://www.prawo.pl/kadry/kiedy-trzeba-zatrudnic-pracownika-bhp-na-umowie-o-prace,500030.html