Consequences of Not Providing OHS Training in Poland
Today, OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) training is a legal prerequisite for a newly hired employee to start work in Poland. After a set period, periodic refresher training is also required, with the interval depending on the type of position. But what actually happens to an employer who fails to train their employees in OHS? Are there real consequences — for the employer, and for the employee?
Lack of OHS training and its consequences
Legally, the Polish Labour Code prohibits allowing an employee to perform their duties without proper training. A newly hired employee must complete initial training, which is split into two stages — a general briefing and a workstation-specific briefing. The general briefing is delivered by the person responsible for OHS at the workplace and is designed to raise awareness of health and safety at work. Trained employees learn how to carry out their duties more carefully, reducing the risk of a workplace accident and protecting their own health and that of their colleagues. They also gain a basic understanding of fire safety, safe evacuation procedures, and first aid.
After the general briefing comes the workstation-specific briefing, delivered by a person appointed by the employer — this could be a supervisor or the employer themselves, provided they have the relevant knowledge. During this stage, the employee is familiarised with all the rules for performing their specific tasks safely and correctly.
How often does periodic OHS training need to be repeated?
The next stage is periodic OHS training, repeated at set intervals depending on the type of work performed. A few examples by position type:
- every 3 years for manual/blue-collar positions,
- every year for manual/blue-collar positions involving particularly hazardous work,
- every 5 years for managerial, engineering-technical, and other positions where the nature of the work involves exposure to harmful, hazardous, or burdensome factors, or carries OHS responsibility,
- every 6 years for administrative and office positions.
Consequences for the employer and the employee
The legal basis here is Article 237³ § 2 of the Polish Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), which states:
“The employer is required to ensure that an employee receives training in occupational health and safety before being allowed to work, and to provide periodic training in this area.”
Responsibility for failing to provide the required training, or for missing a training deadline, falls on the employer. Disregarding this obligation is treated as an offence against employee rights under Article 283 of the Labour Code and is punishable by a fine. Since 8 July 2026, following the amendment to the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP), these fines are significantly higher than before: a fine of up to 60,000 PLN for a single offence, rising to up to 90,000 PLN in the case of repeated violations referred to court. A PIP inspector can also issue an on-the-spot penalty notice of up to 5,000–10,000 PLN, depending on the case.
Because organising OHS training is the employer’s legal obligation, an employee cannot be penalised for not having completed it. It’s worth remembering that the whole point of OHS training is to genuinely improve safety and hygiene at the workplace, and to improve working conditions — for example, in an office environment, this might mean providing ergonomic office chairs.
To sum up: the consequences of missing a training deadline or failing to train employees fall on the employer. But it’s the employee performing their duties without proper training who stands to lose the most — without the right knowledge of how to work safely, they face a higher risk of a workplace accident, put their own health on the line, and can end up slowing down work for the whole team.
Have questions about OHS training? We’re happy to help — get in touch.
