Who is responsible for workplace health and safety in a company?
“We have outsourced OHS to an external company, so the formalities are on their side” - that is a sentence labour inspectors from the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) hear regularly, and it has no basis in the law. The answer to the question of who bears responsibility for safety in a company is strikingly unambiguous in Polish law: it is the employer, without exceptions and with no possibility of shifting that burden onto anyone else. And after fines for OHS violations rose to PLN 60,000 (from 8 July 2026), spreading responsibility wrongly across the company has become a risk that can cost a specific sum of money - and in extreme cases even freedom.
Workplace health and safety is the employer’s responsibility
This principle is laid down in art. 207 § 1 of the Labour Code: “The employer is responsible for the state of occupational health and safety in the workplace”. The same provision closes the two most common escape routes. First, the scope of the employer’s responsibility is not affected by the employees’ duties in the field of OHS - even if an employee breaks the rules, the employer remains responsible for the state of safety in the workplace. Second, it is equally unaffected by entrusting the performance of OHS service tasks to specialists from outside the workplace, referred to in art. 237 § 2 of the Labour Code. An external OHS service advises, inspects and helps with documentation, but it does not take over the responsibility - that stays with the company.
It is worth knowing that an “employer” within the meaning of the Labour Code is an organisational unit or a natural person employing employees. In small companies, where the employer is a natural person, administrative and criminal liability therefore reaches the owner directly.
What exactly the employer must ensure
Art. 207 § 2 of the Labour Code turns the general principle into a catalogue of specific duties. The employer must organise work in a manner ensuring safe and hygienic working conditions and ensure compliance with OHS provisions and rules in the workplace, issuing orders to remove shortcomings and checking their execution. The employer must also respond to needs in the area of safety and adapt protective measures to changing working conditions, as well as develop a coherent prevention policy covering accidents and occupational diseases, taking into account technology, work organisation and working conditions. Added to this is taking account of the protection of young workers, pregnant employees and employees with disabilities, executing orders and decisions of the supervisory authorities and the recommendations of the social labour inspector.
The provision is sealed by the rule that the costs of OHS measures cannot be shifted onto employees - “in no way”, as art. 207 § 2 of the Labour Code states verbatim. The employer is moreover obliged to inform employees about hazards at work stations, about protective measures taken, and about the persons designated to give first aid and carry out evacuation (art. 207¹ of the Labour Code), and, together with persons supervising employees, to know the provisions on the protection of work to the extent necessary to perform their duties (art. 207 § 3).
Who else is responsible - and for what exactly
The employer’s responsibility does not mean that the other participants in the work process are idle. The Labour Code distributes tasks among several roles, but each of them is responsible for something different:
| Role | Scope of responsibility | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Employer | The entire state of OHS in the workplace; work organisation, compliance with provisions, reaction to shortcomings | art. 207 § 1-2 of the Labour Code |
| Person supervising employees (manager, foreman, brigade leader) | Organising work stations in line with the provisions, keeping protective equipment serviceable, enforcing compliance with the rules by subordinate employees | art. 212, art. 207 § 3 of the Labour Code |
| Employee | Following OHS provisions and rules, using protective equipment, cooperating with the employer in fulfilling the employer’s duties | art. 211, art. 100 § 2 pkt 3 of the Labour Code |
| OHS service (in-house or external) | Advisory and inspection function; does not take over the employer’s responsibility | art. 237 § 1-2 of the Labour Code |
A separate case is a construction site or another place where employees of different companies work at the same time. The employers must then cooperate and appoint an OHS coordinator (art. 208 of the Labour Code), and the State Labour Inspectorate stresses in its legal advice: appointing a coordinator does not release the individual employers from the obligation to ensure the safety of the employees they hire. Coordination organises supervision, but does not transfer responsibility.
What fines threaten for violating OHS duties
For non-compliance with OHS provisions or rules by a person responsible for them or supervising employees, the penalty is a fine from PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (art. 283 § 1 of the Labour Code; the amounts have applied since 8 July 2026 under the Act of 11 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 473). The person liable here is a natural person: an employer who is a natural person, or a person acting on behalf of the company - a manager, foreman or brigade leader.
That is not all, however. When OHS shortcomings expose an employee to the direct danger of loss of life or serious bodily harm, art. 220 § 1 of the Criminal Code comes into play - imprisonment for up to 3 years, or up to one year for an unintentional act. When a tragedy does happen, unintentionally causing death or serious bodily harm is prosecuted under art. 155 or art. 156 of the Criminal Code respectively. A separate penalty - a fine of up to 180 daily rates - threatens for failure to notify the competent authorities of a work accident or occupational disease, or for the absence of the required accident documentation (art. 221 of the Criminal Code). An employee who personally violates OHS rules answers, in turn, before the employer in disciplinary proceedings and may be subject to disciplinary sanctions under art. 108 of the Labour Code: a reprimand, a warning or a financial penalty.
How to put responsibility for OHS in order - a checklist
A labour inspection starts with who formally and actually is responsible for safety in the company. A few steps help avoid the most typical objections:
- Designate in writing who supervises employees in the company - every manager and foreman must know OHS provisions to the extent of their duties (art. 207 § 3) and have completed periodic training for that group.
- Sign a contract with an external OHS service defining the advisory and inspection tasks - remembering that despite it, responsibility for the state of OHS stays with the company.
- Provide employees with the required information on hazards - with confirmation that they have familiarised themselves with it (art. 207¹ of the Labour Code).
- Issue orders to remove shortcomings and document their execution - the Labour Code requires checking the execution of orders (art. 207 § 2 pkt 2).
- Check the deadlines of initial and periodic training - current training is the first proof that the company is meeting its duties; our OHS training offer covers the dates for each job group.
- In places where workers of different companies are present, agree the rules of cooperation before work starts and appoint a coordinator - as a supplement, not a substitute for one’s own duties.
Key takeaways
In practice this means three things. First, the employer’s responsibility covers the entire state of OHS in the workplace - from work organisation, through compliance with the provisions, to reacting to shortcomings (art. 207 § 1-2 of the Labour Code). Second, alongside the employer, managers and employees have their own duties (art. 212 and art. 211 of the Labour Code), but an employee’s responsibility is primarily a matter of work discipline, not a fine under art. 283 of the Labour Code. Third, OHS violations today mean a fine of up to PLN 60,000, and where life or health is genuinely endangered - criminal liability of up to 3 years’ imprisonment (art. 220 of the Criminal Code).
No time to keep track of every OHS duty?
That is exactly why companies entrust these tasks to an external OHS service: it takes over the documentation, training and advice, and the employer gets a clear picture of what must be done and when. Check our OHS outsourcing services or contact us - we will help put the duties in order before the labour inspector does it for you.
FAQ - frequently asked questions about responsibility for OHS in a workplace
Who is responsible for occupational health and safety in a workplace? The employer. Art. 207 § 1 of the Labour Code states expressly that the employer is responsible for the state of OHS in the workplace, and no contractual provision changes that - the scope of the employer’s responsibility is unaffected either by employees’ duties or by entrusting OHS service tasks to specialists from outside the workplace.
Does an external company handling OHS take over the employer’s responsibility? No. External specialists perform OHS service tasks (art. 237 § 2 of the Labour Code), i.e. an advisory and inspection function, but art. 207 § 1 of the Labour Code rules out any influence of such an entrustment on the scope of the employer’s responsibility. A contract with an external company divides the tasks, not the responsibility.
Is an employee responsible for violating OHS rules? An employee has their own OHS duties (art. 211 of the Labour Code) and may be liable in disciplinary proceedings, including a financial penalty under art. 108 of the Labour Code. This does not, however, transfer responsibility for the state of OHS in the workplace away from the employer - the administrative fine under art. 283 § 1 of the Labour Code reaches the person responsible for the state of OHS or supervising employees.
Is a manager or foreman responsible for OHS in their team? Yes. A person supervising employees has their own duties - organising work stations in line with the provisions, keeping protective equipment serviceable and enforcing the rules (art. 212 of the Labour Code) - as well as the duty to know the provisions (art. 207 § 3). In the event of violations they may be liable on an equal footing with the employer under art. 283 § 1 of the Labour Code.
What is the penalty for OHS shortcomings in 2026? A fine from PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (art. 283 § 1 of the Labour Code, after the amendment in force from 8 July 2026). Where an employee is exposed to the direct danger of loss of life or serious bodily harm - up to 3 years’ imprisonment (art. 220 of the Criminal Code), and after a fatal accident art. 155 of the Criminal Code comes into play.
Sources
- Labour Code - consolidated text (Journal of Laws 2025 item 277) - ELI
- Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the State Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts (Journal of Laws 2026 item 473) - ELI
- Criminal Code - consolidated text (Journal of Laws 2025 item 383) - ELI
- State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) - legal advice: The responsibility and basic duties of the employer
- State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) - legal advice: Employee duties and rights in the field of occupational health and safety
Legal status: September 2026. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. For individual cases, consult a lawyer or an OHS specialist.
