[Poland] Draft amendments on worker protection adopted

On 16 April, the government adopted a draft bill introducing amendments to the Labour Code. It implements an EU directive and aims to protect workers’ health from carcinogens or mutagens. For employers, the new legislation will mean further obligations. Which ones?

Protecting workers’ health – there will be changes to the Labour Code

The proposed amendments to the Labour Code aim to protect workers’ health more effectively and concern Article 222 on protection against carcinogens and mutagens.

Under the new legislation, the catalogue of substances is to be extended to include toluene, styrene, ethoxyethanol, nitrobenzene, carbon monoxide, bisphenol A, phthalic acid esters and metals, among others. The obligations of employers when employing workers under conditions of exposure to such substances are also to be regulated.

The amendment is also intended to enable the issuing of a regulation by the Minister of Health on chemicals, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic effects in the working environment.

It is worth mentioning that reprotoxic substances can have adverse effects on sexual function and fertility in male and female adults and on the development of their offspring, so it is important to protect workers from substances with such effects.

New obligations for employers and protection against reprotoxic substances

Reprotoxic substances, like those that are carcinogenic or mutagenic, can have adverse and irreversible effects on the health of workers and their offspring.

Meanwhile, according to data from the Central Institute of Occupational Medicine – National Research Institute, reprotoxic substances are found in Polish companies, especially used in the plastics processing, rubber, pharmaceutical, metallurgy, cosmetics and construction industries. A large proportion of workers may therefore be exposed to such substances.

How should employees be protected then? According to the proposed amendments to the Labour Code, an employer carrying out activities related to the presence of factors harmful to health in the working environment will be obliged to:

• keeping a register of all types of work involving exposure to chemical substances, mixtures, agents or processes having a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic effect, as defined in the list of chemical substances, mixtures, agents or processes having a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic effect,
• keeping a register of workers engaged in the above mentioned works,
• monitor the health status of workers exposed to chemical substances, mixtures, agents or processes having a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic effect,
• apply appropriate preventive measures, including collective and individual protection measures,
• report to the State Provincial Sanitary Inspector and the State Labour Inspectorate information on chemical substances, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with a reprotoxic effect.

New legislation on worker protection – from when?

The bill provides for a transitional period for the issuance of implementing regulations of 30 days from the date of entry into force of the Act. The entry into force of the Act, on the other hand, is to take place 14 days after its announcement.

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