What is periodic health and safety training?

According to the Labor Code, every employer is obliged to provide their employees with safe and hygienic working conditions. This also includes the need to train employees on health and safety rules. It is worth remembering, however, that the information provided during the introductory training, without proper updating, will quickly be forgotten. That is why the initial OHS training of every employee starting work in a new place must never be the only training they receive.

Periodic health and safety training—what is it for?

It is the responsibility of each employer to organize periodic health and safety training, the purpose of which is primarily to consolidate knowledge and skills in the field of occupational health and safety. In addition, it is also a good opportunity to provide employees with useful information on new technical and organizational solutions introduced to the company.

Periodic health and safety training can take the form of a seminar, course, or guided self-education. Its program is developed with specific groups of people in specific positions or operating with a specific department in mind. Periodic training courses do not focus only on general occupational health and safety rules, but also on detailed guidelines for work safety at specific positions.

When should such training be conducted?

The described type of OHS training is often treated as an extension of a training started by newly hired employee. If the position in which they have been placed requires managing other employees, they should undergo another periodic training not later than 6 months from the commencement of employment. In the case of employment in any other position, this period is extended to 12 months.

However, these are not the last of the health and safety training courses necessary to complete, as the name suggests, "periodic" training, requires regular and cyclical repetition. The next periodic health and safety training should therefore be carried out:

• every 6 years (for office workers),
• every 3 years (for blue-collar employees),
• every 5 years (for employers and other employees)
• or at least once every 12 months (in the case of blue-collar workers with a risk to safety and health).