First days at new work

The right to safe work

Employer's obligations towards the employee

What mustn't employers do

What shouldn't employers do

Safe start at work

Friendly working environment

One-third of all people injured in accidents at work are workers who have worked for less than one year.

One-fourth are workers who have not yet reached the age of 30.

An employee who starts work:

   experiences the feeling of uncertainty,

   encounters new, unfamiliar conditions and working environment,

   lacks experience, training and knowledge.

Owing to the above they can, more often than others, expose themselves, their colleagues and even people from the public to danger. Not only is this all due to their insufficient knowledge of work and work-related hazards, but also to the fact that they do not know their own features of character, e.g. reactions to stressful situations and different than older and more experienced people's attitude to death.

The employer has a legal and moral duty to protect workers in the workplace. He is also obliged to ensure specific means of protection for those groups of workers who are particularly exposed to occupational risk. Such groups also include workers who commence their first job.

A young worker has the right to:

   reliable information about working conditions,

   sound advice from people who provide training and from their fellow workers,

   responsible supervision over the work they perform.

Every worker regardless of their age and professional experience
has the right to safe work, that is the right
to protect their own health and life in the workplace.

In order to ensure safe working conditions the employer has a duty to:

send the worker for qualifying medical examination,

select appropriate type of work suited to the worker's:

   qualifications and skills,

   state of health, as well as

assess and document occupational risk at a given workstation,

ensure OSH training, that is provide general and workstation-specific instructions as well as on-job periodical training,

apply precautionary measures reducing occupational risk, including – should the need arise – personal protection equipment,

inform the employee of their inherent right to cease work upon identification of immediate hazards to health or life.
 

The employer must not allow the employee to commence work:

   without valid medical certificate stating lack of counter-indications for work at a particular workstation,

   without necessary qualifications or skills and sufficient knowledge of OSH provisions and rules.

An employee who has only worked for a short time should not be assigned the tasks which:

   are of particularly high risk,

   require specialist skills,

   are burdened with high level of responsibility.

It should not be allowed to perform first independent work in isolation.

The employer should take every possible measure to make sure that a young employee performs work in a safe working environment. Reaching this objective can be facilitated by:

   well-assigned type of work which is suited not only to the worker's qualifications and physical condition, but also to their predispositions,

   not assigning new employees to overcomplicated or too responsible work or work performed in isolation,

   taking account, in occupational risk assessment, of particular criteria related to the age, professional and practical inexperience of a young worker,

   responsible approach to training at a workstation until it is ascertained that a young worker can perform the tasks which they have been assigned in an accurate and safe manner,

   making sure that essential, at a given workstation, personal protective equipment is used correctly.

The employer has plenty of opportunities to create a friendly working environment for a young person who begins work. This can be achieved by:

   referring a new worker, for some time, after they have completed training at a workstation, to an experienced worker who will provide them with further practice in safe performance of work,

   designating a work supervisor who has appropriate qualifications, knowledge of OSH matters and professional experience, and who understands their role with regard to a young worker,

   encouraging young employees to ask questions and providing them with the opportunity to obtain answers at any time they like,

   developing the habit of safe performance of work, paying attention to appropriate conduct of other employees who set an example for young workers,

   creating an atmosphere of shared responsibility for the state of working conditions in a company.

Employer!

Reputation of a good employer is a factor which attracts well-prepared job candidates.

Your care for safe working conditions shapes a positive image of your company.

Appropriate training and education of young people allows you to utilize their energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn new things, for their own sake and for the benefit of your own company.