Employee medical checks and health and safety training: which are mandatory, who pays and when do they take place?

Who this applies to

• People being hired under an employment contract (umowa o pracę) and employees already employed.
• Employers and people managing employees, who are responsible for health and safety.

What to do

Medical checks

1. Referral from the employer. Pre-employment, periodic and follow-up checks are carried out on the basis of a referral issued by the employer (Article 229 § 4a of the Labour Code, Kodeks pracy, KP). The referral describes the working conditions in the position.
2. Pre-employment check. It applies to people being hired, as well as young workers transferred to other positions and employees transferred to positions with harmful factors or arduous conditions (Article 229 § 1 of the Labour Code).
3. Periodic check. An employee is subject to periodic medical checks (Article 229 § 2 of the Labour Code). Their frequency is set by implementing provisions issued under Article 229 § 8 of the Labour Code.
4. Follow-up check. After incapacity for work due to illness lasting more than 30 days, the employee undergoes a follow-up check, which determines whether they can return to their previous position (Article 229 § 2 of the Labour Code).
5. No certificate, no work. The employer may not allow an employee to work without a valid medical certificate stating there are no contraindications (Article 229 § 4 of the Labour Code).
6. Costs and time. Checks under Article 229 § 1, 2 and 5 of the Labour Code are at the employer's expense (Article 229 § 6). Periodic and follow-up checks take place, where possible, during working hours. For the time you do not work because of the checks, you keep your right to pay, and if you travel to another town you are entitled to reimbursement of travel costs under the rules for business trips (Article 229 § 3).
7. The employer keeps the certificates together with the referrals (Article 229 § 7 of the Labour Code).

Health and safety training

1. Training before being allowed to work. The employer must provide health and safety training before allowing the employee to work and must run periodic training (Article 237(3) § 2 of the Labour Code). An employee may not be allowed to work without the required qualifications, skills and sufficient knowledge of health and safety rules (Article 237(3) § 1).
2. Initial training has two parts (§ 8 of the regulation on health and safety training):
   • general induction is completed before being allowed to work by all newly hired employees, as well as trainees and pupils (§ 10),
   • workplace induction is completed before being allowed to work by, among others, an employee in a manual position or in a position with harmful, arduous or dangerous factors, as well as an employee transferred to such a position (§ 11). It ends with a test of knowledge and skills.

   Induction lasts no less than 2 teaching hours (§ 1a(1)).

3. Confirmation of initial training. From 12 December 2025, completion of induction is confirmed on paper or electronically. The paper version is signed on the initial training card, and with the electronic version the employer makes a note on the card and attaches the electronic document. The card goes into the personnel file (§ 12 as worded by Dz.U. 2025 item 1640).
4. Periodic training at the intervals in § 15 of the regulation:

5. The first periodic training of a person managing employees takes place within 6 months of starting work in the position, and for the other groups within 12 months (§ 15(4)). Periodic training ends with an exam and a certificate, a copy of which goes into the personnel file (§ 16).
6. Time and cost. Health and safety training takes place during working time and at the employer's expense (Article 237(3) § 3 of the Labour Code).
7. If the employer does not provide checks or training, you can file a complaint with the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP). The inspector will check this during an inspection.

Exceptions and caveats

• No new pre-employment check (Article 229 § 1(1) of the Labour Code):
  • re-hiring by the same employer for the same position or a position with the same conditions within 30 days of the end of the previous contract,
  • hiring by another employer for a given position within 30 days of the end of the previous contract, if you have a valid certificate and the new employer finds that the conditions in the referral match the conditions in the new position. This exception does not cover particularly dangerous work. The same applies to working for a second employer at the same time (Article 229 § 1(2)). The employer then requests the certificate and the referral on the basis of which it was issued (Article 229 § 1(3)).
• No initial training. It is not required when an employee starts work in the same position they held with that employer immediately before concluding the next contract (Article 237(3) § 2 of the Labour Code).
• No periodic training in an office position. It is not required for an administrative and office employee if the employer's predominant activity has a risk category no higher than three, unless the occupational risk assessment shows a need for training (Article 237(3) § 2(2) of the Labour Code). If the risk category rises or the risk assessment shows a need, training must be carried out within 6 months (§ 2(3)-2(4)).
• Exemption from the first periodic training. Possible if you present a valid certificate of periodic training with another employer or you completed training for another group of positions that covers the required scope (§ 15(5) of the regulation).
• The employer is trained too. The employer must complete health and safety training to the extent needed to perform their duties and repeat it periodically (Article 237(3) § 2(1) of the Labour Code).
• Health programmes. If you meet the conditions of a health programme, the doctor refers you to take part in it with your consent. Tests carried out within the programme are financed under the programme's rules (Article 229 § 6(1) of the Labour Code).
• Penalties. Failure to comply with health and safety rules or principles by a person responsible for health and safety or managing employees is a petty offence under Article 283 § 1 of the Labour Code. The fine is from PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (from 8.07.2026). See Fixed penalty notice and fine for violating employee rights: how much are they and what if you refuse?

Example

Assumptions: a person is hired as a warehouse worker (a manual position). Their previous contract with another employer, as a cashier, ended 2 months earlier. The employer does not carry out particularly dangerous work.

1. More than 30 days have passed since the end of the previous contract, so the exception in Article 229 § 1(1) does not apply. The employer issues a referral for a pre-employment check and pays for it.
2. After obtaining a certificate stating there are no contraindications, the employee completes general induction and workplace induction on the first day, and the confirmation goes on the initial training card.
3. The first periodic training must take place within 12 months of starting work, and subsequent ones at least every 3 years.
4. The employee has periodic checks at the interval set in the implementing provisions, where possible during working hours, while keeping their pay.

Documents and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

Can the employer make me pay for the checks?

No. Checks under Article 229 § 1, 2 and 5 of the Labour Code are carried out at the employer's expense (Article 229 § 6). The exception is tests carried out within a health programme, which are financed under the programme's rules.

Can health and safety training take place in my free time?

The Code says that health and safety training takes place during working time and at the employer's expense (Article 237(3) § 3 of the Labour Code). The provision does not provide for health and safety training in the employee's free time or at the employee's expense.

Where can I check which health and safety documents the employer should have for an inspection?

See the guide Which documents to prepare for a PIP inspection? A list with the legal basis.

Useful tools

• PIP complaint generator

Related guides

• Accident at work: what must the employer do and what rights does the injured employee have?
• PIP inspection: whom it concerns, what the inspector can check and how it works
• Which documents to prepare for a PIP inspection? A list with the legal basis
• Fixed penalty notice and fine for violating employee rights: how much are they and what if you refuse?

Sources (documents in Polish)

• Kodeks pracy, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245 (art. 229, 237(3), 237(4), 237(5), 283)
• Rozporządzenie MGiP z 27.07.2004 w sprawie szkolenia w dziedzinie bhp, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1327
• Rozporządzenie MRPiPS z 24.11.2025 zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie szkolenia bhp (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1640)
• Metryka ELI rozporządzenia o szkoleniu bhp (akty zmieniające)
• Ustawa z 11.03.2026 o zmianie ustawy o PIP (grzywny w KP od 8.07.2026)

Sources checked on 15 October 2026. Law as at 15 October 2026.

Change history

• 15 October 2026: First publication.