Poland

Organization responsible for the statistics

Glówny Urzad Statystyczny (Central Statistical Office).

Periodicity

Compilation: monthly.

Publication: quarterly and annual.

Source

Reports of occupational accidents by employers made to the Central Statistical Office, and data for individual farms from the insurance agency.

Objectives and users

Major users:

Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Central Institute for Labour Protection, National Labour Inspectorate.

Coverage

Workers:

All employed persons, i.e. employees, employers and the self-employed, homeworkers, agents working under agency contracts and umowa zlecenia contracts, members of farmers' cooperatives, working family members, and persons employed on the allotments of the employees of state-owned farm holdings and on the allotments of members of farmers' cooperatives.

Persons working on individual farms are excluded.

In 1997, about 11,704,600 workers were covered.

Economic activities:

All economic activities and sectors, excluding private agriculture.

Geographic areas:

The whole country.

Occupational accidents occurring outside the country involving employees of employers established in Poland are included. Accidents involving persons who are normally resident outside the country are not included.

Establishments:

All types and sizes of establishments.

Types of occupational accidents covered

The statistics cover reported injuries due to all types of occupational accidents.

Commuting accidents are not included.

Data on occupational diseases are not included in the statistics on occupational injuries; they are collected separately by the Institute of Labour Medicine.

Concepts and definitions

(Source: Regulation No. 45 of 28 December 1993).

Occupational accident:

a sudden occurrence, caused by an external reason, resulting in the person being injured, which arose in connection with work:

Also considered as equivalent to an occupational accident, regarding the rights to benefits is an accident occurring:

Collective occupational accident:

an accident due to the same event at a given workplace involving at least two persons.

Fatal occupational accident:

an accident as a result of which the injured person died at the scene of the accident or within six months of the accident.

Serious occupational accident:

an accident resulting in a serious bodily injury, such as loss of sight, hearing, speech, ability to reproduce, or other bodily injuries, or health defects which hamper basic bodily functions, or an incurable or life-threatening illness, total or partial inability to work in one's trade or profession, or a permanent serious disfigurement or body deformation.

Accident-causing event:

a basic (first) incident in the course of the accident, defining the person's contact with the material agent (source) which caused the accident.

Source of the hazardous agent which caused the accident:

the material agent which contributed to the occurrence of the accident.

Causes of accident:

all the deficiencies and inadequacies connected with the material (technical) agent as well as the worker, including his inadequate behaviour, which contributed directly or indirectly to the occurrence of the accident.

Estimated material losses:

the sum of values of damage to machines, equipment, tools, raw materials, finished products and buildings, including furnishings, which was caused by the accident.

Minimum period of absence from work: none.

Maximum period for death to be considered a fatal occupational injury: within six months of the accident.

Types of information compiled

(a) personal characteristics of workers injured: sex, age, occupation, number of years in the job;

(b) amount of worktime lost: total number of calendar days lost;

(c) characteristics of accidents: date and time of day, type of accident, work activity at the moment of the accident, number of hours worked up to the time of the accident, location of accident, total number of persons injured, outcome of the accident;

(d) characteristics of injuries: part of body injured, type of injury;

(e) characteristics of employers or workplaces: location, economic activity, public or private sector.

Measurement of worktime lost

Worktime lost is measured in calendar days.

It is compiled for all occupational injuries leading to temporary incapacity to work, i.e. except for fatal injuries and injuries leading to permanent incapacity to work.

A temporary absence from work of less than one day for medical treatment is counted as a loss of one workday.

Classifications

(a) fatal or non-fatal accidents;

(b) extent of disability:

lost workday cases, causing serious injuries;

(c) economic activity:

according to section, subsection, division, group and class of the European Classification of Economic Activity (EKD - the national version of NACE, Revision 1);

(d) occupation:

classified according to the Occupation and Specialities classification (ISCO-88), introduced by the Ordinance of 20 April 1995 of the Ministry of Labour and Special Policy, at the seven-digit level;

(e) type of injury:

part of body injured: head; face; right eye; left eye; trunk including neck; right arm; left arm; right forearm; left forearm; right hand; left hand; fingers of right hand; fingers of left hand; right thigh; left thigh; right shank; left shank; right foot; left foot; whole organism; other;

(f) cause of accident:

hazardous, harmful or burdensome agents which caused the accident: machines and other equipment when moving; mobile parts of machines and of their tooling as well as the moving tools; moving products, intermediate products and materials; upsetting of the structure; falling objects (machine parts turned loose, tools, materials, stones, pieces of rocks, etc.); sharp, protruding elements: blades, sharp edges, rough surfaces; workplace being situated at a different level than the surface of the environment; enclosed, narrow spaces, ways of access, passages; slippery, uneven surfaces; hot or cold surfaces; explosive and inflammable substances and materials, infectious materials and their carriers; electric current with voltage up to 1 kV; electric current with voltage over 1 kV; static electricity; noise; general mechanical vibrations; electromagnetic radiation; ionizing radiation; electric or magnetic field; toxic chemical agents; irritating chemical agents; microorganisms and macroorganisms as well as their products; repulsive, unpleasant agents, or ones providing additional stress (e.g. strong smells), pollutants; forced contact with water, work in cumbersome weather conditions (especially when it rains or snows), etc.; dynamic physical burdening; mental stress; other factors;

sources of factors causing the accident: minerals, raw materials, materials, intermediate products, final products (minerals - 3 groups; products, intermediate products used in construction industry, formed from natural raw materials - 11 groups; elements made of sheet metal (with the exception of those stamped) - 3 groups; pipes, bars, sections made of metals (intermediate products) - 7 groups; products made of wood, raw products (logs, timbers, chipboards) - 12 groups); water, air, technical gases, plastics, synthetic resins; equipment for processing - 6 groups; equipment for processing, storing, transmission and distribution of energy and its carriers - 11 groups; communication roads, land, water and air vehicles (floors, pavements, squares and their elements, roofs of buildings - 13 groups; stairs, landings, platforms - 17 groups; equipment for horizontal transportation - 10 groups); machines and equipment used to draw out raw materials, water, gas, produce paper, tar board, leather, furs, etc. - 11 groups; machines and instruments for selecting, cleaning and air-conditioning, for health service; measuring devices, monitoring systems and laboratory equipment, office machines - 15 groups; machines and equipment for working, forming, joining (machines for plastic working of metals - 1 group; presses, stamping dies, moulding machines - 11 groups; drills for metalworking as well as stone, ceramics, glass, etc., - 3 groups; turning lathes for metalworking as well as stone, ceramics, glass, etc., - 8 groups; grinders and cutting-off machines for metals - 7 groups; circular saws for woodworking, plastics, etc., - 15 groups); machines, equipment and fittings for lifting, carrying, storing, filling and packing (machines and equipment for lifting - 7 groups; multicomponent loads, transported or stored (pallets, bound-up loads, supporting devices, etc.) - 9 groups; boxes, bags, sacks, buckets, bathtubs, containers, etc., - 7 groups); tools, joining elements, parts of driving gears, parts of scaffolds and building back-up facilities, parts of buildings (hammers, punches, axes, jumpers - 6 groups; knives, sickles, shears, glass cutters, pincers - 4 groups; needles, screwdrivers, hand drills - 10 groups; interior equipment (tables, chairs, cabinets, shelves, counters, display cases) - 9 groups; elements of buildings' structure, construction site equipment - 9 groups); machines, equipment, tools for land cultivation, animal breeding, gardening; forestry, bee-keeping, fish-farming, hunting, arms, plants, animals, nature forces, people, rescue vehicles, wastes (machines, plants, animals -10 groups; fragments, spalls, chips, spikes, splinters, fragments - 14 groups); unassigned sources of agents;

causes of accidents: the improper condition of the material agent (construction defects or incorrect technical and ergonomic solutions in the material agent - 10 groups; inadequate quality of work in manufacturing the material agent - 3 groups; material defects of the material agent - 2 groups; improper operation of the material agent - 4 groups; inadequate general work organization - 15 groups; inadequate organization of the workplace - 7 groups; lack or inadequate use of the material agent by the employee - 9 groups; employee's failure to use protective equipment - 4 groups; improper unauthorized behaviour on the part of the employee - 8 groups; improper psychophysical condition of the employee - 6 groups of causes; improper behaviour of the worker - 9 groups of causes;

(g) duration of absence from work:

1-3 days, 4-28 days, 29 days and over;

(h) characteristics of workers;

(i) characteristics of accidents:

place where the accident occurred: production room; warehouses and storage yards; non- production rooms; public utility rooms; traffic routes; means of transportation; construction site; farm holdings; underground facilities; inside parts of tanks; power engineering facilities; water reservoirs; forests; other locations;

activities performed by the victim at the time of the accident: handling stationary machines and equipment in the process of production; handling mobile machines and equipment in the process of production; driving means of transportation; riding on means of transportation; transportation, reloading, manual storage assisted by technical devices; transportation, reloading, manual storage unassisted by technical devices; repairs and maintenance of machines, equipment and means of transportation; working with the use of mechanized tools; work with the use of non-mechanical tools; work without tools; office and administrative work; activities related to supervision and control; activities as part of the preparation and cleaning of work-places; participation in a rescue operation; activities not connected with the production process (rest, moving without any load, etc.); other activities;

classification of event causing the accident: falling, stumbling, slipping on a plane; falling down from a height; falling into recesses, channels, etc.; hit, caught, weighed down by material agents (factors) transported mechanically or manually; contact with sharp hand tools while they are in motion; hit, caught, weighed down by machines, parts of them, equipment, tools, means of transportation; hit, caught, weighed down by a falling, spilling, outpouring of material agents; contact with sharp immobile material agent; hit against immobile material agent; contact with dangerous and harmful chemical substances (caustic, blister, etc.); other kind of contact with material agent; fire, explosion; breakdowns and other inefficiencies of material agents; forces of nature (struck by lightening, flood, etc.); medical emergency (heart attack, stroke, etc.); other events;

(j) characteristics of employers or workplaces:

none.

Crossclassifications:

Reference period

The statistics are compiled for periods of one month.

An injury is included in the statistics for the period in which the accident was reported.

Estimates

Total number of persons injured.

Rates of fatal and non-fatal injuries, per 1,000 persons employed.

Historical background of the series

The statistics were first compiled in 1953 with a view to the protection of workers and the improvement of working conditions.

On 1 January 1990, changes were introduced in the types of data compiled, classifications and definitions used.

Documentation

Tabulations:

The following tables are published:

Each year:

Each quarter:

Bibliographic references:

The data are published in:

Glówny Urzad Statystyczny (Central Statistical Office): Accidents at work (annual).

idem: Quarterly monitoring on accidents at work (quarterly).

idem: Biuletyn Statystyczny (Statistical Bulletin) (monthly).

idem: Maly Rocznik Statystyczny (annual).

These publications contain brief methodological notes about the statistics.

All the available data are published, and can also be made available on diskette, on request.

Data published by ILO:

The following data are furnished regularly to the ILO for publication in the Yearbook of Labour Statistics, relating to reported injuries according to economic activity: number of persons fatally injured, number of persons injured with lost workdays, total of these two groups; number of workdays lost by persons injured with lost workdays; rates of fatal injuries.

Confidentiality:

Data relating to individual persons may not be published or released.

International standards

The international statistical standards on occupational injuries were followed when the statistical system was established. The representative organizations of employers and workers were also consulted at that time.

Method of data collection

Reports of occupational accidents by employers made to the Central Statistical Office, and data for individual farms from the insurance agency.

Legislation:

The Presidential Regulation of the Central Statistical Office.

All types of occupational injuries should be notified within 15 workdays of the accident.

Reporting:

The accident is notified by the employer to the Central Statistical Office, by means of a standard form called the Accident Statistical Card. Instructions and guidance notes are provided with the form.

Types of data:

The following information is collected in the Accident Statistical Card:

  1. information about the injured worker: name, sex, year of birth, occupation, length of employment in the post in the establishment, instruction (training) received in the field of occupational safety and health (none; initial or general training; instruction at the workplace where the accident occurred; basic instruction; periodic instruction); type of contract;
  2. information about the employer or workplace:
  3. information about the accident: date and time of accident; hours actually worked till the time of the accident; place in which the accident occurred; number of persons injured; consequences of the accident, as known at the time of completing the card (death of the injured person, serious injury, other); number of days of incapacity to work, as known at the time of completing the card; activities performed by the injured person at the time of the accident; events which caused the accident; cause of accident; dangerous, harmful or burdensome agent which caused the accident and material source of that agent;
  4. information about the injury: type of injury, bodily location of injury;
  5. loss of work time by other persons (in workhours); estimated material loss resulting from the accident, excluding losses connected with the worktime lost).

Changes planned:

none.

Type of survey:

Survey of establishments, carried out monthly but published quarterly and annually. Data for individual farms from the insurance agency are compiled twice a year.

Data collected:

not available.

Universe of the survey:

The survey universe comprises the business register, which lists all enterprises. It is updated continuously.

Sampling:

The survey is based on a complete enumeration.

Field work:

The data are collected with respect to the six months preceding the survey.

The questionnaires are mailed to the survey enterprises, and employers provide the information requested.

Data processing:

The survey responses are coded directly on the questionnaire, and the information is then entered on the computer. In the case of missing or inconsistent data, respondents are contacted by telephone.

Estimates:

Totals.

No adjustments are made for bias due to non-response or any other bias. Benchmark data are not used.

Reliability of the estimates:

not available.

Changes planned:

none.