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Dr inż. Dariusz Smoliński
ORCID: 0009-0009-3439-884X

Doctor of health sciences, labour superintendent at the National Labour Inspectorate in the District Labour Inspectorate in Gdańsk, lecturer at the Pomeranian University in Słupsk. Author of publications in the field of labour law, occupational health and safety and health protection.

 
DOI: 10.33226/0032-6186.2023.10.8
JEL: K30, K31, K34

The resolution of the Supreme Court of 16 February 2023 in case III UZP 6/22 does not solve the problem related to the rules for filling in ZUS IWA information. In the Court's opinion, the frequency index of employees in hazardous conditions, used when calculating the interest rate of accident insurance premiums, should be determined taking into account the equipment of employees with personal protective equipment, eliminating the entire risk resulting from exceeding the permissible standards. However, the interpretation of the Supreme Court does not determine how to objectively state that the threat has been eliminated. It only indicates that the decision in this area should be supported by the expertise of the laboratory or the opinion of the National Labour Inspectorate. However, labour inspectors do not have the legal possibilities and tools to issue such an opinion. At the same time, they face the problem of how to interpret the law during inspections carried out in a given area. The interpretation of the Supreme Court is in contradiction with the previous pragmatics of applying the regulations and the interpretation presented by the Ministry and the Social Insurance Institution. In these circumstances, the only solution seems to be to introduce legislative changes in order to clearly determine the method of determining the number of people working in hazardous conditions.

 

Keywords: social insurance; ZUS IWA information; hazardous conditions; personal protective equipment