Subcontractor OSH Responsibility: Who Answers

You take on a subcontractor for the facade, because your own crew can't keep up. Contract signed, price agreed, the lads go up on the scaffolding. A month later the PIP (Polish Labour Inspectorate) turns up on site - and asks about the training, examinations and safeguards of people who formally are not your employees. Your first thought: "they're not mine, it's the subcontractor's, let them explain". And here many contractors get a cold shower. Because on one site, where several firms work side by side, responsibility for OSH (occupational safety and health) does not end at the boundary of your contract. In this article I break it down: who is responsible for what, when you are liable for other people's workers, how to secure this in the contract and why the subcontractor's documentation is your problem too. BudoReady packages give you templates that put this topic in order on your side.

Key points in brief

• Each employer is responsible for the OSH of their own workers separately - the subcontractor for theirs, you for yours (Article 207 of the Labour Code, KP).
• But when workers of different employers work in the same place, Article 208 KP comes in: the duty to cooperate and appoint an OSH coordinator.
• The contractor/general contractor usually organises the site and supervises the safety of the whole site - the coordination burden rests on them.
• The contract with a subcontractor should clearly divide OSH duties, require documentation and give the right to inspect and to stop work in the event of danger.
• In an accident, the PIP and the prosecutor examine who was actually responsible for safety - not just what is in the contract.

The base rule - each employer answers for their own

The starting point is clear. Article 207 of the Labour Code states that it is the employer who bears responsibility for the state of occupational health and safety in the workplace. So the subcontractor is responsible for the training, examinations, risk assessment and protective measures of their workers, and you for yours. That is good news: you do not have to do a risk assessment for someone else's firm or train someone else's people.

The bad news is that on a construction site it is almost never that simple. Because rarely is a site a single firm on the site. Usually a general contractor, your crew and two or three subcontractors are all buzzing around side by side - and then a second regulation comes in, one that few people remember.

Article 208 KP - when several firms work in one place

This is the regulation that changes the game on a construction site. Article 208 of the Labour Code: when workers employed by different employers carry out work in the same place, those employers are obliged to:

• cooperate with one another on OSH;
• appoint a coordinator supervising the occupational health and safety of all workers in that place;
• establish rules of cooperation for the event of hazards;
• mutually inform one another and their workers about measures to prevent hazards.

Note the key nuance: appointing a coordinator does not remove individual employers' responsibility for their own workers. The coordinator handles the whole site, but each firm still answers for its own training, examinations and equipment. On a construction site the coordinator's role is usually held by a person appointed on the side of the contractor/general contractor who organises the site.

Who is responsible for what - a table

To leave no doubt, let's break it down by role. This is a simplification - on a specific site the division depends on the contracts and the actual supervision - but it shows the logic.

Party	Responsible for	Basis
Subcontractor (employer)	OSH of their workers: training, examinations, risk assessment, PPE, instructions	Art. 207 KP
Contractor / general contractor	Organising the site, OSH coordination, usually appointing the coordinator; OSH of own workers	Art. 207-208 KP, reg. on OSH in construction 6.02.2003
OSH coordinator	Supervising the safety of everyone working in the given place, enforcing the rules	Art. 208 KP
Site manager	BIOZ plan (health and safety plan), organising work in line with OSH, safety on site	Construction Law, reg. on OSH in construction
Investor	Ensuring the BIOZ plan is drawn up, and to some extent co-responsibility for the safety of the construction process	Construction Law

Joint and several liability - what you need to know

Here a topic appears that keeps contractors awake at night - joint and several liability. In the construction process the investor and the contractor are jointly and severally liable to subcontractors, among other things for the payment of remuneration (Article 647(1) of the Civil Code). This is not directly OSH liability, but it shows a mechanism worth understanding: in the contractor-subcontractor chain the risks transfer, and "it's not my firm" does not always protect you.

In the area of employment and work legality there also applies the rule that the party entrusting work must verify the legality of employment - including at a subcontractor to the extent it affects them. And after the PIP reform, inspections of the subcontractor chain will be more thorough. We wrote about the legality of employing foreign nationals in the article on the legal employment of a foreign national.

What to put in the contract with a subcontractor

The contract is your main tool for dividing and securing OSH duties. A well-constructed one protects you when the subcontractor drops the ball - a poorly constructed one leaves you with their problems. What should be in it:

1. A clear division of OSH duties - that the subcontractor is responsible for the training, examinations, risk assessment, PPE and instructions of their workers.
2. An obligation to provide documentation - a statement on the crew's training and examinations, copies of key documents before entering the site.
3. A commitment to observe the site rules - the site regulations, the instructions of the coordinator and site manager.
4. A right to inspect and to stop work - that you can check the documentation and stop the subcontractor's work in the event of danger or missing papers.
5. Liability for damage and penalties - who bears the consequences of the subcontractor's failings, including any contractual penalties.
6. An obligation to report accidents - that the subcontractor informs you immediately of incidents on site.

Checking a subcontractor's documents before letting them onto the site is a standard the big players introduce too - we described it in the article on entering the site of Skanska, Budimex, Strabag.

In an accident, actual supervision counts, not just the contract

Here is the most important warning. You can shift all the OSH duties onto the subcontractor in the contract - but after an accident the PIP and the prosecutor examine who actually supervised safety. If your site manager genuinely organised the other crew's work, gave instructions and decided on the safeguards, then a clause in the contract will not remove your responsibility.

Criminal liability under Article 220 KK (Criminal Code; exposing a worker to immediate danger, up to 3 years' imprisonment) falls on the person who was responsible for OSH - and that is judged on the facts, not on the heading of the contract. That is why two things must go together: a good contract and real, documented supervisory actions on your side. We wrote about the line of responsibility after an accident in the article on an accident without documentation and Article 220 KK.

Frequently asked questions

Am I responsible for the OSH of the subcontractor's workers?

As a rule the subcontractor is responsible for the OSH of their own workers (Article 207 KP). But when their crew works on the same site as yours, Article 208 KP comes in - the duty to cooperate and coordinate OSH. And if your firm actually supervises the safety of the whole site, the responsibility for coordination and shared hazards is on your side.

Who appoints the OSH coordinator on a construction site?

When workers of different employers work in one place, they are obliged to appoint a coordinator supervising the OSH of everyone working there. In practice on a construction site this role is organised by the contractor or general contractor who manages the site. Appointing a coordinator does not release individual employers from responsibility for their own workers.

Does a clause in the contract protect me after the subcontractor's accident?

The contract divides the duties and is important evidence, but it does not give full protection. After an accident the PIP and the prosecution establish who actually supervised safety. If you genuinely organised the other crew's work, the clause "the subcontractor is responsible for OSH" alone will not remove your responsibility. You need both a good contract and an actual, documented division of roles.

What documents should I demand from a subcontractor before they enter the site?

The minimum is a statement on OSH training and current medical examinations of the crew, confirmation of legal employment (for foreign nationals - the legality of residence and work), and for particularly hazardous work - instructions and qualifications. It is worth reserving in the contract the right to inspect these documents and to stop the work when they are missing.

Put your own OSH in order - the STANDARD and FULL packages

Before you start enforcing documentation from the subcontractor, your own side must be clean - because the inspector will start with you. In the STANDARD package (449 zł, 27 files) you have a full set of OSH documentation for your firm: risk assessments, training cards, examinations, instructions, the PPE table - tailored to PKD 43 (Polish business activity code). This is the foundation on which you build relationships with subcontractors.

If you act as a contractor coordinating several crews and also want procedures for inspections and accidents, choose FULL (749 zł, 45 files) - it has everything from STANDARD plus a PIP-reaction package, an accident report template and incident procedures. The documents are in a PL and UA version, so you can communicate with crews from Ukraine too. The promotion runs until 7 July 2026 - just before the PIP reform comes into force.

See BudoReady packages and put your OSH in order →

The takeaway is simple. "They're not my people" sounds convenient, but on a construction site where several firms share one site, responsibility for OSH is more tangled than it seems. Protect yourself on two fronts: with a good contract that divides the duties and gives you the right to inspect, and with real order on your own side. Then "it's the subcontractor" will be not only a convenient phrase but a truth backed up by paperwork.

This article is for information only and does not replace individual legal advice or a consultation with an OSH specialist. Templates of documents and contracts require individual adaptation to the reality of your company and the specific construction project, and the current legal position should be verified as at the date of use.