On-the-job instruction is the part of induction training that happens at the machine, not in a classroom. Afterwards, the employee should know how to do their work safely at a specific workstation: what the hazards are, how to start and stop the equipment, where the fire extinguisher is, what to do when something goes wrong. In practice it is sometimes reduced to a signature on a card. Below: when it is mandatory, who should give it and how to document it so that it stands up to an inspection.
Legal basis
- Polish Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), Art. 237³ — an employee may not be allowed to perform work for which they lack the required qualifications and sufficient knowledge of OHS regulations and rules; the employer provides training before allowing them to work; training takes place during working hours and at the employer's expense.
- Regulation of the Minister of Economy and Labour of 27 July 2004 on training in occupational health and safety — induction training consists of general instruction and on-the-job instruction; framework programmes and minimum durations are set out in the annex to the regulation.
- Labour Code, Art. 237⁴ — the employer familiarises employees with the OHS regulations and rules relating to the work they perform and issues detailed instructions and guidance.
- Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 10 December 2018 on employee records — the induction training card goes into part B of the personnel file.
When on-the-job instruction is mandatory
The 2004 regulation states explicitly who undergoes on-the-job instruction before being allowed to work:
- an employee hired for a manual worker position or any other position involving exposure to harmful, strenuous or hazardous factors,
- an employee transferred to such a position,
- a pupil undergoing practical vocational training and a student on a work placement.
The instruction must also be repeated when the technical and organisational conditions at the workstation change: a new technological process, new machines or tools, a new workstation layout. An employee who has operated the same press for ten years needs new instruction when the press is replaced with a different one, even though their periodic training is still valid.
An employee who works at several workstations undergoes instruction at each of them. This is a common gap in plants where people “help out” on the neighbouring line.
Who can give the instruction
On-the-job instruction is given by a person managing employees designated by the employer, or by the employer themselves, provided they have the appropriate qualifications and professional experience and have been trained in methods of giving on-the-job instruction. This last condition is the one most often overlooked: the foreman knows the machine, but nobody has taught them how to give instruction. Periodic training for people managing employees includes this element, and that is the simplest way to meet the requirement.
An external OHS specialist does not give on-the-job instruction, because they do not manage employees and usually do not know the workstation from the operator's side. They can prepare the programme and help improve it.
How long it takes and what it consists of
The framework programme for on-the-job instruction in the annex to the regulation provides for a minimum of 8 teaching hours for manual worker positions and other positions involving exposure to harmful, strenuous or hazardous factors, and a minimum of 2 teaching hours for administrative and office staff. A teaching hour is 45 minutes.
The programme covers, in order:
- an introductory talk: working conditions at the workstation, work environment factors, occupational risk, protective measures,
- a demonstration by the instructor of how to perform the work in line with OHS regulations and rules,
- a trial performance of the task by the employee under the instructor's supervision,
- independent work under supervision,
- a test of knowledge and skills, on which permission to work independently depends.
Instruction at a workstation may exceptionally be shortened when the employee moves to a workstation with similar conditions and already has the relevant experience. The employer then sets the duration, but must be able to justify the decision.
What stays on file
The employee confirms in writing, on the induction training card, that they have completed general and on-the-job instruction. The card follows a template set out in the annex to the regulation and goes into part B of the personnel file. The person giving the instruction also signs the card.
During an inspection, the inspector compares three things: the date of hiring, the date of the instruction and the date of the first day of work at the workstation. Instruction after the first day of work means allowing someone to work without training, which is an offence under Art. 283 of the Labour Code.
Most common mistakes
- Instruction on paper on the day of hiring, and the actual “onboarding” by a colleague a week later.
- The foreman gives instruction, although nobody has trained them in the methods of giving it.
- No new instruction after a machine is replaced or the technology changes.
- A single instruction for an employee who works at three workstations.
- No final test: the employee is allowed to work, although nobody has checked whether they can do the job.
- A temporary worker or contractor without instruction, because “they are not our employee” (the obligation applies to every person performing work at the plant on its premises).
Checklist
- A list of workstations where on-the-job instruction is required, with designated instructors.
- Every instructor has training in instruction methods (usually as part of periodic training for managers).
- An instruction programme for each workstation, updated after changes in machines and technology.
- The induction training card completed before the first day of work at the workstation, with signatures.
- A register showing employees who work at several workstations and the instruction at each of them.
Our OHS app keeps a register of induction and periodic training, with employees assigned to workstations and deadlines: a change of workstation in the employee record immediately shows any missing instruction, and the manager sees a list of people to train before they go onto the line. Workstation instructions and instruction materials can be displayed on a shop-floor kiosk, at the machine, not in the office.
Legal status as of October 2026. This article is for information only and does not replace legal advice or the opinion of an OHS team.
