Occupational health and safety

  • Objective of sustainable development strategy :

    Strategic objectives:

    • Building a safety culture and minimizing risks to employees

    Operational objectives for 2023:

    • Safety Management System in place minimizing the risk of accidents
    • Training and awareness – defining a training program and providing training for employees and other individuals working within the company, including subcontractors
      • 100% of employees undergo general and on-the-job initial training
      • 90% of the managerial staff covered by first aid and AED training
      • 100% of subcontractors’ employees in the factory undergo OHS training
    • Elimination of potential hazards through occupational safety and fire safety inspections carried out in accordance with the list (once a quarter in each department and once every six months in warehouses)

  • Achievement of objectives:

    • 100% of FFiL Śnieżka SA’s employees were covered by the organization’s occupational health and safety management system
      • 98 – accident frequency indicator at FFiL Śnieżka SA
      • 33 – accident severity indicator at FFiL Śnieżka SA
    • Training:
      • 100% of newly hired employees underwent occupational health and safety training
      • 93% of those eligible received additional first aid training
      • OHS training for the Group’s subcontractors, including all 338 employees of subcontracting companies rendering services at the sites
    • 100% of post-inspection conclusions implemented

[ESRS S1-14]

The Group introduces modern employee protection measures, and the OHS issues are of utmost priority and precisely regulated in the Quality, Environmental and Health and Safety Policy and implemented management systems - Safety and Fire Protection and the Integrated Quality and Environmental Management System, including: human protection instructions. Each employee of the Group has specific responsibilities in the area of OHS and is obliged to participate in creating safe working conditions.

Work within the Śnieżka Group is safe.

  • conducting activities in line with applicable legal regulations, including the environmental protection and health and safety at work,
  • continuous improvement of the effectiveness of control systems,
  • striving to constantly improve the state of health and safety at work,
  • implementation of activities in the area of continuous improvement of health and safety at work,
  • stimulating employees in the processes of providing safe and hygienic working conditions,
  • raising qualifications through thematic or general training,
  • ensuring adequate resources and financial means to implement the set goals,
  • active participation of all Company’s employees in the organization of work and improving the level of occupational safety and fire safety.

OHS committees and employee representatives

No trade unions have been established in the parent company. FFiL Śnieżka SA employees’ interests and opinions regarding all aspects of employment, including occupational health and safety are represented by Employee Representatives, i.e. a team of people elected by employees for a four-year term of office.

In 2023, FFiL Śnieżka SA had three employee representatives who represented the team in the following areas: employee matters, social activities and regulations. Additionally, through them, employees have the opportunity to ask the Management Board with questions.

  • Occupational Health and Safety Committee – carries out reviews of working conditions, periodical assessments of the condition of occupational safety and health, presents opinions on measures introduced by the employer to prevent accidents at work and occupational diseases, submits requests to improve working conditions and cooperates with the employer on carrying out its duties in the field of occupational safety and health.
  • Company Examination Committee – examines all non-managerial employees on their knowledge of OHS issues.
  • Fire and Technical Committee – determines protective and preventive actions necessary to remove hazards to health and life in the field of fire protection and evacuation of employees. The committee is composed of the Company’s engineering and technical services. The committee’s assignments also include inspections of the area, facilities and systems in the context of fire protection.
  • The Environmental Protection Review Committee – composed of the Environmental Management Coordinator and the Environmental Protection Expert – annually conducts:
    • review of Waste Collection Sites, hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste. In 2023, the committee produced 11 Non-Compliance Cards – all non-compliances were eliminated.
    • review of Collective Waste Collection Sites, hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste. In 2023, four Non-Compliance Cards were produced – all non-compliances were eliminated.
    • review of Environmental Devices and Systems in the following branches: Brzeźnica, Lubzina, Pustków and Zawada. In 2023, 13 Non-Compliance Cards were produced – all non-compliances were eliminated.
  • Company Anti-Harassment Committee– the scope of its tasks has been discussed in the chapter on human rights.
  • Social Committee – manages the funds of the Company’s Social Benefits Fund and establishes the rules for spending them, taking into account the needs of employees. The Committee assesses the life and financial situation of individuals entitled to make use of the Fund’s benefits and gives opinions on granting these benefits.

[ESRS S1-14]

In 2023, three accidents occurred at FFiL Śnieżka SA, which were classified as individual accidents at work – minor. In total, they resulted in 322 days of incapacity for work, and the documentation related to two accidents was submitted to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) in order to determine the permanent or long-term percentage of health impairment.

The accident frequency indicator in the Company was 4.98 and remained at a similar level as in 2022 (4.93). The Company recorded an increase in the accident severity indicator – in 2023 it was 107.33 compared to 64.33 in 2022. 100% of the Śnieżka Group employees were covered by the organization’s OHS management system.

No reportable cases of work-related ill health among employees occurred. Security audits are carried out in accordance with the control plan.

In 2023, no serious or fatal accidents occurred in the Śnieżka Group.  No occupational diseases among employees were recorded.

Each accident at work in the Company is investigated during a post-accident inquiry.  All circumstances and possible causes of the event are determined. After each accident, the President of the Management Board of FFiL Śnieżka SA recommends permanent removal of its cause and elimination of the likelihood of its occurrence in the future.

In 2023, FFiL Śnieżka SA carried out three post-accident analyses of occupational risk assessment documentation, strictly referring to the causes of the accidents identified during the post-accident inquiry.  Sheets of corrective and preventive actions taken have been included in the current documentation of the occupational risk assessment of the relevant organizational unit.

No accidents at work were recorded in Śnieżka ToC, Rafil, Śnieżka-Ukraina and Śnieżka-BelPol in 2023. Four accidents occurred at Poli-Farbe, resulting in a total of 43 days of incapacity for work.

Accident indicators at FFiL Śnieżka SA and the Śnieżka Group

Accident indicators at FFiL Śnieżka SA and the Śnieżka Group

FiFL Śnieżka SA Śnieżka Group
Accident indicators 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023
Number of minor accidents 1 3 3 1 10 7
Number of serious accidents 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number of fatal accidents 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number sick leave days 23 193 322 23 623 365
Accident frequency indicators „Ww” 1.45 4.93 4.98 1.45 12.34 9.10
Accident severity indicators “Wc” 23.00 64.33 107.33 23.00 62.30 52.14
Lost Time Incident Indicator (LTI) no data 2.83 2.79 no data 7.13 5.16
Lost Time Severity Incident Indicator (LTI) no data 0.18 0.30 no data 0.44 0.27
Number of occupational diseases recorded 0 0 0 0 0 0
*no data

 

In 2023, no serious or fatal accidents occurred in the Śnieżka Group. No occupational diseases among employees were recorded.

The Śnieżka Group periodically carries out specialized tests or measurements at all workplaces where employees come into contact with factors harmful to health. These tests are conducted by the Occupational Hygiene Department of the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Rzeszów, and in 2023 they were performed at eight workplaces.

Supervision of the health of employed staff in the Group’s Polish companies is carried out through preventive medical examinations – initial, periodic and follow-up. They are performed during working hours and at the employer’s expense, and the employee’s valid medical examinations is treated as a crucial element to work in their position.  In foreign companies of the Śnieżka Group, periodic medical examinations are conducted in line with local regulations.

Each employee has access to appropriate, required and safe equipment, facilities and personal hygiene products. Appropriate collective protective measures are installed at the workplaces, and employees are provided with personal protective equipment on the basis of individual equipment or permanent availability of these means.  Śnieżka subsidizes the purchase of corrective glasses for entities working in front of monitors, and for those whose vision correction is recommended by a doctor due to the nature or type of work performed, the Company itself purchases appropriate corrective glasses.

In 2023, the OHS team assessed the occupational risk at three new job positions and issued opinions on 13 Technological Manuals regarding the safety of producing processes of manufactured products. The aim of the activities was to define general requirements and fire safety requirements in the Company and to improve work safety at production stations.

The Group complies with all legal requirements related to OHS training. In 2023, all Group companies conducted regular initial training for newly hired employees. The OHS and fire protection principles are also regularly reminded and refreshed during periodic training in the field of on-the-job training appropriate for individual employee groups.

In the subsidiaries – Poli-Farbe, Śnieżka-Ukraina, Śnieżka-BelPol and Rafil – OHS training covered topics specific to a given company and was conducted in accordance with the defined needs of a given company.

  • Good practice

    In 2023, the Group conducted occupational health and safety training for subcontractors, including all 338 employees of subcontracting companies rendering services at the sites. The training was conducted based on training programs developed by the Company and included the following:

    • legal regulations in the field of OHS, including provisions related to the work performed,
    • threat factors occurring in the work processes as well as principles and methods of elimination or limiting the impact of these factors on employees, taking into account changes in technology, work organization and work positions, application of collective and individual protection measures, introduction of new equipment, machinery and tools;
    • progress related to risk assessment factors occurring in the work processes and to the scope of protection methods preventing threats to health and life of employees;
    • issues related to the arrangement of office workstations, taking into account the principles of ergonomics, including those equipped with screen monitors and other office equipment;
    • circumstances and causes of accidents at specific work places and their prevention;
    • rules of conduct in the event of an accident at work, fire, explosion, release of a chemical agent into the natural environment or a serious industrial accident.
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