The Role of the Health and Safety Service in Shaping the Culture of Occupational Health and Safety in the Enterprise

Purpose: The current legal requirements in the field of occupational health and safety require the company to adapt the plant to the applicable regulations and the needs of the employee.Every employer is obliged to show care for the working environment.However, it is also necessary to care for the broadly understood health and safety culture and work efficiency.The article was written to present the role of the OHS service in shaping the culture of occupational health and safety in an enterprise and the correlation between increasing the level of occupational health and safety in an enterprise and shaping the culture of occupational health and safety.Design/methodology/approach: In order to define the role of the OHS service in shaping occupational health and safety, the article introduces the rights and obligations resulting from the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers and secondary laws.The concept of culture as a whole material and spiritual heritage and the way of shaping it in the enterprise were also defined.The theoretical basis used in the article is to define the advisory and control function of the OHS service in the enterprise.Findings: The role of the Occupational Health and Safety Service, which acts as an advisory and opinion-forming body and often also performs a supervisory function on behalf of the employer, is to skillfully perceive possible threats and, consequently, to prevent and minimize damage.When perfecting activities aimed at improving occupational health and safety, the OHS service must take into account not only visible signs of non-compliance with the rules, but also include those elements of culture that may remain invisible without careful analysis. Research limitations/implications:The highlights of the article is the need for the employee to participate in the process of building a culture of occupational health and safety in the enterprise, and the necessary increase in trust in communication between the employer and employee.