The question posed above, although perverse, has its justification. When hiring employees, every employer, including clients of our PRWT accounting office, remembers to verify their ability to work. There is no doubt that the employee cannot be allowed to work without a valid medical certificate confirming the ability to work. A medical certificate confirming fitness for work is therefore always necessary. There are, however, situations in which an employee changes employer, but not necessarily the nature of the work performed. Then it is not necessary to perform new medical examinations. However, there are certain conditions:

1. The employee is hired to work for the new employer within 30 days after the termination or expiry of the employment relationship with the previous employer.
2. The employee has a valid certificate confirming the ability to perform work
3. The conditions described in the referral for medical examinations correspond to the conditions of work in the position held at the new employer.

How should the employer behave then?

In such a situation, the employer, pursuant to Art. 229 par. 1³ of the Labor Code demands from the person who employs a current medical certificate stating that there are no contraindications to work in a given position and a referral for examinations being the basis for issuing such a certificate. The employer should pay special attention to the document constituting the referral for the examination, because it contains factors to which the employee was exposed in the previous workplace. It is necessary to assess whether it will be necessary to undergo a new medical examination at the new workplace, or whether it is possible to stick to the certificate that the employee already has.

On the technical side: Both of these documents are sent to the employer in a copy – the employee has the original. Of course, the employer should get the original for inspection. In accordance with par. 5 of the Polish Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy on employee documentation of 10 December 2018, the employer keeps in the employee’s personal files, kept in paper form, copies or copies of documents submitted by the applicant for employment or the employee, certified by the employer or a person authorized by the employer for compliance with the submitted document.