Third edition of the Health and Safety Experts Meeting at Santander Bank Polska
October 27 2025
On October 21, the third edition of the Health and Safety Experts Meeting organized by Santander Bank Polska took place, bringing together specialists, practitioners, and representatives of institutions involved in the development of a modern approach to health and safety at work.
The event gathered representatives of the health and safety community, public institutions, employers’ organizations, and experts dealing with mental health at work.
As part of the opening session, Zuzanna Kowalik, an IBS analyst, gave a presentation entitled “To regulate or not to regulate? Narratives around the future of the European PSR directive”, based on the results of a project funded by the National Science Centre as part of the PRELUDIUM grant.
The presentation was based on an analysis of over a dozen interviews with trade unions, employers, experts, and regulators, and addressed questions about why an EU directive on psychosocial risks at work has not yet been adopted and what visions and interests lie behind the various positions.
The presentation addressed, among other things, the scale of psychosocial risks in the EU and Poland, along with their documented health and economic effects, differences in the positions of the main actors, and potential scenarios for the development of regulations along with their consequences for employers and occupational health and safety services.
The conclusions of the presentation emphasized that regardless of the direction of regulation, the problem of PSR will not disappear, and the growing health burdens and costs will require new competencies and stronger integration of activities in the areas of occupational health and safety, HR, and public health.
In addition to the presentation by the IBS representative, participants heard two more opening speeches:
- Karolina Kanclerz (PCS Paruch, Chruściel, Stępień, Kanclerz) – on the legal aspects of “emotional health and safety” and the right to mental safety in the workplace.
- Łukasz Podgórski (Santander Bank Polska) – on the applications of artificial intelligence in occupational health and safety and the potential of technology to improve work safety.
In the second part of the event, participants worked at seven thematic tables, covering topics such as health promotion activities, psychosocial occupational risks, training, work models, and the digitization of health and safety processes. The discussions formed the basis for the creation of the Manifesto of Modern Health and Safety, a document emphasizing common values and directions for change in the area of employee safety and health.
