Compliance is not the most visible part of a project, yet it is one of the most important, as working across borders brings opportunities and responsibilities in turn. It is how we keep people safe and projects predictable. Over time, Eryk has delivered electrical and mechanical installations in more than 45 countries, and every project must align with local law, international HSEQ standards and our customers’ own rules.
Our Senior HR & Compliance Officer, Natalia Tyborowska sums it up simply: “For Eryk, ‘compliance’ means consciously and consistently acting in accordance with applicable laws, industry regulations, ISO standards, and internal rules that we set ourselves. It also means building a culture of responsibility, transparency and ethical conduct at every level of the organisation. Compliance is an element of trust, both towards customers, business partners and employees, as well as supervisory institutions.”
For customers, this means that when a project group arrives on site, the basics are already under control: authorisations are valid, documentation is in place, and everyone knows the rules they must follow.
Thanks to our team of specialists, we keep our operations safe, compliant and aim for high-standard services. Read the chat with Natalia and our Chief Administration Officer, Magdalena Winiarska. They are both largely involved in compliance-related subjects at Eryk.
Natalia: The daily behaviour that has the greatest impact on regulatory compliance, especially in all the markets where we operate, is consistently stopping to check whether a given action meets the specific regulatory requirements applicable in a given jurisdiction. Regulations can vary significantly from country to country: health and safety standards, working hours, employee remuneration, etc. For this reason, we make sure to check local regulations before entering into a contract and commencing services in order to avoid most compliance risks.
This significant behaviour makes compliance part of our daily business: it reduces errors, ensures that cross-border processes comply with all legal and industry standards, and fosters a culture where regulatory responsibility is embedded in everyday decision-making.
Magdalena: No regulations, no procedures should stop people from thinking. Very often, something called common sense allowed us to finalise the project or a discussion with counterparts as we wanted to.
Magdalena: It is very difficult to share such a story, because when we do everything to avoid any issues, it is hard to imagine what could be a serious issue. We for sure helped the customer with documentation, which saved him lots of money. We also many times proved that we are compliant in terms of minimum salary in countries such as Switzerland, Luxembourg or Norway. This allowed not only us but also our customers to avoid reputational issues about hiring cheap workers from abroad.
Natalia: Keeping up with constantly changing regulations can be tough, but a structured system makes it much easier. Here are reliable ways we typically stay current: subscribe to official regulatory updates, use reputable regulatory-tracking services, regulatory compliance platforms, which provide alerts, summaries, and expert analysis, join industry associations, stay in regular contact with legal counsel or compliance consultant, attend trainings, workshops, and conferences.
Magdalena: Monitoring of legal changes became my hobby since quite a few years and I try to stay updated by taking part in conferences, webinars and other events. I am also receiving many newsletters from law companies we cooperate with, listening to the news, and discussing different issues with wise colleagues in Eryk.
Magdalena: We always take responsibility for our work, no matter if it refers to H&S, labour laws, GDPR or other regulations. It is our duty to do everything correctly and according to the law. This reduces the burden on the customer and helps avoid avoidable compliance gaps. It is just enough to pass our details to the relevant authority. In many countries, it is a shared responsibility for labour law or H&S, therefore, we set that from the beginning and take responsibility for those things we have an impact on. The customer does not even need to take part in the dialogue.
If customers could check only three things about a technical partner’s compliance, what would you recommend they look at? (Something that makes Eryk stand out)
Magdalena: I believe those 3 things are:
