Background. In Poland, more and more people are using catering services. Only the conduct compliant with requirements currently in force, proper hygiene and the use of safety assurance systems guarantee the preparation of meals of adequate health quality. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and activities of employees of different levels and work experience employed in  restaurants concerning basic issues related to the principles of GHP, GMP and the HACCP system, as well as their implementation and application. The research tool was a survey questionnaire. The survey was conducted in 2022 among employees and owners of 20 restaurants in the Lublin province. Correlations between seniority and position in the restaurant and the surveyed  variables were examined, whereas one-way ANOVA analysis of variance was conducted to investigate the significance of differences in the opinions of employees and restaurant owners.
Results and conclusions. The knowledge of employees about the principles, implementation and operation of food safety assurance systems in the surveyed restaurants can be described as medium. The respondents’ position was significantly correlated with the evaluation of knowledge of food safety assurance systems, trainings in the HACCP system and the opinion that if the  HACCP system was not implemented, nothing would change. The perception of the HACCP system by the groups of employees having seniority of up to 5 years was significantly different  compared to employees having longer seniority. Respondents believed that implementing a HACCP system would guarantee food safety (67 %) and high product quality (53 %).