Workplace Safety and Health: Rights and Responsibilities
Workers’ Rights
Linked employer’s liability includes:
- Right to protection for workers with temporary employment relationships.
- Right to protection for particularly sensitive workers.
- Right to regular health monitoring.
- Right to cease trading in the event of serious and imminent danger.
- Right to be provided with personal protective equipment.
- Right to use appropriate work equipment.
Information, Consultation, and Participation
These are basic workers’ rights. The employer must ensure workers receive information about:
- Health and safety risks at work, both company-wide and specific to each job.
- Applicable protection and prevention measures.
- Emergency measures.
The employer must consult workers on matters affecting health and safety at work. Workers have the right to make proposals to improve safety and health.
Workers’ Training
This is a basic worker right. The employer must ensure sufficient and appropriate training:
- At the time of hire, regardless of mode or duration.
- When tasks, technology, or work equipment change.
Training must be:
- Focused on each worker’s job or function.
- Adapted to changing and emerging risks.
- Repeated periodically if necessary.
- Provided during working hours whenever possible, or compensated if outside working hours.
- Delivered by the company or in collaboration with external resources.
- Free for the worker.
Workers’ Duties
Each worker must ensure their own safety and health at work and that of others affected by their activities, complying with prevention measures. This is conditional upon:
- Their own capabilities.
- Their training.
- Instructions from the employer.
Workers must, under their training and following employer instructions:
- Use adequate machinery, equipment, hazardous substances, transport equipment, and other work tools.
- Properly use protective equipment provided by the employer.
- Not disconnect and correctly use safety devices.
- Report risks to supervisors and prevention personnel.
- Contribute to fulfilling obligations established by competent authorities.
- Cooperate with the employer to ensure safe working conditions.
Failure to comply with occupational risk prevention obligations is considered a breach of employment and subject to disciplinary measures.
Prevention Services
Employers must organize human and material resources for worker safety and health. Prevention services consist of all resources needed for preventive measures. Preventive procedures include:
- Employer assumes preventive activities.
- Designate workers to carry them out.
- Provide an in-house prevention service.
- Use an external prevention service.
Employer Assumption
Requirements:
- Companies with fewer than 6 workers.
- Activities are not high-risk.
- Entrepreneur works regularly at the workplace.
- Ability to perform appropriate preventive functions.
Employee Appointment
Not all preventive activities can be allocated; other modalities are needed. For 6-500 employees, or 6-250 in high-risk companies. The number of appointed workers depends on preventive functions, company size, number of workplaces, and type of work. Workers must have necessary resources and training. They are provided with protection and technical independence.
In-House Prevention Service
Required for employers with 500+ workers, or 250-500 workers in high-risk activities, or by labor authority decision. Features:
- Specific and unitary organization.
- Exclusive dedication of members.
- Facilities and resources.
- At least two of four preventive disciplines (safety, hygiene, medicine, ergonomics/psychology).
- Annual program and memory (available to labor authority).
- Audit every 5 years.
Safety Service
Specialized entities must meet requirements:
- Organization, facilities, personnel, and equipment.
- Liability guarantee.
- No relationship with contracted companies other than prevention service.
- Health Administration approval.
- Labor authority accreditation.
Consultation and Worker Participation
Employers must consult employees on decisions concerning:
- Work planning and organization, new technologies, and their impact on safety and health.
- Organization and development of health protection and risk prevention activities.
- Appointment of emergency personnel.
- Training design and organization.
- Any action substantially affecting worker safety and health.
Consultation is with employee representatives where applicable. Workers have the right to participate through representatives and prevention officers, and in the Safety and Health Committee.
Duties of Manufacturers, Importers, and Suppliers
For machinery, equipment, and work tools: ensure they are not dangerous when installed, operated, and used as recommended. For products and chemicals: ensure safe packaging and labeling, identify contents and risks. They must provide:
- Information on correct use.
- Preventive measures.
- Occupational hazards of normal use and misuse.
For protective components: ensure effectiveness when installed and used as recommended. Manufacturers must provide necessary information for safe use and handling.
Responsibilities and Sanctions
Three types of responsibility: penal, civil, and administrative.
Criminal Responsibilities
Covered by the Criminal Code (Articles 316 and 317). Penalties for failing to provide necessary safety and hygiene measures.
Civil Responsibilities
Derived from employment contracts or tort law. Obligation to repair damages caused by acts or omissions.
Administrative Responsibilities
Key aspects:
- Preventive action violations are punished, regardless of damage.
- Principles of legality, non-retroactivity, proportionality, typicality, non bis in idem, and presumption of innocence apply.
- Employer liability is not absolved by employee obligations, except in cases of gross negligence.
- Work can be paralyzed in cases of serious and imminent danger.
Social Security Responsibilities
Includes:
- Surcharge on benefits for accidents and diseases due to lack of safety measures.
- State insurance for lack of medical examinations.
- No insurance for failure to stop work orders.
- Surcharge for workers’ compensation premiums.
Violation Classification
Violations are classified as minor, serious, and very serious.
Risks Linked to Safety Conditions
Law 31/95 establishes four basic disciplines: safety, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, and ergonomics/psychology. These must be interrelated and integrated into the corporate organization.