Occupational health and safety: an obligations map for small businesses

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is not only a matter for factories or construction sites. An accounting office, a café and an e-commerce company with a single employee are all within the scope of Law No. 6331. How often the obligations recur, however, depends on the workplace's hazard class.

First find out your hazard class

The hazard class is determined by the workplace's NACE activity code at SGK: low hazard, hazardous or very hazardous. For example, office services are usually low hazard, restaurants and many manufacturing jobs are hazardous, and construction and mining are very hazardous. To check your activity code: Choosing a NACE code

Obligations by hazard class

When there is a significant change at the workplace (a new machine, a new section, a work accident), the risk assessment is renewed without waiting for the interval. Every new employee is given basic OHS training before starting work.

OHS professionals

• As a rule, every employer appoints an occupational safety specialist and a workplace doctor. This service can be bought from joint health and safety units (OSGB).
• The working time is set according to the number of employees and the hazard class.
• In workplaces in the low hazard class with fewer than 10 employees, the employer or employer's representative can take on the role of occupational safety specialist after receiving the necessary training. Under certain conditions this is also possible in other small workplaces.

Other basic obligations

1. Emergency plan and drills; designating firefighting, first aid and evacuation teams.
2. Employee representative: one or more employee representatives are appointed according to the number of employees.
3. OHS committee: set up in workplaces with 50 or more employees where work lasting more than six months is carried out.
4. Personal protective equipment: equipment suited to the risk is provided free of charge and its use is supervised.
5. Pre-employment examination: the employee has a health examination before starting work; for hazardous and very hazardous work, a fitness-for-work report is obtained.
6. Records: training attendance certificates, the risk assessment, the findings and recommendations book and examination reports are kept.

If a work accident happens

• First aid is given immediately to the injured employee and they are taken to a health facility.
• The accident is reported to SGK with a work accident notification within three working days after the event.
• The causes of the accident are investigated, and the risk assessment is updated and recorded.
• For accidents not reported on time, an administrative fine is imposed and SGK's expenses may be reclaimed from the employer.

A work accident suffered by an undeclared employee has the most serious consequences: The cost of undeclared employment

Sanctions

Each breach of the obligations in the Law requires a separate administrative fine; for some breaches the fine is repeated for every month the breach continues. Where there is a danger to life, a stoppage of work order may be issued at the workplace. Fine amounts are increased each year by the revaluation rate.

Starting checklist

• Has the workplace's hazard class been determined?
• Have an occupational safety specialist and workplace doctor been appointed (or an OSGB contract made)?
• Are the risk assessment and emergency plan ready?
• Have employees been given OHS training before starting work?
• Have pre-employment examinations been carried out?
• Has an employee representative been appointed?

Workplaces with more than 50 employees also have an obligation to employ disabled persons: Disabled employee quota

Legal basis: Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331; Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Risk Assessment; Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of Employees' Occupational Health and Safety Training; Law No. 5510 arts. 13 and 14.