The new Law on workplace safety and health

The previous days brought significant changes in requirements for safety and health in the workplace.

Many of them have been expected, having in mind that the Law related to the protection of safety and health at work in the Republic of Serbia has not changed substantially for the past 18 years.

What does the new law bring us? As expected, more strict rules have been defined, considering that previous conditions have shown that safety and health at workplace has not been on satisfying level.

In the following text, you can find the most important amendments which brings us new Law:

1. New Obligations for Workplaces with Increased Risk
2. The new Law introduces a special Permit provided by the employer for each individual work being performed in the working environment that may significantly threaten the employee’s safety and health (for example working at height, in depth, etc.).
3. Also, under the new legislation, the employer is obliged to provide an employee who works at the workplace with increased risk not only a previous medical examination, but also a periodic medical examination. This obligation also applies now to all employees that work during night-time.
4. Obligations related to Remote Work and Working from Home
5. The new Law defines the terms “Working from home” and “Remotely working” as a work at the workplace that is not the employer’s space and which work is performed by using communication technologies.
6. In this respect, this type of work presupposes the cooperation of the employer and the employee to ensure safety and health at work and prescribes the employer’s obligation to determine the conditions for safe and healthy remotely work, to provide work equipment and to prescribe preventive measures. Also, an employer can issue Risk Assessment Act for remote work with the participation of their employees.
7. Safety at the Construction Site and “Worksite”
8. The new Law introduces a completely new term called “Worksite”, which is defined as an open-air area where work is carried out in accordance with the elaboration on the arrangement and execution of works, and introduces a new obligation for employers to prepare the elaboration on the arrangement of the construction site and the worksite and to submit it to the labor inspectorate together with notice on beginning of works.
9. Further, the labor inspection will close construction sites for at least 3 days when the requirements for safety and health in the workplace have not been met, but also when the employees have not concluded appropriate labor agreements with the employer. The period for which the construction site is closed depends on whether the violation of the requirements was determined for the first time, or the violation is repeated which is followed by more severe sanction.
10. The License for Responsible Persons
11. Under the new legislation, persons engaged for maintenance of safety and health at workplace need to obtain a special license introduced by this Law. The license is needed whether in the case of natural persons or legal persons and entrepreneurs who perform such activity.

Although the new Law contains a number of significant changes, it is still expected to pass a number of bylaws that will enable active implementation of Law. In this regard, the legislator clearly prescribed that employers are obliged to organize their operations in accordance with the law within two years from the date of entry into force of this Law, so we should wait for its full implementation.