Workplace Risk Prevention in Spain

• The document concerns workplace risk prevention as legally regulated in Spain.
• Work can often be the source of risks that endanger fundamental human values like life and health.

Prevention of Workplace Risks

• Workers have the right to safety and health at work, allowing them to demand necessary actions to prevent work-related accidents and illnesses.
• This right is both individual and collective, characterized by being non-waivable, having minimum content, and being mandatory in workplaces.

Legal Framework

• Article 40.2 of the Spanish Constitution mandates public authorities to ensure safety and hygiene as guiding principles of social and economic policy.
• Law 31/1995, dated November 8, addresses workplace risk prevention.
• Article 1 says the law aims to promote worker safety and health through measures and activities necessary for preventing work-related risks.
• Exclusions from this law apply to activities with specific impediments such as police, security, customs enforcement, civil protection, forensic services during major disasters, armed forces, and military activities of the Civil Guard.

Modifications to Law 31/1995

• Law 50/1998, dated December 30, addresses Fiscal, Administrative, and Social Order Measures.
• Law 39/1999, dated November 5, promotes balancing family and work life for workers.
• Revised Text of Infractions and Sanctions in Social Order, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000(TRISOS) exists.
• Law 31/2006, dated October 18, concerns worker involvement in European corporations and cooperatives.
• L.O. 3/2007, dated March 22, ensures effective equality between women and men.
• Law 25/2009, dated December 22, modifies laws to adapt to the Law on free access to service activities and their exercise.
• Real Decree-Law 16/2022, dated September 6, improves working conditions and Social Security for domestic workers.
• Law 54/2003, dated December 12, reforms the regulatory framework of PRL (Workplace Risk Prevention).

Regulatory Development and Related Norms

• Royal Decree 899/2015 modifies Royal Decree 39/1997, dated January 17, approving the Regulation of Prevention Services.
• Other relevant norms include Legislative Royal Decree 8/2015 approving the Revised Text of the General Social Security Law, General Health Law 14/1986, Legislative Royal Decree 2/2015 approving the TRET (Worker Statute), and Legislative Royal Decree 2/2000 approving the TRISOS.

Chapter I: Objective, Scope, and Definitions

• Article 1 outlines the legislation on workplace risk prevention.
• Regulations on workplace risk prevention encompass this Law, its developmental provisions, and any other legal or conventional norms containing preventive measures in the workplace.

Article 2: Objective and Nature of the Norm

• This Law seeks to promote worker safety and health by applying necessary measures to prevent work-related risks.
• It establishes general principles for preventing occupational hazards, protecting safety and health, eliminating or reducing work-related risks, and ensuring information, consultation, balanced participation, and training for workers in preventive matters.
• The Law regulates actions to be carried out by public administrations, employers, workers, and their respective representative organizations.
• Labor provisions in this Law are mandatory minimum standards that can be improved and developed through collective agreements.

Article 3: Scope of Application

• This Law and its development norms apply to labor relations regulated in the Revised Text of the Workers' Statute, as well as administrative relations with specific peculiarities.
• It extends to cooperative societies with working partners.
• "Workers" and "employers" include administrative personnel and public administrations respectively and cooperative partners and societies.

Activities Excluded

• Activities where specific characteristics impede application, such as public functions of police, security, customs, civil protection, forensic services during major disasters, armed forces, and military activities of the Civil Guard.
• The Law, however, inspires the specific norms that regulate the protection of the safety and health of workers who perform services in these activities.
• Military centers and establishments will apply this Law with specific adaptations in their norms.
• Penitentiary establishments will adapt activities justifying special regulation, following guidelines from Law 7/1990 on collective negotiation and participation in determining the working conditions of public employees.

Article 4: Definitions

• Prevention includes activities and measures adopted to avoid or diminish risks from work.
• Occupational risk is the possibility of a worker suffering damage from work.
• Risk severity considers both the probability of damage and its severity.
• Damage derived from work includes diseases, pathologies, or injuries suffered due to or during work.
• Grave and imminent occupational risk is a risk that is likely to materialize imminently and cause severe harm to workers' health; similarly, it is also the risk that is materialise in an immediate future.
• Potentially hazards include process, activities or equipment that in abscence of preventives measures, orignate risks or threat the personals wellbeing
• Work equipment is any machine, apparatus, or installation used in the workplace.

Work Condition Definition

• Any feature of work that can significantly influence the generation of risks to worker safety and health.
• Includes characteristics of premises, facilities, equipment, the nature of physical, chemical, and biological agents, and work organization.
• Personal protection equipment is any equipment designed to be worn or held by the worker for protection against one or more risks.

Chapter II: Policy on Risk Prevention to Protect Safety and Health at Work

• Article 5 outlines the objectives of the policy.
• Prevention policy aims to improve working conditions to elevate the level of safety and health protection for workers.
• This policy is implemented through regulatory norms and administrative actions, coordinating public administrations and aligning public and private entities' actions.
• Cooperation and assistance are mandated among the General State Administration, Autonomous Communities, and local entities for effective execution of competencies.
• Preventative policy involves participation from employers and workers through their business and union organizations.

Public Administrations' Role

• Improve education in preventative matters at all levels, especially in professional qualification system offerings.
• Ensure adequate training of human resources needed for workplace risk prevention.
• Establish permanent collaboration between the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and other relevant ministries to set appropriate training levels and specializations.
• Continuously review these teachings to adapt to existing needs.
• Promote activities improving working conditions, reducing risks, researching new protection methods, and promoting effective prevention structures.
• Specific programs may improve the work environment and protection levels, incentivizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Equality

• Promote effectiveness of equality between men and women.
• Consider gender-related variables in data collection and research to detect and prevent possible differences.
• Policy should promote integrating effective prevention of labor risks into company management.
• Also take into account small companies special needs

Regulation

• Article 6 discusses regulatory norms.
• The Government, through regulations and after consulting with unions and business organizations, will regulate related matters.

Rights and Obligations

• Chapter III covers rights and obligations.
• Article 14 focuses on the right to protection against workplace risks.
• Workers have the right to effective protection in matters of safety and health at work, with a corresponding duty of employers to protect workers from risks.
• This duty also extends to administrations regarding their personnel.
• Rights such as information, consultation, participation including training and health etc.

Employer Duties

• Guarantee the safety and health of workers in all work-related aspects.
• Implement risk prevention through integrating preventative activities into the company and adopting necessary measures to protect worker safety and helath.
• Continuously monitor preventative activities to improve risk identification, control, and protection levels.
• Adapt preventative measures in response to changes affecting work.
• Employers must meet obligations established in workplace risk prevention norms.
• Workers' obligations, assigning protective functions, and engaging specialized entities complement employer actions.
• Costs related to workplace safety and health measures must not be borne by workers.

Principles and Preventative action

• Article 15 discusses principles of preventative action.
• Employers must implement measures aligned to general prevention duties following general principles
• Includes avoiding risks, evaluating unavoidable risks, combating risks at their origin, and adapting work to the individual.

Work Adaption

• Consider job design, equipment, and work methods to reduce monotony and health effects.

Additional Principles

• Consider state ot the art and substitute dangerous components.
• Plan prevention, integrating technique, organization, social conditions environmental factors.
• Prioritize collective and individual protective measures.
• And follow the standards to provide clear guidance for its staff.
• Employers should consider professional capacities of workers when assigning tasks.
• Adopt measures ensuring only sufficiently informed workers can access high-risk areas.
• Preventative measures should consider distractions or non-reckless imprudence.

Insurance

• Insurance operations can be agreed regarding the prediction of risks associated with labor and personal circumstances

Risk Prevention

• Article 16 details the plan for prevention of workplace hazards, evaluation of risks and planning preventative activity.
• Workplace prevention should to be a general system in the companys agenda, and included from low to high levels of command
• The companys should provide resources when the preventative actions need to be excecuted.
• The most basic aspects of executing and managing should take into account current and future risks and prevention activities

The evaluation must

• Have characteristcs suited to each employee and their environment.
• Be re-done when conditions have changed

Work equipment and protection

• Article 17, safety regulations when working with any kind of work equipment, and necessary measures of what that equipment do.
• Equipment must not pose any threat to the users health in order to be fit for purpose
• Individual protective equipment must be avaliable for all workers to protect them against any potential health harzard.
• Individual protection quipment can only be limited by means of colective work

Worker Information

• Article 18 covers the right of workers to be informed of safety standards, protocols and equipment
• Must be in a medium that is clearly communicated to minimize risk.
• There must be an open channel for communication between employee and employer.
• Workers get rights to submit proposals to their employers and representation

Worker training

• Article 19 describes proper training of workers.
• Employers must provide proper education and training to their staff to be able to take appropriate protocols and apply safe practices
• Training include both theoretical and hands on, sufficient and appropriate, the duration is for the period of the contract.

Article 20: Emergency Measures

• Employers must analyze different emergency situations, and adopt all necessary measures to be used to prevent them
• Personal that is tasked with using this measure should have sufficient knowledge to apply the emergency procedures

Risk Imminent - Article 21

• Must inform any and all parties that are exposed to risk to their health and and or safety.
• Must provide proper training to stop or minimize the risk, including abandoning the place of hazard.
• All personal must be able to inform a superior of unsafe situations, and make due dilligence with all recourses available.

All Article 21

• Employers must not be opposed to the use of any safety measures that its employees might take.
• The employer must make up for the damage or loss of the action taken if the employee followed the legal protocols.

Healthcare- Article 22

• The employer must ensure it provides periodical surveillance of the health of all their personnel in order to eliminate risks.
• Healthcare services should be done as voluntary measures and respectful towards the workers rights
• All results shall be communicated to its users, and never be used for discrimination

Article 29: Prevention of workplace risks

• Staff must see for their own safety and follow all directions given to prevent any harm and mitigate any risk in order
• Staff must use correctly all provided machinery and devices to ensure all protective resources and devices that the company is required to provide
• Staff must not allow the degradation of work equipment if its detrimental to the job safety and health.
• Staff must contact a superior if there is more steps it can take to improve job safety.
• Staff must ensure it meets the obligation given to them in order to follow law and order.
• Workers have obligations to adhere given to them by the establishment.

Explore the legal framework in Spain for workplace risk prevention, focusing on worker's rights to safety and health. It covers Law 31/1995 and its objectives to ensure safety in various work environments, excluding specific high-risk activities.