The period marked by COVID-19 crisis emphasised, among other, the importance of applying the measures for health and safety at work and particularly what it means for employers and employees when such measures cannot be applied to ensure smooth operation without risk to health.

28^th April – World day for health and safety at work

World day for health and safety at work is marked worldwide on the 28^th April with a view to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. Twenty-eight April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996. In 2003, the International Labour Organisation joined the “28^th April” campaign and this date was since marked as the World day for health and safety at work, when the importance of preventing injuries at work and fatal outcomes is emphasised along with honouring the memory of injured and diseased workers.

With a view to creating safe working conditions, each country is adopting relevant regulations on this important matter. In the Republic of Serbia, the field of protection at work is regulated by the Law on Safety and Health at Work (“LSHW“), as an umbrella law, by numerous by-laws and ratified international conventions, while the general principle of health and safety at work is also contained in other regulations in the field of work.

The LSHW currently applied in Serbia dates back in 2005. Although the year 2019 was declared as the year of health and safety at work, despite the announced adoption of the new LSHW and the Law on insurance against injury at work for damage compensation (“Law on HSW insurance“) by the end of the year, that did not happen. In March 2021, a new working group for drafting the LSHW was formed, so adoption of the new LSHW is expected in the course of this year.

On the other hand, there are no announcements at the moment for the Law on HSW insurance. The current LSHW stipulates that the employer is obliged to insure employees against injuries at work, professional diseases and diseases related to work, for the purpose of ensuring damage compensation, as well as that the conditions and procedures for insurance against injuries at work, professional diseases and diseases related to employees’ work will be regulated by law, however such law has not been adopted since 2005.

Along with the obvious need for adoption of the law that would regulate insurance against injuries at work, there is certainly a need for a new law in the field of health and safety at work, considering that new risks at workplaces and possibilities for their overcoming have emerged since 2005, that the practice of “remote work” became widespread and that the adoption of the Law on Agency Employment (“LAE“) gave rise to possibility for parallel cumulation of entities on the side of the employer. All these brought about certain practical doubts with regard to distribution of responsibilities between the employer (agency) and beneficiary employer, and yet they are not regulated in more detail by the LAE.

Opinion of the Administration for Safety and Health at Work

As the LAE started to apply in January 2020, certain issues emerged in practice as regards the obligations in the field of safety and health at work. In particular – what employer is obliged to train the assigned employees for safe and healthy work and keep the prescribed records, notably the records of employees trained for safe and healthy work (so-called Form 6) – is it the agency, as employer where such employees are employed, or beneficiary employer?

In relation thereto, the Administration for Safety and Health at Work, as an administrative body within the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs (“Administration“), has recently issued an opinion stating that the said obligations need to be fulfilled by the beneficiary employer.

In particular, the Administration noted that the beneficiary employer shall:

• Ensure to the assigned employee (as well as to any employee) work at a workplace and working environment where measures for health and safety at work have been implemented;
• Asses in its risk assessment act all factors of risk within the work process at jobs where the assigned employees are working according to job description and conditions for work at such jobs;
• Perform their training and verification of training for healthy and safe work under the risk assessment act; and
• Keep records of all employees trained for healthy and safe work.

It therefore arises from the stated opinion that the employer where employees actually perform work i.e. beneficiary employer shall be obliged to incorporate in its risk assessment act the jobs performed by the assigned employees, to perform the training of such employees according to the act and to keep appropriate records on the assigned employees trained for healthy and safe work.

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