The new Law on Health and Safety at Work was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia no. 35/2023 of April 29, 2023 and it entered into force on the eighth day after the publishing, i.e., on May 7, 2023 (“the Law“).

On the same day, after almost 18 years of application, the Law on Health and Safety at Work (Official Gazette of RS no. 101/05, 91/15 and 113/17 – other law) ceased to apply, as well as certain provisions of the Regulation on Health and Safety at Work on Temporary or Mobile Construction Sites (Official Gazette of RS no. 14/09, 95/10 and 98/18).

The initiatives for adoption of the new Law on Health and Safety at Work have been present for a long time. Accordingly, the Government of the Republic of Serbia announced the adoption of the new law in the course of 2019, which was also pronounced as the year of health and safety at work. It was also announced that the new law would finally regulate the merely generally established obligation for the employer to insure the employees against injuries at work and occupational diseases at its own cost (“Law on Insurance“). However, that did not happen until the end of the stated year, or even two and a half years later.

Therefore, the adoption of the Law was not accompanied by consideration and adoption of the Law on Insurance and it is not even announced at the moment. Since the Law includes the same provision on mandatory insurance like the previous one and given the previous official opinions of the Ministry of Labour, it is clear that the employers still do not have that obligation and will not be liable in case of inspection controls if they have not insured their employees against the stated risks.

There is a general impression that, although the Law has certain novelties and improvements compared to the previous regulation, they are far from the announced and expected structural changes in this field.

We shall herein present the most important novelties introduced by the Law.

1. Work from home and remote work

The Law stipulates that work from home is work performed by employee for employer by use of information and communication technologies from their place of residence, stay or other place of living, which is not under direct control of the employer, while remote work is work performed by employee by use of information and communication technologies from the premises that are not employer’s premises and which is not under direct control of the employer.

In relation thereto, during work from home and remote work, employer is obliged to ensure health and safety at work in cooperation with the employee, whereby it is obliged to ensure the conditions for healthy and safe work, means for work issued by the employer, to define working process in regard to performance of employee’s jobs and to prescribe preventive measures for healthy and safe work. Also, employer may pass a written risk assessment act relating to work from home and remote work, with employee’s participation, while the employee shall be obliged to inform the employer on fulfilment of requirements necessary for healthy and safe work in accordance with the risk assessment act and to timely inform the employer on any subsequent change of conditions.

Therefore, the Law rather cumulatively regulates work outside employer’s premises, which became very popular in the previous period, not only due to coronavirus-caused crisis, but also for various forms of flexible working hours that employers increasingly offer to employees as additional benefit. There will still be doubts in practice as regards factual possibility for employer to exercise its legal obligations in a working environment that it does not control in any way.

Administration for Health and Safety at Work (“the Administration“) issued a Guidance for healthy and safe work from home, which can be somewhat helpful.

2. Raising the competence level of experts in health and safety at work and licencing natural persons performing the jobs of health and safety at work

The Law stipulates that employer shall be obliged to engage one or more persons for the jobs of health and safety at work and to conclude employment contract with them that meets special requirements under the Law. Jobs regarding the health and safety at work can be performed by a person who passed professional exam for performance of the respective jobs and who has relevant licence.

In relation thereto, the employer shall appoint advisor/associate for health and safety at work by a written act.

Therefore, instead of officer for health and safety at work, which was envisaged as an institute by the previous law, the Law introduces new categories of persons who perform the jobs of health and safety at work, while specific obligations of employer in that regard depend on the type of activity that it performs and the number of engaged persons. Consequently:

• In certain activities, namely: construction, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, mining, processing industry, power supply, gas and vapour supply and air conditioning (except for trade in electricity and gaseous fuels through pipeline), water supply, waste water management, control of waste removal processes, wholesale, traffic and storage and similar activities, as well as health and social protection) the employer who employs, i.e., engages 251 to 500 employees shall be obliged to conclude full-time employment contract with minimum two advisors for health and safety at work, whereas the employer who employs, i.e., engages more than 500 employees shall be obliged to conclude full-time employment contract with minimum three advisors for health and safety at work; while
• In all other activities, the employer who employs, i.e., engages more than 500 employees shall be obliged to conclude a full-time employment contract with minimum two advisors for health and safety at work.

Alike so far, if an employer cannot designate an employee who meets the requirements from the Law for the jobs of health and safety at work, the employer may exceptionally engage a legal entity or an entrepreneur licenced for the jobs of health and safety at work.

In addition, the employer who performs certain activities, namely: retail, accommodation and food services, information and communication, financial activities and insurance, real estate activities, professional, scientific, innovation, administrative and auxiliary services, mandatory social insurance, education, art, fun and recreation, as well as other service activities, may individually perform the jobs of health and safety at work, in which case it shall be obliged to pass professional examination for health and safety at work (excluding the possession of the prescribed licence).

Depending on the category of persons who performed the job of health and safety at work, there are obligations to obtain new licences, i.e., possible continuation of performance of the activities and/or jobs in the upcoming period.

Employers are obliged to organize their operations in terms of professional examinations, i.e., licenses for occupational safety and health in accordance with the Law within two years from the date of entry into force.

3. Performance of high-risk jobs

Employer shall be obliged, prior to commencement of work at height, in depth, in confined space, in space with possibly explosive atmosphere, on energy facility, with use of dangerous chemical substances, work in zones with serious, unavoidable or imminent danger or harm that may jeopardize employee’s health, to ensure working permit, whereas he shall be individually responsible for establishing the procedure and manner of issuance of such permit.

In this regard, the Law stipulates that an employee shall be entitled to refuse to work if they have not been issued the working permit.

This working permit should not be confused with the working permit issued by the National Employment Service in accordance with the regulations on employment of foreigners. This is an internal act of employer which basically confirms the fulfilment of requirements of an employee to perform certain high-risk jobs.

4. Risk assessment act

The Law does not introduce particular novelties with regards to employer’s obligation to conduct risk assessment for all jobs in working environment, but it is specified that the employer shall be obliged to pass a risk assessment act for all jobs where students perform professional practice, practical training or work-based learning in the system of dual education in accordance with the law on dual education.

5. Reporting to the inspection and fulfilment of the prescribed requirements

Employer shall be obliged, minimum eight days before the commencement of work, to report to relevant labour inspection the commencement of work, the work of separate unit and any change in technological process, if such changes modify working conditions. The fulfilment of prescribed requirements in the field of health and safety at work shall be established before the outset of employer’s activity by the ministry responsible for labour, upon employer’s request.

Namely, employer shall be obliged, before the outset of activity, to file a request to the relevant labour inspection for the establishment of compliance with the requirements on health and safety at work, and it may not start the activity without the obtained decision on fulfilment of requirements.

The abovementioned report and request may be submitted by the employer electronically.

6. Training of employees for healthy and safe work

Employer shall be obliged to train employees for health and safe work. Such training will be done theoretically and practically, in accordance with the training programme for healthy and safe work enacted by the employer. Training programme for healthy and safe work contains general and specific part, while checking both the theoretical and practical knowledge of employees regarding healthy and safe work will be done at workplace.

Additionally, the employees’ representative is entitled to training for performance of the activities of employees’ representation, while the cost of such training shall not be borne by the employees’ representative.

In addition to the employer’s obligation to provide and issue to employees means for work and protection equipment in proper condition which were subject to the prescribed measures for health and safety at work, and to ensure the control of their application according to the purpose, the Law explicitly prescribes the obligation for employer to conduct training of employees for proper use of personal protection equipment.

Periodic training on healthy and safe work for employees working on high-risk jobs shall be conducted no later than one year after the previous training, and on other jobs no later than three years after the previous training.

In case of severe injury at work, lethal injury at work or collective injury at work with severe or lethal injury at work, employer shall be obliged to immediately, and no later than eight days after the occurrence of injury, conduct additional training of employees on such job in the organisational unit where the injury had occurred, with mandatory notification to all employees.

7. Directing employees to medical examination

One of the novelties introduced by the Law is the obligation of employer to direct employee to medical examination corresponding to the job risks, upon their request, in regular intervals and no later than five years after the previous examination.

8. Notifying on injury at work and occupational disease and reporting

The Law prescribes that employer shall:

• Immediately, and no later than 24 hours after the occurrence, orally, in writing or electronically report to competent labour inspection and competent authority for interior matters, any lethal, collective or severe injury at work, as well as dangerous occurrence that may jeopardize employees’ health and safety;
• Immediately, and no later than five working days after the occurrence, orally, in writing or electronically report to competent labour inspection minor injury at work that rendered employee unable to work for more than three days;
• No later than five days after the submission of opinion of the health institution that established occupational disease, report such occupational disease to relevant labour inspection.

Employer shall also be obliged to submit to the employee who suffered injury or who was diagnosed with occupational disease the report on injury at work and occupational disease that set in at workplace, and also to submit the report to the organisation in charge of health insurance and to the Administration. The report on injury at work shall be submitted in writing, until the establishment of electronic Registry of Work Injuries.

9. Registry of Work Injuries

The Law stipulates the establishment of Registry of Work Injuries (“the Registry”), administered by the Administration with technical support of the relevant Government service. The Registry shall contain accurate and updated information on work injuries and it shall enable the data users to enter and download the information for establishing the fact necessary for exercising their rights from health insurance.

Namely, data are entered into the Registry by employers, who shall be obliged to submit to the Administration electronically the information on authorised officer who enters the prescribed information (on employer i.e. employer user or employer natural person, the injured, injury at work, immediate manager and witness). Data entry into the Registry will also be done by selected physician, i.e., the latter uses the integrated health information system of the Republic of Serbia the opinion of the first physician who examined the injured, after which the organisation in charge of health insurance enters the assessment of work injury.

10. Authorizations of the labour inspection

The Law further stipulates that the labour inspector shall be obliged to prohibit work on temporary or mobile construction sites while the circumstances that jeopardize employee’s health and safety at work are in place, and notably when it establishes that:

• Employee not trained in healthy and safe work works at a construction site;
• Employee who was not medically examined in a prescribed time works at a construction site, on a high-risk job;
• A person working at a construction site has not concluded employment or other contract prior to starting work, in accordance with the regulation on work and/or if such person is not registered in the Central Registry of Mandatory Social Insurance;
• The means for work used at a construction site was not subject to measures for safety and health at work;
• No prescribed temporary structures and facilities for work and movement of employees are provided at the construction site (tunnel supports, structures for prevention of landslide during deep digging etc.);
• The employer subject to labour inspector’s prohibition of work on temporary or mobile construction sites failed to implement the prohibition ordered by the inspector and continued working during the circumstances that lead to threat against employee’s health and safety.

Work prohibition shall be pronounced for an investor i.e. investor’s representative and shall be in force during the circumstances leading to threat against health and safety at work in a construction site, at least:

•  Three days after the pronouncing of work prohibition, if the circumstances leading to threat against health and safety at work in a construction site were established for the first time;
• 15 days after the pronouncing of prohibition, if the circumstances leading to threat against health and safety at work in construction site were established for the second time; and
• 30 days after the pronouncing, if the circumstances leading to threat against health and safety at work in construction site were established for the third time.

Labour inspector shall be obliged to publicly display the work prohibition at construction site and to visibly mark the construction site, while the content and form of the prohibition shall be prescribed by the minister in charge of labour matters.

The decision of labour inspector shall be subject to appeal to the minister in charge of labour matters, within 15 days after the submission of the decision, while the appeal does not postpone the enforcement of the decision ordering work prohibition.

11. Liability for breach of obligations in the field of health and safety at work

The Law has generally made penalty policy stricter, prescribing fines that are higher than the previous ones and more than 70 forms of conduct are defined as infringement of the provisions of the Law, which are therefore subject to sanctions.

The Law somewhat extended the misdemeanour liability for employees and instead of a range of fines, there is now a fixed amount of fine of RSD 20,000.

The fixed amount of fine is prescribed in some cases for employers as well (in the amount of RSD 100,000 and RSD 300,000).

As a reminder, for misdemeanours that are subject to fixed fines, supervision authorities (inspection) may issue misdemeanour orders in site.

The range of fines for employers – legal entities is from RSD 1,500,000 to 2,000,000.

This article is to be considered as exclusively informative, with no intention to provide legal advice. If you should need additional information, please contact us directly.